50 Comic Relief staff at risk of redundancy amid reorganisation

15 Aug 2022 News

More than 50 of Comic Relief’s employees face possible redundancy as part of the charity’s plans for a new strategy.

The charity began consulting its 160-170 staff last week on the strategy, which aims to ensure the organisation is “future fit”.

Comic Relief said it “expects a small number of employees to be leaving” but that it had offered more than half of those facing redundancy other roles at the charity.

It also said there were 29 new roles, to which anyone at risk of redundancy could apply.

The charity will consult its staff on the changes for another three weeks before launching its new strategy in September.

Plan to focus on ‘poverty timebomb’

Samir Patel, chief executive of Comic Relief, said the new plan will focus on daily poverty, with the charity doing more partnership work and reacting to urgent crises including food relief, emergency shelter and mental health support.

“We are facing a poverty timebomb with daily poverty rising at alarming levels. To ensure our charity can help as many people as possible we are launching a new plan of action to strengthen our work,” said Patel.

“As part of this we are making some internal changes to ensure we are future fit. Our mission to tackle poverty and help vulnerable families remains stronger than ever as we enter an unprecedented cost of living crisis.”

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