Charity chief executives earn an average of 18 per cent less than their private sector counterparts, according to a new report.

Charity Rewards, which was based on a survey of 268 charities and carried out in April this year, found that charity chief executives earned an average of £73,900 a year, compared with £90,000 in the private sector.

The survey, carried out by the pay survey specialist Croner Reward in association with the recruitment specialist Charity and Fundraising Appointments, found that the pay differentials decreased further down the scale, with junior managers earning only 2 per cent less than their private sector counterparts.

"The difference between payments at entry level is quite small," said Richard Whitehurst, marketing manager at Croner. "But the differential gets continuously worse the further up the pay scale you go."

The survey also found that 16 per cent of charities implemented a pay freeze over the past six months, compared with 14 per cent of commercial organisations. The proportion of charities imposing a freeze was up from 14 per cent last year.

In the voluntary sector the average pay rise was 2.5 per cent compared to 2.2 per cent in the private sector. The calculation included those who did not get a rise.