Charity staff: how to employ paid workers
Follow employment laws and plan for risks when employing paid workers at your charity.
Applies to England and Wales
How to find charity staff
Many charities advertise their vacancies online or in newspapers. You can get advice on the recruitment process (including writing job descriptions) from KnowHow NonProfit:
- How to write a job description and person specification
- How to avoid illegal or inappropriate interview questions
- How to recruit to executive level posts
- How to use your company values to recruit, retain and develop staff
- How to train and develop people without spending a fortune
Follow employment law
If you employ people, you must be aware of and comply with employment laws, including:
- pension rules for charities
- payroll and paying the minimum wage
- health and safety
If your charity works with children or vulnerable adults you must take steps to safeguard them from harm.
How to manage your charity’s people
Charities can face a number of different issues to the average employer. For example, you need to:
- identify and manage conflicts of interest, for example if a trustee does paid work for the charity
- be aware of and manage risks, such as losing money through fraud
- put processes in place to keep your charity’s money safe
Set clear responsibilities for employees and trustees
When your charity grows, it may change from being mostly run by trustees to being mostly run by staff. This can be a difficult time for charities, as work and responsibilities are handed over. Avoid disputes and mismanagement by setting clear roles and responsibilities, particularly between:
- the charity’s governance (what your trustee board does)
- the management and daily running of the charity (what your senior management and staff do)