Not-for-profit organizations tend to pay a little less than commercial organizations, but the Church must always act equitably and justly. Do a market survey to make sure the parish is paying its staff adequately. The internet can be a very useful tool – you can use any number of salary comparison sites, or browse through similar job postings. Charity Village is a good resource for not-for-profit job postings.
As just and fair employers, churchwardens should apply the annual CPI adjustment to lay staff compensation levels; otherwise, they don’t keep pace with inflation. The Diocese uses the August over August CPI as published by Statistics Canada as the basis for the clergy and Diocesan Centre staff adjustments.
Lay staff should be compensated either on a salary or hourly basis, depending on the work situation. As a general rule, full-time staff should receive a salary, and you should only compensate on an hourly basis for casual employment.
Pension & Benefit Plans
Parishes may choose to offer the pension and benefit plans to employees who work more then 20 hours per week. If this is offered to one employee, it must be offered to all. To enroll parish staff in either the national pension fund or benefit plan, churchwardens must contact the Pension Office of the Anglican Church of Canada. The pension plan is a money-purchased plan requiring a deduction of 5% of gross salary from both the employee and employer. The cost of the benefits plan is shared equally between employee and employer. For more information about the pension and benefits plan of the National Church, please contact the General Synod Pension Office, 625 Church St., Suite 401, Toronto, ON, M4Y 2G1, Tel. 416-960-2484.