To feel outraged at my friends re charity salaries?

[Pissedoffandbored]

Have a group chat going with a load of my girlfriends. There have been some additions to the group chat this week, some I know well and others are just acquaintances. One girl I don’t know sent a link to published salaries for charities. Girl didn’t know I work for a National Charity in a senior position and slated the amount I earn saying people don’t deserve to earn more than PM. At this point I interjected making her aware of my position and she proceeded to have a go at me. I defended my position but most of my friends agreed I earned too much since I worked for a charity.

So AIBU to be pissed off? Also, is this the general consensus or are my mates just dick heads?

@Alsohuman

My point exactly!

Why are skilled charities workers expected to work for free?

We pay out millions in grants every year as well as wages. We need skilled finance people to manage that. Should they work for free?
We use IT so that we can support our clients better and communicate with each other. IT equipment needs a skilled IT person/team. Should they work for free?
We have cleaning crew that keep our offices and public spaces clean. Should they work for free?
Our safeguarding team?
Our volunteer coordinators?
Professional fundraisers who bring in the money every year?
The marketing team?

If all of these jobs were unpaid the only victims would be the clients we support. They need our skill. They need us to run a good productive charity so that they can continue to access our services for free when they need it.

Give to charity or dont its a choice but please do not blame the hardworking skilled staff for you not donating because you begrudge them getting paid. Its unfair.

Nobody is arguing anyone should work for free.

The argument is for a reasonable wage for all tiers of workers.

@saraclara You’ve missed my point. Being disparaging about volunteers is unnecessary. Those people who play with disabled children give much needed respite to struggling parents. A charity delivering free or subsidised respite saves the taxpayer’s money. I gave specific examples (health and social care) of people delivering a charity’s objectives. You spoke of something entirely different - apples and oranges. I will openly admit my knowledge is limited, hence why I gave specific examples.

I also didn’t say CEOs shouldn’t wear 6 figure salaries, so no need to patronise me or bang your head. I specifically said I think the worth of volunteers and low paid workers is more which should be recognised, if not in monetary terms, but in respect.

BTW I do IT for free for a charity. I volunteer so I chose to do it for free. I don't need anyone to bribe me into doing decent work. I take pride in my work and in being a volunteer.

The people I volunteer with also have expertise in sales and PR. They also work for free and bring quite a bit of experience in.

So it is possible.

"Why are skilled charities workers expected to work for free? "

Who said they should work for free?
Why should they get paid much more than public sector workers is more the question. I've heard of some councils having a handful of staff on over 100k, but that causes a scandal.

The argument is for a reasonable wage for all tiers of workers.

Cat I earn £20,000 some think I am paid to much.
What is a reasonable wage for someone like me?

My charity has a high rate of Charitable spending against the income it receives. We have improved this significantly since my tenure, we were spending exorbitant amounts on advertising which showed no real benefit, and we were getting fleeced elsewhere.

We pay significantly higher than the minimum wage at the lower levels. We are constantly trying to improve this by creating better efficiencies within our organisation (rather than using more and more donor money).

"Respect" doesn't pay rent or compensate for 70 hour weeks.

I'm kind of intrigued what kind of salaries folk think are paid in the private sector to senior managers overseeing large workforces & budgets.

£150k/yr is not unheard of salary for senior locum consultants. For just one senior doctor.

Couple of things I’m now interested to know:
What’s your charity’s turnover? Just wondering what % of a donation would be going towards paying your salary. I’d guess it’s pretty low, if the table linked earlier is anything to go by.
What % of CEOs are female? And how does that compare in charity v private sector? (Not expecting OP to know that, I can google. Just thinking it’s probably a higher % women CEOs in charity sector, along with lower pay).

I don’t really get why people think OP should be earning significantly less than her private sector counterpart.

Capt we are a national charity supporting 1000s of people daily all over the country. We have offices in 20 major cities all with at least 15 staff in each one. Our HQ has 100 staff. We use a specific IT system that is essential to our work. Could a few hours volunteering in IT meet that kind of demand?

@Kolo I’ve given scant details as I don’t want to out myself.

I need to turn in. Good discussion. Goodnight

Cosmo list of jobs that might pay >= £150k/yr

Brokers, air traffic controllers, CEOs, marketing directors, pilots/flight engineers, lawyers, IT directors, bankers, investors, senior doctors (& dentists).

Generally from the people I have spoken with on the subject the view point is this. You give to a charity hoping to help the actual charity and hopefully those on a very small budget who shop there. The problem comes when a lot of that money goes to staff at the top. Its then seen as how much of that money could go to help those who need it. Its also said of a lot of celebrities but they often do give loads of it away. Surely if you work for a charity organisation you do if to help not because there is a huge salary.

Tbf I worked for a charity and the salaries are high considering they're meant to be charities.....if you want a good salary work for a charity. It's guaranteed.

Disco3000 are you sure? I've worked at both large and small charities. Many of my friends work for charities on a wide variety of roles. None of us have ever been on a salary comparable to the private or public sector. Our benefits packages are also inferior.

None of us complain because that's the career path we've chosen. But it's bloody dis-spiriting to have salaries in the charity sector criticised once again. We're not all on £150k+. Some of us are on 1 tenth of that but are committed to supporting the cause we work in.

It sometimes feels as though the general consensus is that all charities and charity workers are incompetent charlatans.

Charities are expected to address major needs in our society from rescuing people at sea to providing care for the dying, keeping people off the streets, providing children's services, caring for the elderly - the list is enormous. It makes me so angry that "the public" can't understand this.

The voluntary sector has to pick up the pieces of Government policy - if that sector was to shut down tomorrow our country literally wouldn't function.

Course, we could all pay more taxes and have people salaried to provide all these essential services, or we could stop electing people to office who don't give a fuck. But failing that, we need to recruit good people into charities. Salary is normally commensurate with responsibility and charity turnover. How is this hard to comprehend?

@Schuyler, no. You said I think the volunteer who gives up their weekend to run activities for children with disabilities is worth so much more.
I understood your point completely. You quite clearly said that the volunteer is worth more than £150k

I'm a volunteer myself. So I'm the last person who's going to disparage volunteers. Also I spent my entire career teaching severely disabled children, so I entirely understand the value of respite care. But we wouldn't have a role or be able to do what we do properly, if the organisation we work with isn't run efficiently.

We need highly skilled CEOs and these need to be remunerated properly.

👏👏👏 Dish

Yanbu £150k is reasonable.

You can't do a CEO position for £50k. Ignore everyone. Their jealous!!!

Charity workers are (generally) lower paid than their peers in other sectors.

Less holiday, sickness benefit, pension etc.

And they also get knocked for taking a salary rather than doing it out of goodwill.

Who'd be a charity worker as a profession? It feels like taking a salary for working at a charity is something to be ashamed of.

What a strange thread to start! The OP must not have enough work to do to have started this. Bored indeed. It’s a strange wallow in self glorification. I’m paid all this money because I’m so wonderful. They will probably be Dame pissedoff soon. That’s the next benefit down the line for the great and the not so good.

I'd really like to know which charity you work for. Wonder if it's the same one I do ??

@saraclara well, in a way, they are worth more than £150k or whatever because volunteers are invaluable. If I wasn’t clear, I really really do not expect every volunteer to be paid £150k nor care workers or similar. I am not completely stupid. I recognise the world isn’t like that. I’m afraid, I do think the collective value of those who choose to give their time is worth more than a CEO. I don’t think volunteers need renumeration for it. I volunteer, I don’t expect money or praise. I genuinely enjoy it and do it for fun. I know most people are the same.

Of course we need well run organisations and systems. Again, at no point did I say the OP doesn’t work hard nor shouldn’t earn £150k, I don’t know her! I’m going to assume the majority of CEOs are skilled and work hard. I just am sick to the back teeth or the workers on the ground always getting forgotten in the discussion. While OP was saying how hard she works, it’s partly because of others. I try to remain humble in my own job and recognise I am better paid than others who do hard graft. Worth is not just money to me and I am passionate about it.

We clearly have some differing views, so let’s agree to disagree. We are coming at things from a slightly different angle but please don’t portray it as me saying I didn’t think CEOs should earn those sums. I never said that.

She works 7 days a week! Who would be jealous?!

I don’t have a lot but support 12 animal charities monthly.
I would be most unhappy if a mega salary was paid.
Most charities are funded it seems by those who don’t have a lot,but are passionate about the cause,and many many also work on a voluntary basis,and they work bloody hard.I would think twice if a large chunk of money was going to the top and would not fund anymore.