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?

I don't think that £150k is too much. I think justifiable salaries start topping out not much beyond that, in the private and the public sector but I can't get het up about the private sector unless they pay their other staff badly.

The prime minister is paid too little and we should pay more. Future speaking events etc make up for it but it devalues the post.

I just think it's absurd to think people will take a 5/6 pay cut to work for a charity or in the public sector. I work in the public sector, and earn about £45k. If I did a similar role in the private sector I would expect to be earning about £60k, plus a bonus. That's already a massive pay differential. It's also worth noting that I earn that salary less than 5 years out of uni. So then, if I moved into the charity sector and we had capped pay at £50k, i would earn the same for the rest of my career. Maybe that's something I wouldn't care about, but it's sure as hell gonna reduce your candidate pool.

If I progress as I hope to, it would be managing funds of around £1.3bn. If I was managing those funds in an equivalent sized company you'd expect people to be on >£200k per year, plus a chunky bonus. In the public sector the pay would be around £120k a year. Expecting someone to do that job for £50k instead would be like asking them to donate 3/4 of their salary to their charity. I'm pretty sure most of us don't donate that %.

You may wish we lived in a socialist society, but we live in a capitalist society. And capitalism means paying for the skills that can make money. Even if it's in an organisation whose purpose is charitable, not profitable, those capitalist rules still apply, and in order to run complex operations effectively you can't afford to pay peanuts and get monkeys.

I don't believe you, sorry.

If you'd not said anything about earning more than the PM then I might have.

Deliberately provocative.

I can think of a lot of jobs that do a lot of damage where people get obscene salaries! I can see why some roles in charities might require a high salary. I wouldn't be massively concerned if someone running a very large charity was earning £150k. (Although I don't think ANYONE actually needs to earn that, in any job, but I wouldn't single a charity out for criticism, because of that salary.)

I'd be more concerned about the pay partity (or disparity) in a charity. If you're making your cleaners work on the minimum wage, while someone else is earning £150k I'd be pissed off.

I also work in a charity. For under £25k, with fifteen years experience in my role! Just fyi. Most if us aren't doing it for the money, obv.

@Pissedoffandbored
I sleep well at night.
I’d sleep well on that salary but only if my money wasn’t donated by people who earn a tenth of that or OAP’s

Realised I should caveat that with: executive to non exec average pay ratios are really important and I dislike the exploitation of low paid workers and volunteers. I also think many important workers in society are underpaid. However, I don't think slashing executive pay to £50k a year is the solution to this. Examine pay ratios is one useful option and pay disclosures are another. Both are used in the public sector, not sure about the charity sector.

I work for a very large charity.

I have 20 years experience in health and social care and on a daily basis i deal with all manner of issues our clients have from substance abuse, mh, debt,homelessness,benefits issues to name but a few. All face to face which means I am at risk or harm and have been attacked in the past both verbally and physically.
I earn £20,000 pa and frankly I don't think I am paid enough however I love my job.

The amount of people that happily tell me to my face its disgusting that I get paid at all has reached such a number I have lost count.

Free staff/volunteers could not do what is required of people in the charity i work for. To provide good free support to those that need it means you have to employ the best you can.
We do use volunteers and they are amazing but they do not work a 40 hour week. They take days off and holidays whenever it suits them and they would not stick around for the abuse.

All of the charities finances are available on line which includes money raised money spent and staff salaries.
100% of certain donations go directly back to those we support. The rest such as money left in wills/non specific donations it what is used to pay staff.

Large charities need skilled staff as they are run like business because thats what is required by the charity commission.

People who believe skilled staff should work for free are naive at best.

I never give to these big charities as I find their outgoings offensive. Just big companies that leech from the public.

It's a bit hard to stomach the thoughts of someone bringing home 6/7k a month net, working for a charity.....

I think it's very poor for a charity to pay that kind of wage. I lived in an African country for a long time and you would see charities e. G. Red Cross, going to the most expensive hotels in the country, most expensive cars, the international staff houses were mansions. I found it appalling. Obviously you should be paid for your skills, but if 90p out of every £1 goes to staff's luxury lifestyle, not the actual charity work that people donate for, I think it's wrong. Sorry op!

What would people expect or believe salaries in these positions to max out at?

Just out of curiosity

Problem is wages have become so disproportionate

Jobs that add real value to our society are often bordering on an average wage. Executives (and not necessarily senior positions) in media/banking/charities/marketing will earn far more than many so what you went to university so did many who earn far less

Yes we know charities need to run efficiently but that doesn’t equate to paying high wages it isn’t necessary if you are driven by money then go for higher wages if you really feel you want to work to make people’s lives better then accept your wage won’t be as high but it’s still higher than many

And it's also the reason I don't give to big charities. I give to people on the street - therefore I know they're getting 100% of my donation - not some fat cat creaming it...

People who are saying the salary is disgusting, people saying £50k is more than enough. Just where are you expecting to source appropriately qualified and experienced people to run charities, to take on the massive responsibility that is being a CEO, to carry the can when anything goes wrong, to make the difficult decision etc?

when they could earn double that in the private sector for a middle-upper management type role and avoid all the stress and responsibility? A lot of people not living in the real world here.

An aquantence works for a charity. Her wages are eye watering . Through that I have seen just how little the charity gets. It has made me very wary of charities .
But a private group should have it's boundaries. She was rude to you .

The CEO of Oxfam GB is responsible for a £400,000,000 budget. Not to mention its worldwide work, 5,000 paid employees in this country, and 23,000 volunteers. In 2016 his salary was £140k (according to the link further up the page)

For that amount of responsibility, it doesn't sound that much to me. In the private sector he'd be earning a lot more. But apparently, someone should be earning about £20k for that role, according to many MNers.

The level of stupid on this thread is terrifying. I just want to hit my head on my desk.

i don't mind people managing budgets of millions being paid as much as OP.

I don’t see any problem in what you’re paid but is it not a bit crass chatting about it in WhatsApp?

I wouldn’t mind such a big CEO salary if it wasn’t so hypocritical when those who are actually doing the grunt work are earning peanuts. You may think you’re worth £150k but I think the volunteer who gives up their weekend to run activities for children with disabilities is worth so much more. I think the minimum wage staff in the care homes that are run by charity are worth so much more. I think the people who voluntarily spend their free time doing arts and cars at the hospice are worth so much more. I think the family who worry about paying the electricity bill but won’t cancel their direct debit to charity are worth so much more. Obviously I understand how the job market and pay works but I think it’s disgraceful that some CEOs don’t recognise they are nothing without the low paid workers and volunteers on the ground.

This is why I’m utterly disillusioned with big charities. No longer interested in single one off donations, only a direct debit will do. Using huge marketing departments imposing draconian restrictions on publicity for fund raising events - looking at you, Macmillan. Paying staff more than the PM. They’ve pissed on their chips as far as I’m concerned.

i turned down a role attacting a salary of £400k because I feel passionate about the charity I work for. My husband had a similarly taxing role and consequently decided to give it up and freelance so that we could parent in the way we wanted to else the children would never have seen their parents. We took a massive financial hit with me taking up this role, I don’t expect violins but my life is consumed with my job and the pressure can be extreme.

There is a lot of fluctuation with CEOs at the major charities because Boards expect results, very quickly.

”The level of stupid on this thread is terrifying. I just want to hit my head on my desk.”

I agree the level of stupidity is terrifying. I wonder how well these charities would do if their low paid and voluntary workers just downed tools and decided they wouldn’t do it any more. While I recognise there is a need for well paid CEOs, there is an equal need for the recognition of volunteers and the workers on the ground who actually do the job. I think the OP failed to properly recognise those who also run the charity for which she is CEO.

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.

Making her aware of your position is one thing, @Pissedoffandbored. But how could your friends have said that you earn too much unless you told them your salary?

Which would be a bit touch vulgar for a busy WhatsApp group, surely?

And many charities have introduced the living wage

Charities are businesses now. There is money to be made in everything and some people will always take the opportunity whether it is appropriate or not. I try to only give to charities that give 100 percent of the money raised to the cause it was raised for. I volunteer for a charity that does this. People don't give money to charity to pay huge wages or pay for executives to have company cars. I think charities should have to declare the proportion of money raised that reaches the actual cause clearly at every money raising event or request.

What would people expect or believe salaries in these positions to max out at? Just out of curiosity

There should be no maximum. If a newly recruited CEO of a charity was able to use their skill and contacts in big business increase donations by £50m a year, I'd have no issue with them getting £5m a year.