Company and community

9No requirement to choose between strategic control and being paid

Board members of a charity may generally only be paid where its constitution allows this and it can be justified as in the best interests of the charity. In practice, therefore, someone cannot both receive commercial payment for their services and retain strategic control over the direction of the charity: usually, those wishing to be paid for their work must hand over control of the organisation to a board made up of volunteers, which many founders will not wish to do.

In contrast, the founders of a community interest company can retain control over the business while being appointed and paid fairly for their work as directors of the company. As well as the founders themselves, it may be easier to attract additional high calibre individuals to the CIC through the offer of a measure of control alongside a salary set at a market rate.