Three of the UK's largest charities have sparked fury after it emerged white employees were being paid less than their counterparts from ethnic minorities.
Despite claims of upholding equality and fairness in the workplace, Oxfam was shown to pay white staff 33 per cent less than those who described themselves as "black or a person of colour".
Cancer Research UK and the British Red Cross also admitted they pay white employees up to a third less than black employees, as well as other ethnic minority groups, The Telegraph revealed.
While Cancer Research UK paid white staff 7.6 per cent less on average in 2025, the British Red Cross's paid ethnic minorities 11.4 per cent more.
As a result, senior politicians have raised concerns over the "preferential treatment or discrimination" through positive action schemes in the workplace against white people, including measures set out in the Equality Act.
James Wild, the Shadow Culture Minister, explained that workers should be rewarded based on their "talent and hard work regardless of their background or ethnicity".
"Fairness means ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed, not preferential treatment or discrimination that puts others at an unfair disadvantage," he told The Telegraph, favouring a system embedded in meritocracy.
Meanwhile, Suella Braverman, Reform UK’s equalities spokeswoman, told issue with the Equality Act, ripping into "rampant positive action schemes actively discriminating against white, working-class Britons".
She further warned the system could lead to "certain groups gaining an upper hand when it comes to the jobs market".
"This is simply unacceptable. We cannot live in a society that values thoughts and feelings over merit," she fumed.
Oxfam, the global confederation of 21 independent organisations fighting global poverty, explained that only 70 per cent of its workforce shared their ethnicity when filling out the necessary questionnaire.
They added a "skew in the pay gap" could have been caused by more ethnic minorities in higher-paid jobs disclosed their ethnicity, while poorer-paid staff elected not to share that information.
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Still, the charity admitted its report indicated that white staff had an overall lower pay than their non-white peers.
Cancer Research UK said the pay gap was "the closest to being neutral it has ever been", blaming the discrepancy on having more white staff in lower-paid roles.
Insisting the data did not show the "full picture", the organisation further explained that if the data discounted retail workers, white employees were paid slightly more.
A spokesman said it was "committed to building an inclusive and diverse culture for all our people".
A spokesman for Oxfam said the charity remained "committed to fair, inclusive recruitment practices that value diversity and ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
"We do not operate a policy of positive discrimination," he explained, clarifying the reported pay gap did not indicate unequal pay.
Meanwhile, Katy Seaman, Cancer Research UK's HR director, said: "Cancer Research UK pays people equally for like-for-like work across the charity. We don’t target a particular pay gap figure. Appointments and promotions are made through fair, merit-based and competitive processes."
And finally, a spokesman for the British Red Cross said the organisation's "priority is to ensure people are paid fairly for the work they do and that our workforce reflects the communities we serve", reiterating its commitment to equal pay.
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