Deal under which Family Action takes over Relate’s counselling services will save up to 185 jobs, say administrators. Britain’s biggest relationship counselling charity looks set to be rescued from insolvency under plans for it to be taken over. Last month, Relate was put into administration after a collapse in its funding from NHS, school and local authority contracts.
On Friday, the administrators, FRP Advisory, announced that the families charity Family Action has agreed to buy Relate’s counselling and central services. It claims the move will save up to 185 jobs when Family Action takes over on 1 January. A third of Relate’s workforce, representing 80 staff including 40 therapists, were made redundant with immediate effect when it entered administration in November. Many of these staff learned of their fate on a Microsoft Teams call with the management.
None of the sacked staff will receive redundancy pay from the charity under the terms of the administration. Longer-serving staff who have lost their jobs have been advised to apply to a government redundancy scheme for compensation. The administrators made no mention of these posts as part of the takeover bid. FRP Advisory has been asked if there are any plans to reinstate these staff.
The collapse of Relate’s funding comes amid growing concern about the financial future of many charities as they struggle to cope with rising costs and demand, and declining donations and contract income. Relate offers a range of services, including couples and relationships counselling, family counselling, mediation, children therapy and sex therapy. About a third of its counselling was funded by public sector contracts, with the remainder from means-tested fees, typically between £83 and £130 a session for face-to-face adult relationship counselling.
