Trustee payment tool
Charity trustee payment and benefit checker
Use this before trustees approve a payment, benefit, goods or services arrangement, employment decision, trustee-duty payment, loss-of-earnings compensation, connected-person supplier, or expense route. The checker follows Charity Commission CC11 themes, but it is not legal advice, accounting advice, audit advice, tax advice, employment advice, procurement advice, investment advice, governance advice, or a Charity Commission authority decision.
Payment contexts6Goods and services, connected persons, employment, trustee duties, loss of earnings, expenses, high-value arrangements, and Commission-authority cases.
Evidence checks10Weighted around payment classification, governing document checks, best interests, reasonableness, written agreement, minority condition, conflicts, disclosure, records, and monitoring.
Official sourceCC11Links point to Charity Commission trustee payment and benefit guidance for England and Wales.
Data entryLocal onlyInputs run in the browser and are not submitted. Do not paste trustee personal details into this page.
1. Payment context
2. Trustee payment evidence
3. Warning signs
Official sources to check
- Charities paying a trustee or a connected person: understand the rules (CC11) is the Charity Commission overview for England and Wales.
- Paying a trustee or a connected person for providing goods or services to the charity explains statutory-power conditions, written agreements, conflicts, minority condition, and disclosure.
- Employing a trustee or connected person should be checked when the route is employment or a paid role.
- Paying a trustee for carrying out trustee duties should be checked before paying for governance duties.
- Compensating a trustee for loss of earnings and other types of trustee payments cover additional routes that may need different evidence.
Related trustee tools
- Charity conflicts of interest checker for declaration, withdrawal, quorum, register, policy, and best-interest records.
- Charity internal financial controls checker for supplier, expense, payment approval, reconciliation, and related-party controls.
- Charity accounts filing checker for annual return timing and public accounts context.
- Charity serious incident reporting checker for unauthorised payment, financial loss, governance, or fraud escalation signals.
What this checker should prevent
- Treating trustee employment, trustee duties, audit work, or connected-person benefits as ordinary supplier services.
- Paying a trustee or connected person without checking governing document wording, authority, minority condition, conflicts, and written agreement requirements.
- Letting a conflicted trustee take part in discussion, decision, agreement changes, or quorum for their own payment route.
- Missing accounts disclosure and public-record implications before approving a trustee or connected-person payment.