Members of the union Unite working at homelessness charity Shelter are being balloted over strike action during their dispute over pay and conditions.

Among their concerns is the charity’s withdrawal from talks with the union over moving to a four-day week.

They are also concerned that staff have been offered a “below inflation” 1.5% pay rise.

However, the charity points out that it is also offering a one-off payment of £210 to 490 of its lowest paid staff and it is to implement a Real Living Wage rate from December, meaning low paid staff will receive a 6.7% pay increase.

In announcing the ballot Unite says that the homelessness charity’s income was £81.33m during 2023/24, an increase of 10% on the previous year.

"It is completely unacceptable for an anti-poverty charity such as Shelter imposing such an unfair deal on its staff, especially the lowest paid, when it is in a very healthy financial position,” said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.

Trials of a four-day week, which has already been adopted by charities including Brook, Mental Health Foundation, had been offered by Shelter as part of a pay deals in previous years.

“However, Shelter has now withdrawn completely from four-day week discussions, despite Unite moving its position from a four-day week to a nine-day fortnight and offering to delay a trial until all of Shelter's current contracts are completed to minimise disruption,” said the union.

The union’s ballot closes on 19 November and could result in strike action starting in early December.

Unite regional officer Peter Storey added: "Shelter is guilty of attempting to impose such a miserable pay deal on staff and shutting down conversations around the four-day week.

"Any strike action will be very disruptive, but this is of Shelter's own making. Management must come back to negotiations with an improved offer to avoid this."

‘Challenging economic times’

Shelter’s chief operating officer Tim Gutteridge said: "Like so many charities we are facing challenging economic times and increased running costs.

“Our ambition remains to fairly compensate our colleagues while ensuring we can continue to serve those worst affected by the housing emergency.”

“We are disappointed after nine months of negotiations with Unite that we have not been able to agree on a pay deal. We believe it is right to now move forward and ensure a pay rise for colleagues before Christmas.

He added: “We remain open to further discussions on our offer of a reduction in weekly hours with no loss of pay, but we do not believe we can implement a four-day week without impacting jobs and the people we help.

“Industrial action is not the outcome we wanted but we fully respect people’s right to strike. We await the outcome of this ballot.”

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