ACEVO’s policy on staff remuneration
At ACEVO we believe that professionalism does not conflict with the values that lie at the heart of charities and other civil society organisations. We see good management, good staff and good values as mutually reinforcing. Experience shows that committed, professional civil society employees, with the support of their boards, produce exceptional outcomes for the beneficiaries and causes that they serve.
We also believe good pay means that boards, beneficiaries, supporters and employees agree that it provides value for money. As a small employer with limited resources, it is very important that we use the money we have available for remuneration effectively. We also take into consideration the imperative to retain valued staff within a mission-driven organisation. The process of recruiting new staff costs considerable time and money, and worse, it can divert focus from the organisation’s core aims. High staff turnover can adversely affect our service to members due to a loss of institutional memory and disruption of working arrangements.
When setting and reviewing pay, our board follows the five principles of good pay set out in ACEVO’s Good Pay Guide: transparency, proportionality, performance, recruitment and retention, and process.
How we set our pay
Our salary levels are set based on an assessment of job descriptions and person specifications following a benchmarking process that assesses pay norms associated with that type of post in the sector. Salary ranges at each job level are benchmarked against similar organisations at least every three years. ACEVO’s pay structure is based on market rates for equivalent roles at equivalent-sized organisations.
Staff pay is reviewed annually by the senior management team in relation to individuals’ responsibilities and performance, the external economic environment and financial affordability for ACEVO.
Any cross-organisational cost of living pay increases are approved by ACEVO’s Remuneration Committee, which also regularly reviews the organisation’s pay policy. The committee comprises ACEVO’s treasurer, deputy chair and chair, who also chairs the committee. ACEVO’s board of trustees is responsible for approving the chief executive’s remuneration: recommendations for any pay increase are made by the Remuneration Committee, taking account of the skills and experience required and sector norms for charities of similar size and scope.
Pay equality and Living Wage
ACEVO strives to be an equal opportunity employer. This means our intention is to treat all staff equitably with regards to the terms and conditions of employment offered, including pay. ACEVO is a Living Wage employer.
Gender and ethnicity pay gap
ACEVO aims to be an inclusive and equitable employer. We know that transparency and accountability on pay data and a commitment to closing the gaps is crucial to helping us achieve this. We first published our ethnicity and pay gap data in July 2020 and will continue to do so annually.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Mean gender pay gap in favour of men | 31.4% | 20.1% | 23.3% | 22.4% | 23.5% |
Median gender pay gap in favour of men | 34.5% | 27.7% | 37.9% | 33.8% | 30.1% |
Mean ethnicity pay gap in favour of white British staff | 28.2% | 17.1% | 10.9% | 20.3% | 23.7% |
Median ethnicity pay gap in favour of white British staff | 37.2% | 32.7% | 28.2% | 38.8% | 33.3% |
ACEVO aims to be an inclusive and equitable employer. We know that transparency and accountability on pay data and a commitment to closing the gaps is crucial to helping us achieve this. We first published our ethnicity and pay gap data in July 2020 and will continue to do so annually.
For this report, snapshot data was taken in June 2024
Employee numbers: 19 FTE.
Gender Pay Gap
We used the methodology outlined in government guidelines to calculate ACEVO’s gender pay gap.
ACEVO’s mean gender pay gap in favour of men is 31.4% (20.1% in 2023)
ACEVO’s median gender pay gap in favour of men is 34.5% (27.7% in 2023)
Proportion of males & females in each quartile |
| |||
| Male | Female | ||
Quartile 1 |
| 25% | 75% | |
Quartile 2 |
| 50% | 50% | |
Quartile 3 |
| 100% | ||
Quartile 4 |
| 100% |
Ethnicity pay gap data
We used the same methodology for calculating ethnicity pay gap data as we did to calculate our gender pay gap. Details about this can be found here. Albeit growing, ACEVO is a small staff team (20 headcount, 19 FTE at the time of reporting) so we did not disaggregate pay gap data to produce statistics for different racialised and minoritised groups.
ACEVO’s mean ethnicity pay gap in favour of white British staff is 28.2% (17.1% in 2022)
ACEVO’s median ethnicity pay gap in favour of white British staff is 37.2% (32.7% in 2022)
Proportion of white British & other ethnic groups in each quartile | |||
White British | Other ethnic groups | ||
Quartile 1 | 75% | 25% | |
Quartile 2 | 25% | 75% | |
Quartile 3 | 50% | 50% | |
Quartile 4 | 75% | 25% |
How do we plan to close our ethnicity and pay gaps?
As part of our work to improve equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at ACEVO over the last four years we have:
- Published an EDI action plan which identifies five key objectives, including improving representation of black and minoritised ethnic people at senior levels within the organisation; increasing the number of men on the staff team and addressing our ethnicity and gender pay gaps.
- Made EDI a strategic priority, including it as a specific objective in our organisational strategy.
- Released the Home Truths report in 2020 which sought to provide a supportive framework to create real change to address racism in the charity sector and now we are working to deliver Home Truths 2 which focuses on accelerating practical action in civil society to centre race equity and ensure organisations positively impact Black and minoritised ethnic people inside and outside the sector. Warm Words, Cold Comfort, the first major output of the Home Truths programme was published in November 2023.
- Provided staff with unconscious bias training.
- Reworked our recruitment process to try to reduce bias.
If you have questions about any of the information in this document, please let us know. Creating an inclusive and equitable place to work is a continuous process of learning and acting. We recognise that we still have a lot of progress to make, and we commit to being transparent and accountable in all we do.
New staff
New staff will be offered a salary that takes into account the nature of the role, the skills and experience the staff member brings to a role, pay equality and affordability. Jobs will be advertised at a stated salary. When ACEVO makes a job offer the applicant is told what the salary will be. Once they accept the job the understanding is that the applicant has accepted it at the stated salary. As part of ACEVO’s commitment to fair and equal pay ACEVO will not normally negotiate on salary at the point of offer. Salaries can thereafter only be increased in accordance with our policy and procedure.
Our CEO’s pay
In 2022, ACEVO’s chief executive’s salary was £85,000 plus pension benefits of 6%.
Not an ACEVO member?
If you have any queries please email info@acevo.org.uk or call 020 7014 4600.
