Does the charity sector have an employment problem?

Increasing evidence is surfacing that the charity sector is facing a recruitment and retention crisis as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Employment experts are reporting dwindling numbers of candidates applying for an increasing number of jobs, as charities face a potential ‘exodus’ of staff due to increasing pressures of the job.

 

Burnout is a key factor, especially after months of supporting communities impacted by the health crisis. Low pay is also blighting the sector, according to latest reports.

 

Here we look at some of the emerging evidence and find out to what extent the charity sector has an employment problem.

 

 

Number applicants fall by more than three quarters

 

Online voluntary sector employment website CharityJob has revealed some startling figures around a slump in the number of candidates applying for jobs.

 

Based on analysis of 40,000 job postings, it found that the number applying for each job had fallen from 100 in May 2020 to just 24 in July 2021.

 

This is also well below the pre-pandemic average of nearly 40 applications per job.

 

“The shortage of candidates is a concern, as charities that can’t fill their vacancies might be unable to do vital work,” warns CharityJob Founder and Chief Executive Steve Wexler.

 

Charity Job Research Manager Martin Rogers added that one of the areas of the charity sector particularly affected is fundraising. He said: “Before the pandemic, fundraising jobs were the most popular on CharityJob by a relatively large margin. Whilst they are still the most numerous roles, they have reduced proportionally over the past 18 months.”

 

 

Care sector facing ‘historic’ jobs crisis

 

Among the hardest hit are care charities, particularly those that run care homes.

 

In September 2021, for example care charities and housing associations wrote an open letter to the government warning of “the most acute recruitment and retention crisis that we are aware of historically”.

 

This has been caused by “many years of underfunding in the sector, compounded by a number of other factors including some staff exhausted from the pandemic”, the letter adds.

 

The open letter was signed by the chief executives of a number of housing and care organisations the National Care Forum, The Orders of St John Care Trust, and MHA Methodist Homes.

 

They also warn that staff turnover in the sector is around 30% “and rising”.

 

The letter’s signatories are calling for a retention bonus for care staff, in recognition of their “dedication” during the COVID-19 health crisis.

 

Care workers should also be added to the government’s list of occupations with shortages, to enable more overseas workers to obtain visas to work in the sector.

 

A Workforce Capacity Fund should also be created to tackle immediate recruitment and retention issues, their letter says.

 

 

Burnout fears

 

Burnout is a problem across the charity sector, in particular in fundraising roles, warns a report by consultancy Lark Owl.

 

“Overwhelm, overwork and burnout was a key theme,” said Lark Owl’s report, which involved the views of 45 charities.

 

“We have to ask ourselves if this is sustainable, especially amidst a crisis in recruitment where too few charities are able to secure the talented fundraisers they so desperately need.”

 

One respondent told Lark Owl that “the pace of work has increased and there seems to be no let up! Expectations are high”.

 

Further burnout fears have been raised by charity sector union Community, especially as in October 2021 the £20 uplift to Universal Credit, brought in during the COVID-19 pandemic, came to an end.

 

Community fears this will ramp up demand and lead to a “mass exodus” of overworked charity sector staff.

“Our members who work in the charity sector love their jobs, but they’re exhausted and there is only so much more they can take. The cut to Universal Credit could be the final blow that will see many flee the sector,” says Community National Secretary Adrian Axtell

 

 

Poor pay is another concern

 

A lack of competitive salaries is also driving recruitment problems, research by the Living Wage Foundation suggests.

 

It found that under a fifth of charity workers earn below the living wage, a rate that has not improved in the last five years.

 

The Foundation’s research found that 17% of workers in the third sector, including charities, social enterprises, pressure groups, and universities, earn below the real living wage, which is £9.50 outside of London and £10.85 in the capital.

 

Women and those from ethnic minorities are particularly impacted by low pay. While 13% of men earn less than the real living wage, this increases to 19% among women.

 

The found that 20% of workers from ethnic minorities are paid below the living wage, compared to 17% of their white colleagues.

 

Meanwhile, 20% of those with disabilities earn below the living wage compared to 15% of those without a disability.

 

The Foundation warns that pay could fall further as charities struggle to increase salaries, as they look to recoup income lost amid the pandemic.

 

Pay is already falling in the international aid sector, according to CharityJob’s report. It found that the average annual salary in this sector had dropped by just under £1,500.

 

Such evidence suggests the charity sector is facing potentially mounting employment challenges in the coming years, unless salaries increase and there is a greater focus on tackling burnout.