Despite good trading, enterprise can't contain growing staff costs
Up to a fifth of a disability charity’s workforce is at risk of redundancy as it struggles to balance the books for this financial year.
Dumfries-based Inspired Community Enterprise Trust Ltd, known as the Usual Place, celebrates its 10th Anniversary in June 2025 and says it has transformed the lives of hundreds of disabled people in the decade it has been operating.
However, the trustees issued a stement saying despite its national reputation and the overwhelming evidence of success, “we face an undeniable financial reality: we will never be able to make enough cups of tea to cover all our costs.”
While the charity’s café, venue hire, and events serve an average 3,000 customers per month and generate around £250,000 annually — growing year on year — rising costs, including a projected £25,000 increase in National Insurance and £26,000 in Real Living Wage costs from April, “are creating financial pressures we cannot ignore.”
The trustees say they are “heartbroken” to be entering a redundancy process, which will see a team of 31 dedicated staff reduce by 6.03 full-time equivalent (FTE) posts, which could include staff members with a disability.
Among these reductions are 2.6 FTE mentoring roles providing hands-on guidance to young people.
“To protect our mission, we are also continuing to make carefully considered operational changes to enhance both the learning experience for young people and the service we provide to our customers,” the trustees say.
Despite financial pressures, it is introducing table service technology in its cafe to streamline and improve its customer experience while advancing employability skills in a supportive, inclusive environment, the charity said.
It is also adjusting its approach to front-of-house mentorship to create a more “realistic and sustainable” training model and introducing structured placement and training charges for schools.
The trustees added: "We know these challenges are significant, but we also know that with the strength of our staff, our partners, funders, volunteers, supporters, café customers, and our community behind us, we will overcome them.
"Your continued belief in our work is what makes all of this possible. Together, we will emerge stronger, more resilient, and ready to support the next generation of young people."
