Following its launch in January, Katie Paxton-Doggett points out the benefits of the payroll-giving scheme for employers, employees and the community as a whole

In his 2004 Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the government would be launching a payroll-giving grant for small and medium-sized businesses that offer their staff the opportunity to make regular charitable donations through the payroll.


The payroll-giving grant programme was launched on 26 January 2005 and gives a financial incentive to employers with fewer than 500 employees who set up a scheme before the end of December 2006.


Payroll giving enables employees to donate to any UK charities straight from their salaries and get immediate tax relief of up to 40%. The full donation is taken out of each employee's gross salary so that his overall income tax liability is reduced.


This differs from donations made through Gift Aid. By giving through Gift Aid, UK taxpayers are entitling charities to claim basic rate tax already paid to the Inland Revenue back against the value of their donations.


Higher rate taxpayers can reclaim the 18% difference between the higher (40%) and basic rate (22%) of tax as personal tax relief. When grossed up, it works out that higher rate taxpayers can reclaim 23p in every £1 donated through Gift Aid.


Employees who choose to give through payroll giving benefit from full income tax relief.


At the launch last January, Home Office Minister Fiona Mactaggart said: 'Payroll giving makes it easy for people to give money tax-efficiently because donations are made before tax is deducted from an employee's salary. Charities also benefit from regular, reliable funding and it gives businesses the chance to connect with their local community.


'Payroll giving is not just something that big organisations can do - 12.6 million employees work for small and medium-sized businesses and there is a real need for their employers to get on board. I hope that this innovative new scheme - through which the government will double employees' donations by up to £10 per month - will be embraced by smaller businesses.'


Employers who implement and promote a new scheme can receive a one-off grant of up to £500. This is tiered according to the size of the organisation: £300 for employers with 1-199 employees, £400 for those with 200-249 employees and £500 for those with 250-499 employees.


Grants are payable to organisations with fewer than 500 employees that sign up to payroll giving before the end of 2006 and will be backdated to those that have signed up since 6 April 2004.


The programme will also match the first £10 per month donated by each employee with a contribution from the government for the first six months of an employee's gifts.


This means that £10 donated each month would be worth as much as £20 to the charity and yet it will only cost employees paying basic rate income tax £7.80 (or £6 for higher rate taxpayers). The matched incentive will continue until the end of March 2007 and can be backdated to any employee joining a scheme since April 2004.


The payroll-giving grants programme is a Home Office initiative that is being funded with a budget of £8.3 million. The programme is administered and promoted by the Institute of Fundraising and Business in the Community (see www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk).


The institute represents fundraisers and fundraising throughout the UK. It is running an extensive UK-wide training programme for charities, 'Making Local Business Your Business', which addresses how the grants programme works, using payroll giving as the initiator for building relationships with local businesses.


Bespoke training packages are also available for charities wishing to have a workshop for their regional fundraisers. The institute will be responsible for supporting charities as they develop new relationships with small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as supporting them with marketing materials, information resources and access to advice.


Business in the Community (see: www.bitc.org.uk) is a unique movement of companies based or listed in the UK committed to improving continually their positive impact on society. It is responsible for promoting the scheme to small and medium enterprises through small business networks.


Currently, only 1% of UK companies offer a payroll-giving scheme, meaning that just one in five employees has access to a scheme. Nevertheless, in 2003/04, £91 million was raised for charities through payroll giving alone. Home Office research found that, of the employees with access to a payroll-giving scheme, more than half of them participated.


Findings suggest that once employees have access to schemes, they tend to participate in them at much the same rate, irrespective of demographic or other characteristics. It is hoped that the grants programme will increase the number of employers and employees engaged in payroll giving - resulting in sustainable income sources for UK charities.


Pardeep Bahanda, financial controller at Green & Black's, one of the organisations that already offers a payroll-giving scheme, says:


'Payroll giving really is one of those does-what-it-says-on-the-tin schemes. Very straightforward to set up and administer, with starting costs recoverable via a grant. There is no minimum donation level, so staff of all salary levels can take part - it's not some complex tax scheme only available for high earners.


'Everyone can use this scheme to get more money to their chosen charities and save themselves a bit of tax at the same time. From a business perspective, the scheme provides a further tool to augment our ongoing commitment to good corporate citizenship.'


An employer's involvement in payroll-giving schemes is a simple way of demonstrating their corporate social responsibility, a growing international movement to encourage organisations to be more conscious of their impact on the environment and the need to be accountable to stakeholders.


Employers are increasingly aware that their responsibilities go beyond financial success. They also need to include respect for human rights including those of their employees in the workplace, care for the environment, support for the development and well-being of the communities in which they operate and ethical conduct of business.


2005 is the 'Year of the Volunteer', and this scheme is one of a number of initiatives operating through the 12 months and beyond to encourage more people to give their time, talents and money to the voluntary sector.


Katie Paxton-Doggett is a solicitor and producer of the Law Channel, Einstein Network