Help For Heroes will make 90 staff redundant after charity’s income dropped during Covid pandemic

Help for Heroes have announced that 142 of its staff roles are at risk of redundancy after its income has plummeted by almost a third during the coronavirus pandemic.

The military charity, which supports war veterans and their families, announced on Wednesday that it is forced to undergo a ‘major restructure’ to protect its services from the ‘devastating financial impact’ of Covid-19.

In a statement on its website, the charity predicted that there will be up to 90 redundancies out of the 142 staff roles that are currently at risk.

Help for Heroes, which employs ex-servicemen and women on its staff, relies on public donations for 97 per cent of its income.

But donations have reduced amid the coronavirus lockdown as face-to-face fundraising events since April have been cancelled or postponed.

It comes after the charity had to furlough nearly 40 per cent of its staff for up to seven months at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March.

And the charity is now predicting its regular income will drop by 30 per cent over the coming years due to the ongoing economic recession.

A Help for Heroes statement read: ‘This loss of income, coupled with a significant surge in demand for our recovery services during the height of the pandemic, means we have no choice but to review our service delivery and put 142 staff roles at risk. 

‘As a result of the proposed changes, we anticipate making up to 90 redundancies.’ 

Charity bosses do not currently know which members of staff will be made redundant, with each of the jobs at risk going through a consultation process.  

Help for Heroes was founded by married couple Barry and Emma Parry in 2007 to provide lifetime support for wounded, sick or injured service veterans. 

Speaking about the redundancies, the charity’s CEO Melanie Waters said: ‘The crisis has had a devastating impact on the whole UK charity sector, with lasting consequences, and it has hit us hard. 

‘These tough decisions have been made to protect the future of the charity and have been taken with our beneficiaries in mind.

‘We remain absolutely committed to our wounded and their families and will continue fighting for, and changing the lives of, those we support for as long as they need it.’ 

Help for Heroes held £25.38million from investments in the charity’s account in 2019, with an additional £21.14million in cash, totalling £46.9million.

Three of the charity’s recovery centres – in Catterick, Colchester and Plymouth – will remain closed for the foreseeable future as the the charity continues to offer its support services remotely.

But services will reopen from its Recovery Centre at Tedworth House in Wiltshire in a Covid-secure setting over the coming months, with the charity hoping to reopen its community office in Wales. 

Help for Heroes said demand for its services rose during lockdown, with a 33 per cent increase in new people coming forward for mental health support in May and June this year, when compared to the same period in 2019.

The charity added that it saw nearly 30 per cent more new referrals into its physical health services across the same period. 

Help for Heroes are building new Community Rehabilitation Teams from October to increase the amount of staff working on the ground in England and Wales amid the coronavirus crisis.

The charity has received royal support since it became operational in 2007, with its founders Mr and Mrs Parry both having been awarded an OBE. 

Prince Harry has visited the charity’s recovery centre in Wiltshire and Prince William attended the launch of the Help for Heroes facilities at Headley Court in 2010.

Harry, who served in the military for ten years, spoke about the importance of mental health when visiting the Wiltshire site in 2017.

Headley Court, which provided clinical Rehabilitation to ex-servicemen and woman, was replaced by the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) at Stanford Hall in Loughborough in 2019.

Help for Heroes work with the vital centre to provide neurological care, occupational therapy and physical rehabilitation to service personnel.

The DMRC has a specialised Help for Heroes Swimming Pool Complex to help those wounded, injured or sick while serving for their country.

DMRC facilities were situated at Headley Court in Surrey from 1947 until 2018 before being moved to Stanford Hall in Leicestershire – with Help for Heroes’s charitable assistance moving across with them.

Help for Heroes contacts those that are being supported at the DMRC to start planning their individual recoveries, and continues to assist them after their rehabilitation due to its pledge of lifetime support.