Tue, 1 Mar 2011

Payroll giving awards at risk

The Payroll Giving Excellence Awards and the Quality Mark may not last beyond October 2012 unless funding from the Cabinet Office is renewed, the Institute of Fundraising has warned.

Some 8,500 employers are currently signed up to payroll giving schemes, but managers warn that take-up of the initiative will fall if employers’ efforts go unrecognised.

Cabinet Office funding has enabled the Institute-run Payroll Giving Centre to award around 4,000 certificates each year to organisations that achieve set levels of employee participation.

The Cabinet Office also currently supports the scheme by providing a government venue for the annual Payroll Giving Excellence Awards – usually the HM Treasury Building – and a ministerial signature on certificates.

Lee Grant, project manager for tax-effective giving at the Institute, told Payroll World that continued government support was vitally important. ‘The total buy-in to payroll giving from the Government – the sign-off for certificates and hosting the awards – adds kudos,’ he said.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that employers offering payroll giving benefit from increased staff retention and attract better candidates, but Grant says the certificate and awards are the only tangible benefits.

The Institute plans to seek a sponsor if the Cabinet Office withdraws, but Jeremy Colwill, director of Payroll Giving in Action, the awards’ sponsor for the past three years, said recognition was key. ‘It’s really important employers get recognition – it would be a big loss to the sector to lose these awards,’ he said.

A Cabinet Office spokesman was unable to confirm continued funding, but said: ‘Additional funding is being considered where there is specific policy requirement to support representative organisations.’