Payment of trustees

Trustees are not permitted by charity law to be paid simply for being trustees. They are volunteers. However the Act has introduced a change which allows a charity to pay an individual trustee who provides an additional service to the charity, provided they believe it is in the best interest of the charity. Previously this was only possible if the trustees sought permission from the CC or had a clause in their governing document permitting it.

This might, for example, enable a trustee who is also an electrician to provide electrical services to the charity provided trustees agree that it is in the charity’s best interest. This may be due to the trustee charging a better price or providing a better service than the trustees could obtain elsewhere.

The key points to bear in mind are:

• the number of trustees receiving payment in this way must be in a minority
• the amount paid must be reasonable and set out in a written agreement between the trustee and the charity
• the trust or governing document must not preclude this type of payment.

These changes will take effect in 2008.