National Trust to cut workforce by 550 jobs

In a statement, the conservation and heritage charity explained that it was under “sustained cost pressures beyond our control”.

The National Trust (NT), responsible for 500 historic houses, castles, parks and gardens, explained that the increases in employer’s national insurance and the minimum wage in April, added more than £10m to their annual wage – outstripping yearly increases in visitors and donations.

In response, the NT proposes to reducing an estimated 6% reduction of its workforce – the equivalent of 550 full-time jobs from the charity’s 9,575 strong workforce (February 2025). A 45-day consultation period with staff began on Thursday and the Trust said that it was working with the Prospect union “to minimise compulsory redundancies”.

“We know how difficult this is for our people and are incredibly grateful for their skill and professionalism. We are working hard, with the union Prospect, to make the transition as painless as possible. This follows months of other cost-saving measures. We always want to avoid job losses,” explained the charity.

“The proposed changes will allow us to keep on caring for and championing our shared historic and natural environment in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, long into the future,” added the National Trust.

Charities are under pressure

Just as the National Trust, the National Insurance hikes have put a significant, added financial strain on charities. The increased employer contributions and minimum wage increases directly raise payroll costs, impacting staffing levels and the organisation’s ability to deliver services.

A VCSE Barometer Survey, conducted by the VCSE National Data and Insights Observatory at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), indicated that more than 50% of charities anticipate negative impact from living wage and national insurance increases. Over half expect to decrease staff recruitment (59%) and hours (52%), while at the same time increasing redundancies (55%) and relying more on volunteers (68%).

The report also found that large and medium organisations, which employ higher numbers of staff, are more vulnerable to the policy changes and are anticipating making changes to staffing, overheads, and service delivery, compared to only one in 10 small organisations.