Royal Mail employees raised a record-breaking £2.6 million through payroll giving in the last financial year, up almost £440,000 on the previous year.

Around 50,000 employees at the organisation make monthly payroll donations – at a rate of £295 an hour. More than 850 charities have benefited from the scheme at the Royal Mail, the main beneficiary being ‘Help the Hospices’, which has received almost £250,000 through payroll giving in the last year.

As a result of the results, Royal Mail has set itself the target of raising £5 million a year through payroll by 2013.

Kay Allen, head of social policy at Royal Mail Group said: “With almost 50,000 employees signed up to our scheme, eight per cent of the UK’s payroll givers work at Royal Mail. Each and every one of our ‘payroll posties’ should be congratulated on their efforts.”

A recent Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) study revealed that 21 per cent of people across the country give no money to charity at all.

Maurice Cheng, chief executive of the IPP, said: “Charitable donations deducted straight from workers’ salaries are a remarkably effective way to raise money for good causes – yet hugely under-exploited. With many payroll professionals keen to introduce similar systems in their own companies, we would urge all local employers to find out more about how they can help their staff donate to good cause – tax and hassle-free.”