Working in the Voluntary Sector Thoria Mohamed May 2012

Definition of the voluntary sector Registered charities that are voluntary, formal, independent, not for profit, self-governed, and for public benefit A major employer (2.7% of the UK workforce) compare to: 25% who work for public sector employers 72% who work for private sector employers Higher level of job satisfaction amongst employees within the voluntary sector, than in both the public and private sectors

Voluntary sector funding Lottery grants Grants made by central government departments and local authorities Trust Donation Local regional and national fundraising activities

The Current picture of the sector Government proposed cap on tax reliefs for charities Increased demand and reduced funding and support Fundraising has been harder in the past year Government spending cuts has result in a net reduction across all income streams experienced by the majority of charities One fifth of charities are now considering merger as a means of survival

Number of people working in the voluntary sector 765,000 people employed in the UK voluntary sector The current recession had an impact on employment as there is a significant decrease of 70,000 people working in the voluntary sector (8.7%) has been shown 2011

The impact of recession on employment in the voluntary sector A number of voluntary sector work programmes and funding streams came to an end by March 2012 Around one-third of voluntary sector leaders had actual plans to decrease paid staff within their organisation over the next three months

The work force in the voluntary sector More than two-thirds (68%) of the voluntary sector workforce are women Though they are under-representative at the higher managerial/professional level Large number of voluntary sector employees living in London and the South-East (high number of charities who have headquarters within this area), though activities are throughout the UK and across the world

Type of work More than half (57%) of the voluntary sector workforce were employed in health and social work Examples are, child day-care, social work activities for the elderly and disabled, residential care activities for people with learning disabilities, mental health and substance abuse

Jobs security in the voluntary sector (91%) voluntary sector employees were on permanent contracts. Comparable to the private and public sectors had a higher proportion of employees on permanent contracts (95% and 92% respectively) More than six in every ten (62%) temporary workers within the voluntary sector were on a fixed-term contract Within the voluntary sector, 35% of those employees on temporary contracts were on a contract lasting less than one year. An additional 18% of temporary employees within the voluntary sector were on contracts lasting between one and two years

Skills required in the voluntary sector? Voluntary sector employees were highly qualified (37%) holding a degree level qualification or higher Though these qualifications were not totally related to job roles (18%) of voluntary sector employers reported that they have staff with skills gaps

Skills required for the voluntary sector? Voluntary sector employers who had skills gaps within their organisation were more likely to report skills gaps within manager and administrative/clerical staff The main causes were lack of experience or the staff being recently recruited, lacking of motivation, the inability of the workforce to keep up with change, and a failure to train and develop staff Skills gaps within the voluntary organisations reported were both technical, practical or job-specific skills gaps as well as problem solving, team working and management skills gaps

Training opportunities The majority of voluntary organisations (56%) provided both on-the-job and off- the-job training in their organisation. Training for staff of all grades, however managers are significantly more likely to receive training than other staff

Working patterns in the voluntary sector Full-time employees in the voluntary sector were contracted to work on average 37.7 hours a week, similar to the public sector at 37.9 hours. Private sector full-time employees worked a slightly longer week of 40.8 hours 38% of the sector workforce were working part-time. In contrast 30% of the public sector and 25% of the private sector were employed part-time Nearly half (45%) of the women employed within the voluntary sector were employed part-time compared to 22% of men. Men working within the voluntary sector were more likely to be employed part-time than in the private and public sectors

State of pay in the voluntary sector (78%) of voluntary sector part-time employees did not want a full-time job Just over one in ten (12%) voluntary sector part-time employees were working part-time because they could not find a full-time job

State of pay in the voluntary sector The gross hourly pay within the voluntary sector is £12.48, almost identical to the private sector (£12.49) but lower than in the public sector (£13.84) There was a clear difference between male and female gross hourly pay across all sectors Women on average were paid 36% less than men (per hour) in the voluntary sector, the same as in the private sector whereas in the public sector the gap was 20% (17%) voluntary sector workers was a trade union or staff association member. This is higher than in the private sector (12%) but much lower than in the public sector (55%)

My contact Thoria Mohamed Cardiff Third Sector Council (C3SC) Tel/