Aberdeen care charity seeks voluntary redundancies

VSA chief executive Sue Freeth said the focus was on protecting essential services

A long-established social care charity has announced it is seeking voluntary redundancies.

Voluntary Service Aberdeen (VSA) provides services for more than 2,000 children and adults in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

VSA had last week appealed for its biggest ever level of support from the community in the organisation's 155-year history. It said services were becoming "unsustainable".

VSA chief executive Sue Freeth said the charity was now inviting expressions of interest from staff for voluntary redundancy, with the focus on "protecting essential services".

Front-line care staff are being excluded from the scheme.

The new campaign for VSA - which runs facilities such as care homes - aims to raise more funds and awareness of the charity's work in the face of financial pressures.

VSA said it had spent more than £3m of its reserves to keep its services going over the past five years.

Ms Freeth said "times have never been more challenging" for the charity, which was founded in 1870.

She said inviting expressions of interest from staff for voluntary redundancy was part of the efforts to secure the long-term future of VSA.

'Times have changed'

Ms Freeth said the invitation was being offered to all staff excluding those engaged in front-line service delivery.

"Times have changed, and public sector funding is no longer assured," she said.

"Despite efforts to control costs and grow our income, the funding available through local authority contracts has not kept pace with the rising cost of delivering care."

She added: "Our staff and volunteers are the heart of VSA, and we are deeply grateful for their continued professionalism and compassion through what we know is a challenging time.

"Our focus remains on protecting essential services and ensuring VSA can continue to serve the people of Aberdeen City and Shire for many years to come."