Glossary

Plain-English definitions for every workplace-giving term you'll see across this site.

Charity Commission: The independent UK regulator for charities in England and Wales.
Charity of the Year: A programme where a company supports one chosen charity for 12 months across all giving and fundraising activity.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): A self-regulating business model under which a company commits to operate ethically and contribute to social wellbeing.
Direct Debit: A bank-to-charity payment method where the donor authorises a recurring withdrawal from their account. Less tax-efficient than Payroll Giving for higher-rate taxpayers.
Diamond Award: The highest tier of the UK Payroll Giving Quality Mark — for employers with 20%+ staff participation in Payroll Giving.
Donor: The person making a charitable donation.
ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance — a framework for assessing a company's non-financial performance and impact.
Gift Aid: A UK tax incentive that lets registered charities reclaim 25p of basic-rate tax on every £1 donated by a UK taxpayer from net pay.
Give As You Earn (GAYE): The original name for Payroll Giving in the UK, still in common use.
Gross pay: An employee's pay before income tax and National Insurance are deducted. Payroll Giving deducts from gross pay, which is what makes it tax-efficient.
HMRC: His Majesty's Revenue and Customs — the UK's tax authority.
Matched giving: Where an employer matches their employees' charitable donations, typically 1:1 up to an annual cap.
Payroll Giving: A scheme that lets UK employees donate to registered charities directly from their gross pay, with immediate income tax relief.
Payroll Giving Agency (PGA): An HMRC-approved organisation that processes Payroll Giving donations on behalf of employers and routes them to chosen charities.
Payroll Giving Quality Mark: A UK government recognition scheme that rewards employers who run a successful Payroll Giving programme. Tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond.
Section 50 ERA 1996: Section 50 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 — gives employees the right to *unpaid* time off for specified public duties. The closest UK statutory cousin to volunteer leave (which is fully discretionary).
Skills-based volunteering: Volunteering where the volunteer applies their professional skills (legal, design, accounting, marketing) to a charity, rather than doing manual or general help.
SMB: Small and medium-sized business. In the UK typically defined as fewer than 250 employees.
Volunteer Time Off (VTO): US/global term for paid volunteer leave — leave the employer pays for, used by the employee for charitable or community work.
Workplace giving: Umbrella term for all charitable giving organised through an employer — donations, matched giving, paid volunteering, fundraising events, Charity of the Year programmes.