Welcome to the new look Community Sector Employers’ Forum (CSEF) website

Community Sector Employers’ Forum: Who Are We?

The CSEF is a national organisation of community organisations which employ staff. The purpose of the CSEF is to improve the quality of employment in the community sector by

  • developing a strong employers’ voice which can make representation to government and engage with other employer bodies and trade unions
  • providing advice and support to employers on employment law and good practice through the Employer Resource Bureau for the Community Sector: You can access this service through the above tab – Employer Resource Bureau which contains Sections/Templates/ Links/FAQ & Disclaimer.

Community Sector – a significant employment sector

The community sector consists of thousands of organisation working in areas such as family support, community development, training and employment, childcare, youth work, drugs, information and support, sports and recreation. Organisations are run by voluntary boards of management which are the employer of staff working for these organisations.
Although the sector employers over 50,000 people tackling social exclusion, the sector is not recognised by the government as an important employment sector. CSEF is campaigning to secure this recognition for the sector and for employers to have a voice in how employment issues within the sector are dealt with. The CSEF also stresses that community sector employers should be covered by all job protection schemes and employment policies being developed to tackle the current crisis.

Join CSEF today!

Membership is free at the moment and is open to all community and voluntary organisations from across the country which employs staff regardless of the number of employees.

By becoming a member you will automatically receive updates, invitations to events and our newsletter, the ERB Monitor (covering developments in HR practices and case law).

Click on the link for an application form in either MSWord or as a PDF, fill in and return either by post or email to us.

Why Join the CSEF?

Severe cut backs in government funding are having serious impacts on community sector services and jobs. A strong employer voice is urgently needed so that together we can tackle these problems. It is vital that our community infrastructure which has been built up over years by committed activists and employees survives the current crisis. Our Employer Resource Bureau for the Community Sector will keep employers up to date on developments in case law and provide advice on best practice on the thorny issues facing employers in the current critical situation.