RSPCA has announced it is offering voluntary severance to staff after its annual cost of caring for animals rose by £17m between 2020 and 2024.
The organisation said the decision, which comes as a tough operating environment has threatened many charities’ financial sustainability, was being taken as an attempt to head off having to make widespread compulsory redundancies.
RSPCA’s most recent accounts for 2024 showed it recording a net expenditure – of just under £10m – for the first time since 2020, when it made almost 300 staff redundant.
A voluntary severance package is now being offered to all permanent employees except executive directors, the charity said in a statement issued on 23 October.
Decisions on which staff will leave will be taken by the end of 2025.
RSPCA told Civil Society no further details around likely reductions in posts were available at this time.
‘Rising costs and difficult fundraising environment’
Shān Nicholas, RSPCA’s interim chief executive, said the charity was “exploring measures to tackle the challenge of balancing rising costs and a difficult fundraising environment to ensure we can continue to deliver our critical animal welfare services now and in the future”.
In March, Nicholas was among a number of charity leaders warning they were having to make cutbacks amid high energy bills, soaring prices for essential goods and the increase in employer national insurance contributions (NICs).
Announcing the voluntary severance scheme, Nicholas said the NIC rise had “added £1.8m to our bill”, with inflation and high energy costs increasing the pressure on its finances at a time when sector-wide donations are slowing.
“We have also seen the number of animals in our care grow; we are caring for double the amount of dogs since the pandemic, many of whom need longer, more complex rehabilitation,” Nicholas said.
She said the £17m growth in animal care costs was being fuelled by veterinary bills going up and the increased need to pay for private boarding because the RSPCA’s own shelters were full.
The charity said it had dealt with record numbers of animals suffering from cruelty and neglect over summer 2025.
Expenditure outstrips income
RSPCA’s latest accounts show income for the year ending 31 December 2024 was £152.5m, while its expenditure was £174.4m.
The charity’s net expenditure, after factoring in gains and losses on its investments, was £9.5m, after posting a net income in 2023, 2022 and 2021.
The cost of field animal welfare grew from £98.7m in 2023 to £109.2m in 2024, while fundraising expenditure rose from £26.7m to £35.2m, its annual report said.
Contributions and donations fell also slightly in 2024 to £44.2m compared with £46.3m in 2023, although legacy income rose from £83.9m to £89.7m.
From 2023 to 2024, RSPCA’s average organisational headcount grew from 1,687 to 1,934, including casual staff, the annual report said.
Besides the factors mentioned in this week’s announcement, the report said “transformational programmes and strategic investments” aimed at ensuring RSPCA’s financial stability and increased impact for animal welfare had pushed up spending.
“We have taken the decision to offer staff a voluntary severance package so we can try to manage costs in a compassionate and proactive way,” Nicholas said. “We want to act now to reduce the need for compulsory redundancies.”
