The growing disparity was evidenced by a survey of 629 people in the voluntary sector by CharityComms, the representative body for comms workers in charities, and recruitment consultancy TPP Not for Profit.
| Role | 2014 average salary (£) |
2013 | Change |
| Assistant/Co-ordinator | 21,676 | 22,850 | -5% |
| Executive/Officer | 27,340 | 26,972 | 1% |
| Senior Executive/Officer | 32,130 | 33,574 | -4% |
| Manager/Lead | 35,463 | 35,110 | 1% |
| Head of | 45,456 | 43,621 | 4% |
| Director | 58,052 | 56,517 | 3% |
Natalie Ponting from TPP Not For Profit said that one of the reasons for this disparity was the loss of junior level jobs due to financial difficulties faced by charities. She believed those junior roles had been dissolved, with responsibilities passed on to more senior employees or volunteers.
Ponting said: "That whole entry-level role has disappeared, which makes it difficult for new people getting into the sector."
The survey also showed large organisations are paying their comms staff more than last year but small and medium-sized organizations are paying less.
| Size of organisation | 2014 average salary (£) |
+/- overall average |
2013 | +/- overall average |
| Large | 37,232 | 6.5% | 35,141 | 1.9% |
| Medium | 32,281 | -7.8% | 34,634 | 0.5% |
| Small | 30,085 | -15.7% | 31,709 | -8.7% |
|
Overall |
34,796 | 34,468 |
Ponting said: "With a glut of exec-level candidates out there, small organisations simply don’t need to offer higher salaries to attract staff. They may also be trying to get more value for money by hiring more junior staff who can take on other responsibilities as well."
The survey also showed that the average salary for women is 15 per cent less than that for men.
