RSPCA staff are balloting on strike action amid accusations of “endemic bullying” at the animal welfare charity.

Hundreds of workers at charity are voting in a consultative ballot designed to test the temperature on whether to proceed to full-scale industrial action.

The Unite union described “endemic bullying” at the charity - which employs around 400 staff in Sussex - at the headquarters in Horsham, a large rescue centre in Patcham and a further north Sussex branch,

The dispute centres on proposals to introduce a performance pay arrangement which the union said “could exacerbate plummeting staff morale in an organisation where bullying has been endemic.”

The union said in a statement: “Under the proposals, staff allowances, especially standby payments, will be reduced by 50 per cent.

“An inspector will see an annual average reduction in their salary of at least £2,000 and potentially as high as £4,000. Other front line, animal and wildlife centre staff face similar deductions.

“The RSPCA’s plans are amongst the most aggressive set of proposals ever seen by Unite.”

Unite said the RSPCA’s own staff engagement survey earlier this year revealed that 31 per cent of the 1,700-strong workforce had either been bullied directly or witnessed such behaviour.

In an open letter to chief executive Chris Sherwood, union members have asked for a further 45-day consultation period on the proposed changes to pay.

Unite members wrote in the letter that the charity has “appalling staff retention levels as individuals leave because of bullying, discrimination and stress.

The letter also said: “On more than one occasion veiled threats were made by certain senior managers towards the union representatives. This is simply not acceptable and

evidence of a wider cultural problem that exists within our charity.”

“This organisation has a culture of bullying and harassment. Sadly, you appear not

to see this or be able to do anything about it.

“We have been the safety net for staff for decades."

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said: "We do not recognise the union depiction of negotiations. Our door is always open to the union and we hope they will choose to come back to the table. The RSPCA entered into talks with a genuine desire to reach an agreement to ensure the RSPCA has a financially sustainable future, so we can continue helping animals most in need.

"We are facing very challenging financial times and we have to act now to bring our costs in line with our income in order to be sustainable into the future.

"Throughout this process employees have been reassured that current base pay is not affected and the proposals regarding allowances and increments. Performance management of annual increments is usual in most modern workplaces and would be developed with the union and employees and would not be fully introduced until 2022.

"We have listened closely to feedback from the union and staff, and have made a number of changes based on this.

"The RSPCA has consistently stressed that it has no intention of making any changes to employee policies such as sick pay going forward and does not wish for protracted discussions as this would prolong uncertainty and concern for employees.

"We recently launched our Respect policy which lays out the RSPCA’s commitment to an inclusive and supportive working environment that embraces diversity and inclusion and, importantly our zero tolerance approach to bullying and harassment."