Charities and the public sector

The biggest differences between a charity job and a public sector job are pay structure, pension and how secure the funding is. Councils, the NHS, schools and the Civil Service pay on national or departmental scales with defined benefit pensions. Charities set their own pay, usually offer a defined contribution pension, and often depend on grants or contracts that run for a fixed number of years. The day-to-day work can be very similar, and many charities deliver services that a council or NHS body pays for.

Who employs you and who pays for the work

A lot of what people think of as public services is delivered by charities. Councils commission charities to run domestic abuse services, homelessness projects, youth work and carers’ support. NHS bodies commission charities and social enterprises for community health, hospice care, mental health support and drug and alcohol services. Some schools work with charities for mentoring or family support.

When you work for a charity on one of these contracts, your employer is the charity, not the council or the NHS. Your pay and conditions come from the charity’s own policies, even if you sit in a council building and work alongside council staff.

Pay

Public sector pay follows published scales. From 1 April 2026, NHS band 5 in England starts at £32,073, the council NJC spine runs from £25,614 at SCP 3 to £56,293 at SCP 43, and qualified teachers outside London start at £34,069 from 1 September 2026. Progression through the scale is usually automatic or close to it, and an annual pay award applies to everyone on the scale.

Charities vary widely. Large national charities often have their own pay frameworks and annual reviews. Some smaller charities link their pay to the NJC spine, because their funders do. Others set pay job by job, and a pay rise depends on the charity’s finances that year. Some charities are accredited Living Wage employers, committing to pay at least the Real Living Wage of £14.10 an hour (£15.45 in London) from the 2026/27 rates announced on 15 October 2026. The Real Living Wage guide explains how that differs from the legal minimum.

Pension: the largest gap

This is where public sector jobs pull furthest ahead.

	Public sector (example)	Typical charity
Scheme type	Defined benefit, career average	Defined contribution
Employer contribution	NHS 23.7% in total; TPS 28.68%	Legal minimum 3% of qualifying earnings, often more
Your contribution	Set by pay tier, e.g. NHS 6.5% to 8.3% for many band 3 to 5 staff	Varies; minimum 5% of qualifying earnings including tax relief
What you get	A guaranteed pension based on your earnings each year	A pot whose value depends on contributions and investment returns

The auto-enrolment minimum is 8 per cent of qualifying earnings in total, with at least 3 per cent from the employer. Qualifying earnings for 2026/27 are earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 a year. Many charities pay more than the minimum, but few come close to the public sector employer rates.

Some charities, particularly former council services, are admitted bodies in the Local Government Pension Scheme, and some providers of NHS services have access to the NHS Pension Scheme. If you are comparing a charity job with a public one, ask which pension you would be in. The guide to workplace pension auto-enrolment explains the minimum rules. Whether a pension difference outweighs a pay difference is a personal decision, and a regulated financial adviser can help.

Holiday, sick pay and other terms

NHS staff on Agenda for Change get 27 days’ annual leave plus 8 public holidays on appointment, rising with service. Council staff get at least 23 days plus 8 public holidays and 2 extra-statutory days. Occupational sick pay in the NHS and councils rises to six months’ full pay and six months’ half pay after five years.

Charity terms range from the statutory minimum (5.6 weeks’ holiday including bank holidays, and Statutory Sick Pay of £123.25 a week) to packages that match or beat the public sector. Many charities offer good flexible working and generous family leave even where pay is lower. Ask to see the staff handbook before you accept an offer.

Job security and funding

Public sector jobs are not immune to cuts, but most posts are permanent and funded from ongoing budgets. Charity posts are more often tied to a specific grant or contract. When the grant ends or a council re-tenders a contract and a different provider wins, the job may go or move.

Fixed-term contracts are common in charities. Fixed-term employees must not be treated less favourably than permanent staff, and after four years on successive fixed-term contracts you normally become permanent unless the employer can justify keeping you on a fixed term. The guide to public sector job security compares the risks.

When services move between sectors

Services move both ways. A council might bring a contracted service back in-house, or an NHS body might hand a service to a charity or social enterprise. When this happens, TUPE usually applies: your employment transfers to the new employer on your existing terms and conditions, including pay and most contractual benefits. Pension rights are handled separately and are more complicated; public sector staff transferring out often have protection that lets them keep access to a public scheme or an equivalent. The TUPE guide explains what transfers and what does not.

Moving between the two

Many people move between charities and the public sector during their careers. Experience in either counts for applications in the other. What does not always carry over is service-linked entitlement. Your NHS or council service may not count towards leave or sick pay if you join a charity, and charity service usually does not count towards public sector entitlements, though some NHS employers have discretion to recognise relevant previous service. Ask the new employer’s HR team before you resign.