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British Legion

(95 Posts)
Paperbackwriter Sat 26-Oct-24 11:23:23

I wear a white poppy for peace. Something much needed now. You can get them from the Peace Pledge Union. I'm not contributing to an organisation that's paying out to Stonewall.

Esmay Fri 25-Oct-24 17:50:48

I don't know about all the wasted millions , but I'm annoyed that the Royal British Legion wasted 100
,000 redesigning their iconic red poppy and pay 80,000 annually on the head of diversity .
Is there a whole diversity department ?
When asked they seemed not to know.
And so the wastage goes on ...

Allira Fri 25-Oct-24 12:38:49

Has anyone been to the Poppy Factory in Richmond?
It's very interesting, worth a visit.

www.poppyfactory.org/

Cossy Fri 25-Oct-24 12:34:02

Allira

The RBL will help those who are struggling.

The salaries are not out of the norm and probably less than could be earned in industry.
How would these people pay their bills if they worked for free?

Very valid point!

Allira Fri 25-Oct-24 12:31:29

The RBL will help those who are struggling.

The salaries are not out of the norm and probably less than could be earned in industry.
How would these people pay their bills if they worked for free?

glammagran Fri 25-Oct-24 12:30:29

They also give £10,000pa to Stonewall.

Esmay Fri 25-Oct-24 12:12:40

It's left a bitter taste as many people are struggling to pay for their food and heating bills .
It isn't just the British Legion , who have been criticised for staff salaries other charities have as well .

Allira Fri 25-Oct-24 12:05:22

It was hard work , but so enjoyable and I thought a very worthy cause
It is and well done 🙂

Allira Fri 25-Oct-24 12:04:42

even so it's left a bitter taste in my mouth

Why?

Esmay Fri 25-Oct-24 12:01:05

I just read that the British Legion raised
48 million and spent 37 million pounds .
I suspend my belief in these figures , but
even so it's left a bitter taste in my mouth .
I must say that my reaction is surely not .
I was really fortunate with my pitch being very comfortable .
I sat in Marks and Spencers every day for a fortnight and the staff were so sweet to me bringing me teas and snacks .
It was hard work , but so enjoyable and I thought a very worthy cause .

NotSpaghetti Fri 25-Oct-24 03:23:21

This doesn't seem "over the top"

Poppy Appeal Manager - Hampshire North
The Royal British Legion
Basingstoke, Hampshire (On-site)
£28,458 to £31,620 per annum
Full-time
Permanent

Esmay Fri 25-Oct-24 00:51:53

glammagran -
I'm really appalled at these high salaries .
My friend and I have raised a great deal of money for the poppy appeal .
I haven't been able to do it as I haven't felt well enough .
I have felt so guilty over it .
She has continued .

Georgesgran Fri 25-Oct-24 00:14:05

I’ve got to agree with others. To front a large organization takes certain skills and there’s competition in the market, so decent payment has to be on offer.
It doesn’t bother me now and doesn’t affect my donations to those causes I think merit them.
I’m not sure employing celebrities makes much difference to donations though and could have the opposite effect.

Ziplok Thu 24-Oct-24 20:33:50

I was going to say the same, Jackiest - I think all the big charities give large salaries to some of their employees. Not sure how this will ever change, as it could be argued that charities need to attract quality staff to promote their charity and bring in money by offering decent salaries to these people.
Like flappergirl I wonder why, though, it’s felt that paying celebrities huge sums is a good idea? Does their endorsement really bring in more money by attracting ordinary folk like you and me to give? I suppose it must do or they wouldn’t use them? (Although, in all honesty, I can’t say that my charitable contributions have been influenced by those charities using a celebrity to endorse their cause, but rather because I think their charity deserves a contribution from me).

flappergirl Thu 24-Oct-24 20:19:54

It's always a difficult one this. People who run charities full time obviously have to be salaried and if they paid less they would not attract quality staff. I was rather more disillusioned when I discovered that most charity Patrons (I'm talking about celebrities that front advertising campaigns) get paid hefty sums for it. That does rather stick in the throat.

Jackiest Thu 24-Oct-24 19:39:12

I think this is much the same for all the big Charities which why I try to give to little local charities.

Allira Thu 24-Oct-24 19:34:59

You can check for yourself what that percentage is.

The Royal British Legion raises money to help veterans and their families and many volunteers give of their time freely and willingly to raise money, not just for the Poppy Appeal.

To attract the right people, charities have to pay decent salaries and employing people in key positions is essential as they cannot be run on fresh air and by volunteers alone.

Thank goodness there are so many people out there who are not mean-spirited.

Cossy Thu 24-Oct-24 19:18:42

I always find this kind of thing hard, but then high positions deserve good salaries to get the best people.

It’s always been a quandary for me, I will continue to support them.

Jaxjacky Thu 24-Oct-24 19:15:27

What would you think is a reasonable salary for the responsibility?

glammagran Thu 24-Oct-24 18:19:43

I don’t think I’ll bother buying a poppy this year. I’ve just seen part of the salary bill for employees. I averaged out the salaries at the midway point so it isn’t completely accurate. But even so the employees earning £60,000+ alone mean they are earning £4,675,000 between them.

The Royal British Legion has several employees earning over £60,000 annually:

- **£60k to £70k**: 32 employees
- **£70k to £80k**: 11 employees
- **£80k to £90k**: 11 employees
- **£90k to £100k**: 2 employees
- **£100k to £110k**: 1 employee
- **£110k to £120k**: 2 employees
- **£120k to £130k**: 2 employees
- **£130k to £140k**: 1 employee
- **£150k to £200k**: 1 employee[3].

Citations:
[1] Royal British Legion Pay Rate 2024 - Breakroom www.breakroom.cc/en-gb/employers/royal-british-legion/pay
[2] Royal British Legion | Know Before You Apply - Breakroom www.breakroom.cc/en-gb/employers/royal-british-legion
[3] About the register of charities - prd-ds-register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/about-the-register-of-charities/-/charity-details/219279
[4] Membership FAQs| Charity Membership | Royal British Legion www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/things-to-do/membership/membership-faqs
[5] Royal British Legion - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_British_Legion
[6] The Royal British Legion Jobs | CharityJob www.charityjob.co.uk/organisation/the-royal-british-legion
[7] Credit their Service|Poppyscotland www.poppyscotland.org.uk/about-us/campaigns-advocacy-policy/credit-their-service
[8] People and Legal | Our Roles | Royal British Legion www.britishlegion.org.uk/quick-links/careers/our-roles/people-and-legal