Measuring up: Benchmarking in the UK medical research charity sectorIn May 2018 we circulated a survey of 50 questions to our member charity CEOs and formal representatives. This resulting report is the first of its kind, providing UK medical research charities with crucial benchmarking data to inform the management of their organisations and staff. Any organisation can only be as good as the people it recruits. Staffing decisions are among the most important that charities make. Over recent years, employment law has become increasingly wide-ranging and ever more complex - subject to constant change. Consequently, our member charities need to take a proactive approach to managing their employees and the working environment. For a PDF version of this report please contact our Communications Officer, Leo. If you have any questions please contact our Impact Analyst, Jocelyn. With thanks to the RSA group and participating charities. Home Introduction Participants How to use this report Explore the survey results 2) Salary and reward Key findings 76% of charities do external benchmarking for salaries but they use many different sources, demonstrating a need for a more applicable benchmarking source. 96% of charities consider an annual pay increase for employees. Only 23% of charities award bonuses. Questions Do you have salary bands and if so, are they based on external benchmarking? What is your source(s) for external benchmarking? Do you consider an annual pay increase for employees? How do you award pay increases? Do you award bonuses? How do you award bonuses? What is your average FTE salary by role? What are your minimum employee and employer pension contributions (%)? Describe any significant variations to the standard scheme, if any. Do you have salary bands and if so, are they based on external benchmarking? What is your source(s) for external benchmarking? Charities collectively reported using more than 30 different sources for external benchmarking of salaries, including consulting companies, surveys and recruitment/job advertisements. Do you consider an annual pay increase for employees? How do you award pay increases? Do you award bonuses? How do you award bonuses? What is your average FTE salary by role? (Write N/A if no staff in that role) Note that the number of charities for each size bracket and each role varies because sometimes charities skipped this question, skipped parts of the question, or they didn’t provide a salary for certain roles because they have no one at their charity in an equivalent role. What are your minimum employee and employer pension contributions (%)? Detailed information about the standard pension contribution requirements in the UK can be found here. The simple guideline is that the total minimum contribution must be 5%, where the employer must put at least 2% and the employee must contribute the rest to bring it up to 5%. Describe any significant variations to the standard scheme, if any. Some of the most common variations included: Enhanced employer contribution after passing probation or after a certain length of employment Staff receive a contribution from their employer of 5% or more and therefore are not required to contribute anything themselves Employer matches up to a certain percentage employee contribution (eg., 5% or 10%) Enhanced employer contribution for older employees (45 years or older) National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) Group personal pension plan for certain groups of employees Manage Cookie Preferences