- Conference
- 2026 National Community Conference and Seminar
- Date
- 5 November 2025
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes the research undertaken by the Charity Finance Group amongst charity leaders in March 2025 following the announcement that the rates of Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) would rise by 1.5% in April 2025 which outlined that:
1)81% of respondents said that the rise will have a negative impact on their ability to offer competitive benefits to staff, with 58% saying this impact will be ‘significant’;
2)69% of respondents said their charity had already started to reduce headcount or will in the near-term;
3)41% of respondents said they had already cancelled plans to take on new staff or launch new services that would have otherwise gone ahead, with a further 23% saying they are likely to do so in the near future.
This is a common thread throughout all our nations:
a)The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) notes that despite the Scottish Government announcing a pilot £60 million to be made available in multi-year funding for 45 organisations in 2025/26 and 2027/28, further commitments are needed as contained in SCVO’s Fair Funding Principles.
b)In Cymru/Wales the Cyngor Gweithredu Gwirfoddol Cymru/Wales Council for Voluntary Action reported in January 2025 that due to the rise in employer NICs 84% of their organisations were concerned about their ability to afford the rise, with 34% considering a reduction the number of full-time staff.
c)Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA), has also warned that jobs and services are at risk due to a lack of clarity on their Local Growth Fund.
Significantly, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) estimates the increase in NICs represents an additional financial strain on the sector of around £1.4 billion.
Conference further notes that these findings highlight what we, as Community members working in the sector, already know: there are few options left for charities to streamline operations or increase efficiency, as many cuts have already been made due to an operating environment impacted by the years of austerity and Covid-19.
Many of our employers have already begun to reduce staff and are cutting services, impacting on the ability of charities to support those who rely on the services we provide, as well as increasing the workload of Community members working within the sector.
Conference additionally notes that the precarity of the charitable sector provides both opportunities and threats for effective organising along with significant challenges to recruitment and retention of our members in Community.
Conference is concerned that, whilst the issues facing our colleagues across other service groups around funding cuts and the effects of austerity measures on public sector finance is well known, little exposure is given to the threats facing the future of services provided by Community members.
Conference, therefore, calls on the Community Service Group Executive to:
i)Work with UNISON Labour Link, the National Executive Council and other stakeholders including lobbying political parties in positions of power and influence in Scotland, Cymru/Wales and Northern Ireland for robust funding for charities to continue to provide essential services and jobs for our members.
ii)Work with Regional Community Committees and other UNISON structures with responsibility for Community members to highlight examples of funding deficits in public sector contracts which impact on our members and our employers ability to deliver key public services.
iii)Highlight examples of well-structured public sector contracts delivered by Community organisations which safeguard our members livelihoods, their terms and conditions and the services they deliver through all appropriate media.
iv)Work with and support campaigns for appropriate levels of funding initiated by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), the Wales Council for Voluntary Action/Cyngor Gweithredu Gwirfoddol Cymru and the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) where they mirror UNISON’s policies.