Acevo has produced a briefing for chief executives on how to respond to press enquiries about their salary levels.

Created by the Impact Coalition, the guide offers useful facts to use when discussing pay and suggested answers to difficult questions.

It suggests that, when asked how much they earn, CEOs openly answer the question and refer to the fact that this is publicly available as part of Sorp requirements.

It adds: “It is equally important to contextualise your salary by talking about your responsibilities, the size and complexity of your organisation, your skills, average salaries in the sector, how your salary is determined, and volume of work.”

Hutton review

The guide’s release comes in the wake of Will Hutton’s Interim Review of Fair Pay in the Public Sector, which assesses the idea of capping the pay of the highest earner to a ratio of 20:1 above the lowest salary.

Writing in his blog, Acevo chief executive Stephen Bubb (pictured) revealed that the pay ratio in his organisation is a respectable 6:1, and added: “Let's beware the hair shirt brigade. Our sector must also be able to recruit top talent.

“We should be out and proud at the way pay has advanced in our sector. We cannot return to the days when people on retirement took a charity CEO job on small salaries as a boost to their pension.”

Under the guest-editorship of former Charity Commission chief executive Andrew Hind, Charity Finance is conducting research into pay ratio levels in the charity sector. Please take part here.