The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is moving to close a budget deficit of half a million pounds
Scotland’s voluntary sector umbrella body is set to be rocked by a spate of redundancies – with up to 17 permanent members of staff and 14 posts put at risk.
Management made the announcement at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) this morning (Tuesday, 12 May).
A voluntary process had already been opened up as the organisation moves to close a budget deficit of half a million pounds.
However, SCVO staff were told that this – and a redundancy process opened up in the umbrella group’s Connecting Scotland, Digital Inclusion, Funding Scotland and facilities operations - “did not deliver sufficient savings”.
Therefore, SCVO’s leadership said it had proposed a “restructure” to the board, which has been agreed.
This will result in seven more people now being placed at risk of redundancy.
In total, 17 permanent workers now face the prospect of being made redundant, while four staff on fixed term contracts will not have their contracts renewed or extended in their current roles.
Concurrently, SCVO has created five roles, with a sixth to be created as a result of the restructure.
All of these roles are, according to management, an attempt to “improve our offer and generate income”.
People at risk of redundancy will have the opportunity to apply for the five jobs currently advertised.
Those under threat have been spoken to informally, but a formal process will now begin.
The restructure will also involve some posts moving around and changes to the line management structure, which will impact across the organisation.
Staff have been told that when this process ends, there will be no more compulsory redundancies before 2027.
In an email, chief executive Anna Fowlie added: “and hopefully none after that, unless external funding comes to an unexpected end.”
A spokesperson for SCVO said: "We can confirm that a redundancy process is underway. We will be consulting in line with our organisational policies and all staff will be supported in this."
