Jewish Care is to shed nearly 100 staff as it reshapes its provision against a backdrop of service suspensions because of the pandemic and the financial cost of the crisis to the charity.
Chief executive Daniel Carmel-Brown said this week that as a result of the “difficult” decision, consultations were ongoing with around 120 full- and part-time employees from a workforce of nearly 1,300. No care staff from its residential homes are involved in the process.
After expanding meals-on-wheels and digital services during the first lockdown, Jewish Care had been making “detailed plans to resume some of our face-to-face services this autumn”.
But with the latest restrictions, there was no short-term possibility of reopening its community centres, day centres, Connect@ centres and facilities for those living with dementia, the charity explained.
“This has forced us to reassess and accelerate our strategic review to make sure our community services are viable, sustainable and relevant to the communities we serve now and into the future.”
In the current situation, it could best serve its members “by investing in and further enhancing the outreach programme that we have developed.
“Regretfully, we are simply unable to sustain the full range of the centres’ staff that were needed to run the services when we could meet all our members in person. This means that the majority of roles in the centres are at risk of redundancy as services are consolidated.”
The decision had not been taken lightly, Jewish Care said. It pointed out that additional costs resulting from the pandemic could reach £7 million by March. There had been significant expenditure on PPE and additional cleaning measures. Physical fundraisers had been cancelled, including the annual dinner, which brought in more than £5 million in 2019.
“We deeply value the contribution of each of our staff and the care and love they bring to their work.
“But we must act in light of the current and foreseeable circumstances.”
Where possible, staff facing redundancy would be given opportunities for potential redeployment within the organisation.
The charity added that despite changes to staffing structures, “we will ensure that the vital services we have been able to provide — including regular calls to clients — are maintained through our outreach and digital programmes”. Volunteers would continue to play a vital role in its provision.
Charity chair Jonathan Zenios said: “Our new community service plan will allow us to be there for more members of the community who need us, even if they are not able to travel to our community centres.
“Our vision is for a virtual community centre to sit alongside our real centres when they can eventually reopen. A virtual community centre which offers our members food, company and stimulating activities, even if they can’t be together because of a global pandemic or because they are not physically able.
“These are challenging times but responding to them quickly and thoughtfully ensures our long-term resilience.
“I also know that we can continue to count on the fantastic support of our thousands of volunteers and hugely generous supporters alongside the tremendous commitment of our workforce.”
Mr Carmel-Brown added: “We owe our community services staff a huge debt of gratitude for the love, care and commitment they have shown to their roles and our community over the years. I thank them for their service to Jewish Care and know that the impact of their work will continue to be felt for many years to come.”
