Scientology’s UK executives paid £70 per week, accounts show

Accounts filed by the Church of Scientology’s UK operating arm show its top six ‘key management personnel’ were paid an average of just £70 per week last year, its latest accounts show.

Due to recent changes in legislation the Church of Scientology Religious Education College Incorporated (COSRECI), the Australian-registered charity through which Scientology channels its UK operations, had to declare the number of executives who received remuneration in its 2023 accounts filed on 19th July 2024. The filings show Scientology paid 6 of its top staff a total of $43,062 AUD (£21,927 GBP / $28,000 USD) last year, which works out to be an average of $138 AUD (£70 GBP / $89 USD) per week, per person.

It has been widely reported by former members that Sea Org staff, who sign one billion year contracts and fulfil the executive and management roles within Scientology, are expected to work 12+ hour days, 7 days a week and are paid an average of just $50 (USD) per week. It is unclear whether this suggests that Scientology have increased staff pay or whether it is a discrepancy due to currency conversions or other reasons.

Scientology’s UK operations are accounted for by the Australian-registered COSRECI, which operates exclusively in the United Kingdom due to tax advantages. The controversial group were denied tax exemption in 1999 after the Charity Commission ruled it did not benefit the public, meaning it was liable to pay VAT on the sales of books and courses in the UK. However in 2000 it was granted an exemption by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) because its services were deemed to be “educational and non-profitable”, resulting in an £8million rebate in overpaid tax.

Its accounts are filed annually with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) despite operating overseas, and due to recent changes to Australian charity law Scientology were required for the first time to declare the number of ‘key management personnel’ who were remunerated in the previous year.

According to the ACNC website, key management personnel are “the people with authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of an entity, directly or indirectly, including any director (whether executive or otherwise) of that entity.” It lists the CEO, trustees and board members as examples of key management personnel.

It goes on to state “remuneration includes all forms of consideration paid, payable or provided by the charity, or on behalf of the charity, in exchange for services rendered to the charity. This includes:

wages, salaries and employer superannuation contributions, paid annual leave and paid sick leave and bonuses
non-monetary or fringe benefits such as medical care, housing, cars and free or subsidised goods or services
post-employment benefits such as pensions, other retirement benefits, post-employment life insurance and post-employment medical care
long-service leave or sabbatical leave, jubilee or other long-service benefits, long-term disability benefits
termination benefits.”

COSRECI stated it paid 6 management personnel in the period 1st January – 31 December 2023 a total of $43,062 AUD which equates to an average annual salary of just $7,177 AUD (£3,653 GBP / $4,683 USD). In the same year, the UK National Minimum Wage was set at £10.42 per hour, or £20,590 per year for a 38-hour work week.

In February, we reported Scientology considers its workers ‘religious volunteers’ and as such do not receive a salary or payment for their contributions. Instead, staff members receive a weekly allowance described as “pocket money” in their employment contract. However unlike volunteers at a food bank or homeless shelter, staff are given job titles and responsibilities and are expected to work full time, which we believe suggests they are therefore eligible to receive minimum wage under UK labour laws.

COSRECI also updated it’s estimated number of volunteers, which had been reported annually as 700 for over a decade. Now, Scientology claims it has 1,180 volunteers in the UK, meaning around 63% of British Scientologists work for the Church in some capacity based on census data.

The accounts were filed with the ACNC on 19th July 2024, twenty days after the 29 June deadline and will be available for public view on their website shortly.