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Will Hutton asked to probe charity pay gaps by Unite

19 May 2010

Will Hutton, the head of the new public sector pay inquiry, is being asked to investigate glaring pay differentials in the not for profit sector, by Unite.

Unite - the largest union in the country with 60,000 members in the voluntary sector - said there are organisations where chief executives have exceeded the 20:1 ratio in pay, even though their organisations are heavily dependent on statutory sources of income.

Last year, Unite highlighted the case of Anchor Trust's then chief executive, John Belcher, whose pay was £391,000 in 2008/09, while many of his employees, running homes for the elderly, were struggling on wages just above the National Minimum Wage (NMW).

Rachael Maskell, Unite national officer, Not for Profit Sector has now written to Will Hutton, the executive vice-chairman of the Work Foundation, asking for an investigation into those charities receiving statutory funding.

She said: 'Unite would like to know if your work will extend to organisations in receipt of statutory funding sources.'

'And if so, we would very much want to highlight the problems experienced in the sector, especially in the light of this government’s determination to make wider use of the sector for the delivery of public services.'

She said that it was known that pay in the charity sector was 21% below that of the private sector, and in London, that disparity rose to 24%.

'We also know that only 19% of organisations have carried out any form of equal pay audit, suggesting that there are inequalities in organisations resourced from statutory sources.'

'We are also aware of some organisations, who are again heavily dependent on statutory sources and have been paying below the national minimum pay rate for elements of the employees’ work, for instance in residential care.'

Recent Unite research revealed that more than 90% of voluntary sector staff felt their well-being was being undermined due to the financial crisis facing charities.



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