How we pay our people

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Our approach to pay

Our colleagues each play a vital role in helping Macmillan meet its ambition to reach everyone with cancer. We want to ensure they are supported to do their very best work and deliver real change for people with cancer. 

Attracting and retaining the people, skills and expertise our work requires is key to delivering our strategy. One of the ways we do this is by paying our colleagues a fair and competitive salary that reflects the demands of their role.  

Many of our colleagues hold professional qualifications and specialised experience that are in demand across a variety of sectors, including the health service, the corporate sector and other charities. We pay what the work requires, benchmarked carefully against the wider charity sector - not beyond it. 

We are accredited by the Living Wage Foundation and voluntarily pay at least the real London Living Wage for every role at Macmillan, no matter where in the UK the role is based. Our aim is to be an upper-quartile employer within the charity sector, because we believe that investing in the people who deliver our mission is one of the most responsible things we can do with the funds entrusted to us. 

We are committed to three key principles for pay: 

  • Equality and fairness. 
  • Responsible financial management. 
  • Market competitiveness in line with the wider charity sector. 

Reviewing pay

In July 2025, we awarded eligible colleagues a cost-of-living pay adjustment. The majority of colleagues received a 4% pay increase, with heads of teams and other leaders receiving 3% and directors and executive team members receiving 2%. These increases were calibrated to prioritise colleagues at the lower end of the pay scale. 

In 2026, for the first time, we are negotiating pay through collective bargaining with our recognised union partners and colleague representatives. 

We take a “total reward” approach, looking at factors beyond pay including flexible working, our employee assistance programme and other benefits. We have also pledged to be transparent about salary ranges for every role we advertise. 

Pay transparency

We believe transparency is part of paying fairly. That’s why we publish more than the law requires. As well as our statutory gender pay gap report, we voluntarily publish an inclusive pay gap report covering ethnicity, disability and sexuality. Where gaps exist, we name them and set out what we are doing to close them. 

You can read our latest gender and inclusive pay gap reports:

Executive pay

Our independent Board of Trustees, all of whom serve in a voluntary capacity, delegate the day-to-day running of Macmillan to our Executive Team. 
 
Our Chief Executive is responsible for every aspect of the work we do: from leading our partnerships with the NHS and other organisations to ensure the needs of people living with cancer are met, to overseeing the life-changing support we provide directly, and being accountable for the funds we raise every year. 

The Board of Trustees follow strict guidance to set the Chief Executive’s salary, considering factors including benchmarking against similar roles across the charity sector, wider pay data, salary surveys and current market analysis. In 2024, our Chief Executive earned between £190,001 and £200,000. 

In 2024, total earnings for members of Macmillan’s Executive Team (including benefits, employer pension contributions and termination payments) came to £1,802,000, a reduction of over £100,000 on the previous year (2023: £1,925,000). Our Chief Executive and Executive Team receive no additional allowances and have access to the same benefit options as all other colleagues. Further information about executive pay can be found in note 13 of our Annual Report. 

How your money makes a difference

The vast majority of what supporters give goes directly to supporting people living with cancer. We govern pay carefully so that every pound does as much as it can. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we are in a strong financial position – and that is what enables us to invest in cancer care for years to come. 

You can read more about how we spend your money in our Annual Report.