{"id":4732,"date":"2025-08-19T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cicp-pcpob\/?p=4732"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:13:36","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:13:36","slug":"unpaid-labour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/cicp-pcpob\/2025\/unpaid-labour\/","title":{"rendered":"Unpaid Labour in Canadian Charities: The Elephant in the Room"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n\n
\n
\n
\n

\n Unpaid Labour in Canadian Charities: The Elephant in the Room\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

In the charitable sector, going “above and beyond” isn\u2019t just a figure of speech, it\u2019s a workplace reality. Across Canada, many paid staff in charities are putting in extra hours without compensation or time off in return. The latest data<\/a> from the Charity Insights Canada Project (CICP) shows how deeply this unpaid labour is embedded in the sector, and how its impacts vary depending on the size and type of charity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, we published a blog<\/a> on this issue based on our March 2024 survey<\/a>. At the time, 53% of responding charities told us their paid staff were regularly working unpaid hours. This year’s data builds on that story –  offering more detail on where<\/em> and why<\/em> this is happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Common is Uncompensated Labour?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We asked charities – which departments or functions most often require staff to work overtime without pay or time in lieu. The top three: fundraising, communications, and program or service delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just over one-third (38%) of responding organizations said their staff don\u2019t work unpaid hours. Another 5% reported they have no paid staff, and 2% were unsure. When we exclude those two groups, the numbers are striking: 60% of charities with paid employees say their staff are working unpaid hours in one or more areas of their organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While a few respondents appeared to conflate unpaid labour with time-in-lieu arrangements, the core pattern remains clear: unpaid overtime is widespread and part of the work culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who\u2019s Most Affected? Size and Type of Charity Matter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unpaid labour doesn\u2019t affect all charities equally. Our findings show that smaller organizations are far more likely to rely on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charities with annual expenditures under $61,500 reported the highest rates of unpaid labour, while those with expenditures over $229,000 reported the lowest. This relationship between organizational size and unpaid labour is statistically significant X<\/em>2<\/sup> (2, N<\/em> = 779) = 9.47, p<\/em> = .0009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Differences also emerge across types of charities. Although these differences are not statistically significant, X<\/em>2<\/sup> (7, N<\/em> = 779) = 8.7, p<\/em> = .275, unpaid staff hours were reported slightly more in charities focused on health care, religion, and the arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why are Staff Working Without Pay?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also asked why staff are putting in unpaid time. The top three reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n