'It's shameful' | Staff could pay THOUSANDS to save jobs as 'fire & rehire' plan causes fury

Workers at one of the UK's most renowned charities are facing a choice between losing their jobs or shelling out thousands of pounds to stay employed, a union has said.

Chiefs at trade union Unite say The Duke of Edinburgh Award's (DofE) 'fire and rehire' plans will involve scrapping its fleet of company cars and forcing regional workers to buy their own.

According to Unite, the royal charity has told the workers, who travel to schools, colleges, youth groups, young offender institutions, fostering agencies and hospitals across the UK, that they will be provided with a £4,750 one-off payment to purchase their own work vehicle.

The workers’ contracts will be terminated from March 3rd and, if they do not sign new ones stating the new transport terms, they will lose their job, Unite said. The union has called on DofE trustee, Prince Edward, to intervene over the situation.