Voluntary sector lagging behind public sector in both pay and pay equality 

 
SCVO has just published an analysis of Pay in the voluntary sector. Our analysis found that voluntary sector pay is managing to keep up with inflation and with the private sector, but it is lagging well behind public sector pay. The voluntary sector is also lagging the public sector in areas such as gender pay equality. 
 
The pay report is based primarily on the latest ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data, the main source of earnings data in the UK.  First our analysis looked at the 2024 ASHE annual salary data. This suggested that the voluntary sector generally pays less than public and private sectors. However, the longer hours typically worked in the private sector and the high levels of part-time working in the voluntary sector mean that the annual salary picture can be a bit skewed.   

The bulk of our analysis therefore focussed on the ASHE hourly pay rates.  The main things that stood out in the hourly pay data were: 

• the voluntary sector actually pays slightly better on average than the private sector, particularly for those on lower and midpoint wages. At the lower end of the pay scale 9 out of 10 voluntary sector staff are now paid at least the Real Living Wage, which is far better than the private sector, although still well behind the public sector. When we get to more senior roles though, private sector pay starts to outstrip the voluntary sector. 

• Both the voluntary sector and the private sector are lagging well behind the public sector when it comes to hourly pay and pay equality. In 2024 there was a £3.88 difference between median hourly pay in the voluntary sector (£16.68) and the public sector (£20.56). While there are some caveats around the data including definitions of the voluntary sector it is clear that a substantial voluntary sector pay gap exists. 

• The voluntary sector pay gap appears to be widening.  

Many voluntary sector organisations have told the Third Sector Tracker that they are struggling with recruitment, and an inability to offer competitive salaries is seen as one of the major reasons for this. Many also reported having to use reserves or find additional funds to offer their staff pay increases in line with or close to inflation last year. From the ASHE data it appears that voluntary sector pay is just about keeping up with inflation, but both the public and private sectors have seen pay increases above inflation in recent years resulting in a growing pay gap. Going forward many organsations will also have to meet increased Employers’ National Insurance contributions. This all implications for a voluntary sector already struggling to attract strong candidates in a competitive job market and creates real challenges for those organisations wanting to offer their staff pay that is comparable with workers in similar public sector roles. 

• 2 in 3 voluntary sector employees are women, and 1 in 3 paid staff in the sector work part-time (SCVO Sector Stats). However, despite many improvements in areas such as the living wage and pay transparency there still appears to be a substantial gender pay gap in the sector and closely interlinked with this there appears to be a large pay gap for part-time workers. 

Given the large gender pay gap, and the fact that most part-time workers are female, it is not surprising that many women working in the voluntary sector feel they are not fairly paid for the work they do (see for example the 2022 GCVS Fair Work survey findings.) 

Our analysis suggests that the voluntary sector is doing well in many areas of fair work and fair pay, but there is still much that could be done within the sector in terms of improving flexible working practices, identifying and addressing any pay discrimination and improving career progression pathways. 

SCVO is currently running its 2025 Workforce Survey. There has been a huge amount of change in the decade since we ran our last big sector-wide workforce survey and we felt it was the right time to ask people about a range of things such as wellbeing, workload, hybrid working, diversity and work culture. We also want to hear about pay and conditions. 

In light of the significant gender and part-time pay gaps suggested by the ASHE data I would like to encourage everyone but especially women and part-time workers to fill in the survey now.