Biggest charity employers 2026 — by headcount

Staff headcount reported in the annual return — the charities employing the most people · snapshot 2026-10-03

# Charity EmployeesLatest income
01 NUFFIELD HEALTH 18,566 £1.48bn
02 SAVE THE CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL 11,838 £955m
03 United Learning LTD 11,294 £790m
04 THE HALO TRUST 11,216 £166m
05 THE BRITISH COUNCIL 9,446 £1.01bn
06 THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST OR NATURAL BEAUTY 8,746 £766m
07 MSI REPRODUCTIVE CHOICES 8,724 £310m
08 BARNARDO'S 7,404 £340m
09 ROYAL MENCAP SOCIETY 7,256 £247m
10 COMMUNITY INTEGRATED CARE 6,443 £197m
11 THE ORMISTON TRUST 6,196 £437m
12 CARDIFF UNIVERSITY 6,092 £634m
13 THE MINES ADVISORY GROUP 5,809 £99.3m
14 CHANGE, GROW, LIVE 5,715 £340m
15 CANCER RESEARCH UK 5,169 £735m
16 THE SHAW TRUST LIMITED 4,998 £291m
17 OASIS CHARITABLE TRUST 4,978 £344m
18 THE GIRLS' DAY SCHOOL TRUST 4,726 £373m
19 METHODIST HOMES 4,698 £283m
20 BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION 4,545 £411m
21 ACTION FOR CHILDREN 4,395 £163m
22 THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY 4,186 £294m
23 LLOYD'S REGISTER FOUNDATION 4,163 £692m
24 OXFAM 4,084 £339m
25 ST ANDREW'S HEALTHCARE 4,081 £236m
26 THE ORDERS OF ST JOHN CARE TRUST 3,834 £234m
27 MARIE CURIE 3,582 £181m
28 TURNING POINT 3,521 £192m
29 SWANSEA UNIVERSITY 3,448 £326m
30 UNITED RESPONSE 3,358 £107m
31 THERA TRUST 3,346 £101m
32 Waythrough 3,183 £165m
33 SENSE, THE NATIONAL DEAFBLIND AND RUBELLA ASSOCIATION 2,956 £102m
34 AUTISM INITIATIVES GROUP 2,881 £93.1m
35 THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INSTITUTION 2,781 £287m
36 LEONARD CHESHIRE DISABILITY 2,606 £141m
37 United Church Schools Trust 2,581 £185m
38 THE ENGLISH HERITAGE TRUST 2,548 £155m
39 ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS 2,486 £195m
40 WELLCOME TRUST 2,358 £589m
41 SUE RYDER 2,340 £105m
42 AUTISM INITIATIVES (UK) 2,316 £72.6m
43 THE NATIONAL AUTISTIC SOCIETY 2,265 £102m
44 HCT GROUP 2,225 £124m
45 AFFINITY TRUST 2,162 £72.4m
46 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH WALES/PRIFYSGOL DE CYMRU 2,129 £225m
47 UNIVERSITY OF WALES:TRINITY SAINT DAVID 2,120 £210m
48 MACINTYRE CARE 2,061 £71.2m
49 THE SALVATION ARMY SOCIAL WORK TRUST 2,016 £240m
50 METHODIST INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS TRUST 1,977 £118m
51 REAL LIFE OPTIONS 1,949 £55.6m
52 THE AVENUES TRUST GROUP 1,945 £67.2m
53 DOGS TRUST 1,943 £143m
54 HF TRUST LIMITED 1,900 £85.0m
55 ALZHEIMER'S SOCIETY 1,896 £144m
56 FUSION LIFESTYLE 1,865 £5.1m
57 GREENSLEEVES HOMES TRUST 1,845 £89.1m
58 DOGS TRUST LEGACY 1,815 £67.3m
59 CANAL & RIVER TRUST 1,805 £233m
60 THE DISABILITIES TRUST 1,800 £74.9m
61 AQA EDUCATION 1,798 £280m
62 ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS 1,791 £153m
63 MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT 1,782 £246m
64 THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION 1,765 £168m
65 GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL 1,753 £172m
66 FITZROY SUPPORT 1,748 £58.8m
67 THE GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND ASSOCIATION 1,726 £164m
68 THE BRANDON TRUST 1,715 £77.6m
69 THE PEOPLE'S DISPENSARY FOR SICK ANIMALS 1,713 £126m
70 NCFE 1,709 £49.5m
71 ST MUNGO COMMUNITY HOUSING ASSOCIATION 1,682 £124m
72 We Are With You 1,670 £87.0m
73 CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY 1,660 £149m
74 ALTERNATIVE FUTURES GROUP LIMITED 1,638 £80.7m
75 THE SALVATION ARMY 1,610 £338m
76 BANGOR UNIVERSITY 1,597 £160m
77 CANTERBURY CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY 1,574 £354m
78 THE CITY AND GUILDS OF LONDON INSTITUTE 1,506 £175m
79 ELIM FOURSQUARE GOSPEL ALLIANCE 1,497 £83.9m
80 PROMOTING EQUALITY IN AFRICAN SCHOOLS 1,495 £11.3m
81 THE NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO CHILDREN 1,484 £120m
82 BH LIVE 1,483 £48.1m
83 THE FRANCIS CRICK INSTITUTE LIMITED 1,458 £246m
84 UNIVERSITY OF CHESTER 1,430 £154m
85 THE FREMANTLE TRUST 1,411 £49.5m
86 ST MONICA TRUST 1,392 £53.7m
87 JISC 1,382 £151m
88 RUSKIN MILL TRUST LIMITED 1,374 £74.4m
89 DEPAUL INTERNATIONAL 1,338 £73.5m
90 PRIFYSGOL ABERYSTWYTH 1,319 £127m
91 AGE UK 1,317 £132m
92 GENOME RESEARCH LIMITED 1,301 £180m
93 THE PRIORY OF ENGLAND AND THE ISLANDS OF THE MOST VENERABLE ORDER OF THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM 1,290 £98.8m
94 TRUSTEES OF THE LONDON CLINIC LIMITED 1,287 £188m
95 THE ROYAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BLIND PEOPLE 1,286 £95.9m
96 JEWISH CARE 1,279 £81.8m
97 THE EXTRACARE CHARITABLE TRUST 1,278 £69.9m
98 NATIONAL STAR FOUNDATION 1,269 £49.6m
99 THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 1,267 £125m
100 NURSING AND MIDWIFERY COUNCIL 1,251 £109m

Figures as reported to the Charity Commission for England and Wales — Scottish and Northern Irish charities are registered separately and are not included. Reserves, headcount, grants and investment income come from each charity's detailed annual return, which only larger charities file. Annual returns lag the present by up to a year or more. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.