Paying trustees to do work for the charity
Charities Act 2022: information about the changes being introduced – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Due to a change in 2022, Charities now have a statutory power to pay trustees for providing goods alone to the charity in certain circumstances.
Using the new statutory power, trustees can be paid for:
- services only
- services and associated goods
- goods only
Trustee expenses and payments (CC11)
Trustees could be paid for:
- building work such as plumbing or painting
- providing specialist services, such as estate agency or computer consultancy
- providing premises or facilities for occasional use, for example as a meeting room
- administration or secretarial work
Legal requirement: before paying a trustee, you must have regard to the commission’s guidance on paying trustees for services. It explains how you must:
- produce a written agreement between the charity and the trustee (or connected person) being paid
- specify the exact or maximum amount to be paid
- make sure the trustee does not take part in decisions made by the trustee board regarding any aspect of the agreement
- agree the payment is in your charity’s best interests and reasonable for the service provided
- not allow payments or other benefits to half or more than half of your board – the number of trustees receiving any payment or benefit must be in the minority
- make sure your charity’s governing document doesn’t prevent you from paying trustees for services
When deciding to pay a trustee for services or goods, you must follow your duty of care as trustees. In practice, this means you should:
- be clear that the payment can be justified in the charity’s best interests
- identify and record conflicts of interest and prevent them from affecting the decision
- use reasonable care and skill when making your decision (take legal advice if you need it)
- decide what you will do if the services or goods aren’t satisfactory
- keep records of discussions at meetings and disclose the payment in your accounts