A petition to prevent proposed redundancies at the Dogs Trust has reached more than 3,500 signatures after the charity announced restructure plans.

The charity, which employs 1,765 staff, last week put about 300 jobs at risk of redundancy in response to changing demand. 

The trust said the proposals, which are subject to a 45-day consultation with affected staff, were not a cost-cutting measure but instead intended to better equip the organisation to provide intensive support for dogs in its care.

An anonymous Dogs Trust employee launched a petition to challenge the redundancy plans, which has reached more than 3,500 signatures in just a week – about twice the total number of staff at the organisation.

The petition urges the Dogs Trust leadership to “explore alternative solutions to financial or structural challenges without resorting to job cuts”, saying: “Transparency in decision-making, open dialogue with staff, and a commitment to protecting both employees and the dogs in your care are essential during this critical time.”

A source at the charity, who wished to remain anonymous, told Third Sector that staff informally asked the Dogs Trust to recognise the union Unite, but said the charity refused to do so.

According to the source, the charity recommended that staff engage with its internal employee forum instead. 

They said staff were told that the employee forum, which was set up last year, offers representation for all employees rather than just union members, but the source said this should be up to staff to decide.

They said: “This week, employee representatives on the forum learned of their role in the collective consultation process, reinforcing concerns that the forum was created as a substitute for proper representation.

“This has left many of us feeling unheard and unsupported during what is a deeply unsettling time.”

The source alleged that union materials were being removed from communal workspaces as staff attempted to grow the number of Unite members from the charity, which Third Sector understands currently amounts to a total of 90 employees.

But a spokesperson for the Dogs Trust said the charity respected staff’s right to join a union, saying: “We did not remove any union materials that were displayed appropriately, and today posters that have been on noticeboards for several months remain in our offices and centres.”

The spokesperson said: “While we haven’t been formally approached by a union, if the required number of staff would like this, we would be prepared to consider having these conversations. 

“Individual employees are, of course, welcome to be members of a union, and to bring a union rep along to any individual meeting.”

The charity’s spokesperson said its employee forum, which was established as a way for all staff to provide feedback and ask questions of senior leadership, is run by employees and is separate from its leadership team.

“We believe the forum is the best and most effective way of listening to employees, as it ensures that every single member of staff has the opportunity to contribute to our proposed changes.

“It is our preferred route for employees to provide feedback, ask questions and share alternative proposals during this collective consultation period,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that staff were actively engaging with the forum, saying that some have already sent the forum alternative proposals that are being considered as part of the consultation period.

“While we know that our proposed strategy changes have created uncertainty within the charity, it’s vitally important that we respond to the growing dog welfare crisis, and refocus our work to ensure that we can rehome more dogs,” the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Unite said that while the union did not have enough members at the charity to make a request for voluntary recognition, it is “actively seeking to recruit new members” as a result of the charity’s restructuring.

“Dogs Trust is undertaking a collective consultation exercise on its proposals which it argues are not financially driven with a recently established employee forum but we are intending to ensure we influence the response of that forum and support members through the individual consultation process,” they said.