FAQs

Payroll Giving is a way of giving money to charity without paying tax on it. Donations are paid from a PAYE employee’s wages or pension to their chosen charity, or charities.

Donations are taken from an PAYE employee’s salary before tax, which means the charity gets the donation will the tax benefit already included. Employees automatically receive their appropriate tax saving.

Payroll Giving automatically gives you the full available tax saving on donations. This means your charity receives your donation with the tax saving already applied, so they don’t need to claim Gift Aid. If you are a higher rate tax payer it is a simpler way to donate to charity tax effectively rather than Gift Aid, as Gift Aid assumes all donations are from basic rate taxpayers (20%), so charities can only claim 20% back in Gift Aid.

Payroll Giving is the most cost effective way to give as the donation is tax-free automatically so your charity receives your tax with your donation every month. Lots of employers support Payroll Giving by matching donations too. Contact Us if you have questions.

You can use Payroll Giving to donate to any registered charity or charitable organisation in the UK. You can see our charity partners here. If your charity doesn't pre-populate on the joining page, type the full name and charity registration number (if known). The organisation does need to be approved by your employer’s Payroll Giving Agency to receive money in this way, for which there’s a simple registration process.

Yes, certainly. You can give to as many charities as you wish with only one deduction from your salary. Each charity receives the tax benefit too. Simply complete your details on the Your Donation page, enter your first charity details and click ‘+SUPPORT ANOTHER CHARITY’ to add another charity donation.

As a minimum we would suggest £2 per month as charities do spend funds in tracking donations. There is no limit to the amount that you can give. When considering your upper limit you should make sure you don't give more than you can afford. Some employers do stipulate minimum and maximum amounts, so Contact Us if there are specific questions.

Visit the Your Donation page and follow the instructions. Any questions, please Contact Us.

This depends on when in the month you send the request and your employer’s payroll cut off. We send the information over in line with pre-agreed dates and where known will tell you in the confirmation email you receive. Generally donations take about 3 - 6 weeks to process, so expect the donation to start coming out of your pay around a month after you filled in the form. The deductions will be shown on your payslip so you will know when your donation has commenced.

That is entirely up to you. Your company’s payroll department will continue to deduct your donations until you instruct otherwise. If you want to cancel your donation please Contact Us.

They will receive your entire donation minus the payroll giving agency administration fee. However, some companies pay all of the administration fees so your charity receives all of your pledge. Contact Us to find out whether or not your company pays the admin.

Yes. The Payroll Giving Agencies are charities (in their own right) that need to make a small charge to cover their operating costs. Some employers pay this fee, meaning your charity receives the full donation. If your employer doesn't pay the fee, the Payroll Giving Agency will deduct it from your donation before passing it on to the charity. This is between a 2% and 4% charge.

You can decide how your charity keeps in touch with you. If you already donate and want to change your preferences you can do this with your chosen charity.

To stop any donations, either complete your details on this Cancellation Page, or please Contact Us if you have questions.

Yes, you can change or cancel your donation at any point throughout the year. On the Your Donation page you can select either 'add to current instructions' or 'replace current instructions' to update your donation. We'll send you a confirmation email once we receive your request.

Depending on which company you work, for this differs. Please Contact Us for information about your employer's specific scheme. We’ve invested in online systems for clients to make sure all data is kept up to date and GDPR compliant.

No problems – if you Contact Us we can look this up for you.

Payroll Giving automatically stops when you leave your job. If you move to another company you can fill out the joining form from our secure web page and we can set up another donation from your new salary.

You can decide how your charity keeps in touch with you. If you already donate and want to change your preferences you can do this with your chosen charity.

If you're getting emails, post or telephone contact from any charity you can contact them and update your preferences. Under new rules there must be clear information on everything sent to you about how to do this. Charities must respect your wishes and cannot go against this. If you've signed up via Hands On Payroll Giving, your details are securely submitted and stored. Hands On Payroll Giving are registered with the Data Commissioner to process data and do not share your details with any third parties. Your data is stored in line with the Privacy Policy. Your deduction information is also sent to your employer's payroll department, and contracted Payroll Giving Agency who forward your donation to your chosen charity.

The details you complete are sent to us at Hands On Payroll Giving. We are registered with the Data Commissioner to process data. Your data is stored in line with our Privacy Policy. Your deduction information is also sent to your employer’s payroll department, and contracted Payroll Giving Agency who forward your donation to your chosen charity.

Your name, employer and donation amount are sent to your charity so that they can track your donation. You can opt in for how you'd like to receive communication from your charity; these relevant details are shared with your named causes only. If you choose 'No Contact' your name will be sent to your charity (to make monitoring your donation easier), but no contact information so you won't receive a thank you, or any other communication. If you are already listed on a charity's database of supporters, we can't guarantee that this request will supersede or affect already established communication channels. Charities may use Third Parties for support services, with whom they are contracted, and with whom they may share your data for processing purposes. To view your chosen charity's privacy statement, please visit their website. If you wish to change your communication preferences with a charity, please contact them directly.

The deduction is shown on your pay slip, normally as “Payroll Giving” or “G.A.Y.E” (Give As You Earn). Your employer has a signed contract with the Payroll Giving Agency who distributes the money to your chosen charity, these agencies are approved and monitored by HMRC. The deduction instruction is sent to your payroll so they know how much to deduct from your salary. The relevant information is sent to your employer’s contracted Payroll Agency meaning when they receive your donation they know which charity to send it to. If you or your charity have questions about when a donation is being credited, please Contact Us and we'll help you get in touch with the relevant Payroll Giving Agency.

Your company is registered with a Payroll Giving Agency, which is approved by HMRC. On a monthly basis your company pays their Payroll Giving Agency by cheque or via BACS all their employees’ Payroll Giving donations. They then distribute the monies to the relevant charity after a very small administration charge has been applied, however this might be paid by your employer.

It can take a few months for your charity to receive your first donation, but after this they should be regularly received each month. This is due to the processing time between you completing a form, this being actioned at payroll, and then these funds being transferred. If you have any questions about a donation please Contact Us.

Please rest assured your donation will either have been sent on and hasn't been identified properly by your charity as it's paid to them by BACS, or your donations are still with your employer’s contracted Payroll Giving Agency. Please Contact Us for help.

Payroll Giving deductions are made to your gross pay before your tax is calculated. This means any tax that would have been due on this money isn't taken, but is instead sent on to your chosen charity. This system makes Payroll Giving the easiest way for you, and your charity to get the full tax saving automatically, without having to fill in any extra paperwork.

Because the deduction is made by payroll to your gross pay you instantly benefit from the right tax saving.

If you don't pay any tax you can still use Payroll Giving but you won't get any tax saving, so what you donate is what it will cost you. If you give £5 this will show on your payslip, and you'll be less £5 from your take-home pay.

Don't worry, the right tax is automatically applied at payroll so you'll definitely get the right amount of tax saving.

The tax benefit you receive is in accordance to the amount of tax you pay, as donations are deducted from your GROSS pay, the tax you pay on the remaining salary is adjusted automatically. If you donate £5 per month it actually costs you 40% less, so £3, or if you pay 45% tax, £2.75. If you are a higher tax payer (40% or 45%) Payroll Giving is the only way you can give to charity and receive your full tax benefit.

If you pay basic rate (20%) tax and want to give £10 from your take-home pay you need to donate £12.50 from your gross pay. You can work out other amounts by dividing the amount you want the donation to cost you by 0.8.

If you pay higher rate (40%) tax and want to give £10 from your take-home pay you need to donate £16.66 from your gross pay. You can work out other amounts by dividing the amount you want the donation to cost you by 0.6.

If you pay additional rate (45%) tax and want to give £10 from your take-home pay you need to donate £18.18 from your gross pay. You can work out other amounts by dividing the amount you want the donation to cost you by 0.55.

Yes, we facilitate lots of one off donations. These are dependent on payroll cut-offs and deduction types, so please Contact Us for more info.

Payroll Giving comes directly from your GROSS pay (pre-tax), where as a Direct Debit to a charity is taken from your bank account. With Payroll Giving charities automatically receive the tax advantage, but with Direct Debit donations they have to claim back the tax (know as Gift Aid), often causing large admin bills. If you are a higher tax payer Payroll Giving is the only way you can give to charity and benefit from full tax relief.

Payroll Giving also offers security as it is processed via your employer’s payroll department and no bank details are needed.

Nothing. The national term for the scheme is 'Payroll Giving', 'Give As You Earn' and 'Workplace Giving' are brand names for the scheme that gives employees the option to donate to charity from their pay.

We are paid a one off fee by the charities we represent only when we recruit a donor for them. This money comes from a pre-allocated fundraising budget and not from donations made through Payroll Giving.

On average, we help people pledge £14 million per year for which we are paid approximately £550,000 which funds our office premises and team of twenty people.

Yes. We commissioned the build of a bespoke digital Data Management System (DMS) in 2017 which stores and holds all donor data. We have undergone rigorous data security checks by our corporate clients. We’re happy to share our information security policies with clients and complete data security questionnaires where relevant.

We’re always keen to hear how we can make experiences better for supporters, charities and employers. Please email us at askus@hopg.co.uk, or call 01433 651972 to get in touch. You can view our full complaints procedure here.

It means we're dedicated to fundraising and help promote best practice, defend the sector and demonstrate compliance with the law. You can find us listed on the directory and can raise any concerns about our fundraising via the Fundraising Regulator's official channel should you need to.

Contact Us on 01433 651972 or email: askus@hopg.co.uk.