Givey study reveals barriers to payroll giving but employees keen to donate
Melanie May | 8 December 2016 | News
53% of working adults in the UK say are never asked which charitable causes they want to support through payroll giving and 51% do not fully understand their organisation’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives, according to statistics from Givey.
Givey questioned 2,000 employed adults in the UK on how they felt about their companies’ corporate donation strategies. As well as more than half stating that they are never asked which causes they would like their payroll giving to support, 29% said their employer does not reflect the causes they care about while a fifth (21%) said they would donate 20% more through their employer if the causes were relevant to issues they cared about.
Younger workers were the most willing to increase their donations with 27% of 18-34 year olds saying they would do so. Regionally, Londoners were the most keen to give more, with 30% of Londoners saying would boost their charitable donations by 20% or more, above national average of 21%.
Over a third (36%) of employees also said they felt their organisation should be doing more. Among those aged 18-34 this rose to 44%. An equal percentage of Londoners felt the same with the capital standing out as the region with the highest levels of dissatisfaction on this point.
Neil Mehta, CEO of Givey said:
“Our research reveals a nation of ethically conscious employees who are keen to do more to support worthy causes, however they’re faced with multiple barriers in the workplace that prevent them from putting their hard-earned money where it matters most to them.”
Key findings:
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- Over half (51%) of employed UK adults do not fully understand what their organisation’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives are
- 36% of all employees would like CSR donations to do more to support local community projects and charities
- 28% of Scottish workers said their employer could do more, while in London this increased to 44%
- Amongst those aged 18-34, 44% also felt employers could do more
- 29% of working adults feel their employer’s corporate giving structure does not reflect the causes they want to support, rising to a third of 18-34 year olds and 40% of workers in London
- 30% of Londoners would boost their charitable donations by 20% or more, against the national average of 21%
- 34% of Londoners said they were frustrated their company only supports the nation’s largest charities with a quarter (24%) of UK workers overall feeling the same
- Employees aged 18-34 were the most disappointed by the lack of scope in charitable causes their workplace supported, with 35% feeling frustrated
- Over a fifth (21%) of working adults would donate 20% extra through work if their employer adopted a more liberal approach to donations and agreed to back the causes that mattered most to them
- Younger workers were the most willing to increase their donations with 27% of 18-34 year olds saying they would contribute more.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.