A prominent refugee charity has cut almost a fifth of its jobs after seeing a drop in its core income sources.
Refugee Action confirmed this week that 20 people from its 93-strong workforce left the charity, some through voluntary redundancy, after a restructure which ended in May this year.
A spokesperson said that some staff had to leave partially due to the imminent end of government-funded programmes such as the Homes for Ukraine and Afghanistan resettlement schemes.
They added that the number of people welcomed under the UK Resettlement Scheme remained “depressingly low”.
Tim Naor Hilton, Refugee Action chief executive, said that the make-up of his charity’s finances had changed significantly due to wider sector pressures.
Posting to LinkedIn, Naor Hilton said that attacks on his charity’s cause had led to more caution from donors and a drop in “core sources of income”, such as the resettlement contracts.
“We have just gone through a process of restructuring to ensure our work going forwards is financially sustainable,” he said. “This has been a very painful and difficult process.
“As a result, a number of very valued colleagues have left Refugee Action and we have also reduced or closed some of our much-needed activities.”
Refugee Action’s income dropped by over 40% to £6.86m in the year to March 2025, its accounts show, while its expenditure was £8.11m.
The decline was driven by a £4.24m drop in restricted income, mainly due to the end of its government-backed Homes for Ukraine projects across the country.
Meanwhile, public donations dropped by more than a fifth to £2.61m that year.
In its 2024-25 accounts, chair Penny Lawrence said that the past year had been one of “immense challenge”.
Other refugee charities have reported financial challenges recently, such as Working Families which announced last month that it would shut after 47 years.
