If you want to offer your employees the opportunity to donate to charities directly from salary via your payroll system you must have a payroll Giving Scheme in place.

Setting one up is easy and once in place takes around ten minutes a month to administer through modern Payroll Systems. The following information explains how to go about this.

Step 1 - sign a contract

An employer must signs a contract with an Inland Revenue registered Payroll Giving Agency (PGA). There are around 9 agencies registered to do this and the one you choose will investigate your employees nominated charities to establish legitimacy and handle all the administration of distributing every employees donation to the chosen charities.

10together recommends the following:

South West Charitable Giving

Click here to visit their website.

Click here to download their Employer Pack containing forms and instructions on how to set up.

A list of all PGA's and their contact details is available by clicking here.

The Contract can be downloaded from each PGA's website. Complete the contract and return to your chosen agency.     

Step 2 - PGA Registers your Company
Your PGA will register you as an employer offering Payroll Giving to your employees and contact you/your Payroll Manager with the relevant instructions on what information they will need from each donor.

Step 3 - Internal Promotion

If you have chosen to support 10together we will run a promotion for you but you can promote any UK charity. Visit our "promotion" page for more information and ideas

Step 4 - Getting Donations

Any employee wishing to take advantage of this great way to give must fill out a Payroll Giving Form and hand it to Payroll Department so they can make the necessary deductions. Employees should be given the opportunity to give to any charity they choose. Your chosen PGA will give you these or if supporting 10together, we will provide you with forms. They can also be downloaded here

Step 5 - Administering the Scheme

Your Payroll will then instruct your PGA what money will be going to which charities, they then make the deductions (just like any other deduction, I.e. a pension deduction) and send the total amount donated by all the Payroll Givers to your PGA, usually via BACS.

Step 6 - Chosen Charities get their Donation
Your PGA will then administer the donations to the charities, as instructed by your employees (and if you are an SME employer, your PGA will manage the matching which is available from the government).

If you have employees who wish to stop, all that is required is that they let the Payroll Department know in writing. If you have an employee who leaves, as they are no longer being paid through your Payroll, their deduction will simply stop the last time you pay them.