Precise Payroll Urges More Businesses to take advantage of Payroll Giving Schemes

Giving to charity is something that people do to ëdo their bití to help society whether it be providing clean drinking water for a family in Cambodia to giving money to help find a cure for cancer, most people will have given a monetary donation to a cause close to their heart. Payroll giving offers employees the opportunity to give to charity on a regular basis, as donations are taken straight from gross pay before tax this effectively increases the value of donations for the charity. The donation effectively costs the employee less, but benefits the charity more. According to a survey conducted by accountant and business adviser KPMG, most businesses do not have a payroll donation scheme in place and many are unaware that a grant of up to 500 is available for firms to set one up.

Figures from a survey commissioned by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) last year highlighted that 95 million is currently given to charity through payroll, despite being an exceptionally high figure, this was generated by only 2% of all taxpayers. If all of the people questioned in this survey were to donate through payroll giving UK charities would be 1.4 billion better off.

Louise Mitchell of Precise Payroll says, ìPayroll giving is the simple, tax free way for employees to give to their favourite charities and because the donation is taken off before tax the charity gets more money. For example an individual donating 10 a month to their chosen charity, through payroll giving the charity would receive 10 but the individual would have given 7.80 if they pay standard tax, however for a higher tax payer the cost would be even less at 6.00. So if the fact that it costs the employee less to give the charity more and the added benefit of increased reputation and morale for the business wasnít enough to attract more employers to get involved, the government has also added an additional incentive by providing a grant of up to 500 to companies with a workforce of less than 500 people setting up a payroll giving scheme for the first time.

ìI would definitely urge more employers to take advantage of this initiative, almost all payroll systems can easily handle payroll giving as it adds very little extra work and the benefits are three fold ñ the employee feels good about giving to a cause they are passionate about, the companies image is enhanced internally and externally and the charities themselves benefit from increased donations to aid continuing work for their cause.î

Louise explains that businesses who donít offer a payroll giving scheme are really missing out ìIt is very surprising that so many businesses do not have a payroll giving scheme in place as there are many benefits from being involved in such an initiative. Giving to charity not only helps the cause that the money is going to but it can also benefit the business itself by enhancing corporate image and increasing staff morale.

Businesses that are seen to be ëgiving something backí whether it is to a local community cause or to a national charity can project a socially responsible image as an organisation that is seen to care for other people and causes. Donating to charity can also make employees feel good, as they are doing their bit to help a cause they care about. Payroll giving offers the added advantage of employees being able to support any charity they choose, therefore spreading the contributions across a variety of organisations.

Louise continues, ìStaff are becoming more savvy when it comes to choosing an employer they would like to work for and payroll giving schemes can give staff an added incentive in choosing to work for your organisation. It is important to show staff that as an employer you are willing to help them support the causes they care about and the payroll giving scheme does just that.î

Precise Payroll provide payroll solutions for employers across the north east from their offices in Aberdeen. These services can help improve an existing internal payroll process or remove the function completely through effective outsourcing. Precise Payroll can offer further advice on how to get involved in payroll giving schemes for more information contact 01224 638222 or email: info@precisepayroll.co.uk