Removal of PhD stipend due to part time study. Can they do this?

[ElfHasBeenSilly]

Hi all,

I am a fully funded (fees and stipend) PhD student just about to return from interruption due to maternity. I am returning part time due to child care. My university administrator has today informed me that my stipend will be stopped if I return part time. This is paid by the university, not an external funding body.

Is there anything I can do? Any advice gratefully received.

Could you not come to some arrangement to put in the hours at the weekend or evening. It wouldnt be ideal. Or even to work from home some days.

I think this is outrageous and can't believe people are defending it. "its always been that way" is not a good reason for it continue to be this way. Calling something a 'stipend' instead of a salary is a way around employment laws it seems. It also allows them to pay you pitifully little what is essentially a job - even if there is a PhD for you at the end of it. I do think this is something that needs challenging on a wide scale not acceptance of the status quo.

But @dammit88 a PhD is not a job. You don't expect to be paid a salary for an undergrad degree or a masters. It's a qualification and study. The funding/stipend is like a student loan but you don't have to pay it back. I'm doing a humanities PhD and it is in no way a form of employment.

If you could get a loan for childcare, it would mean you get to earning properly, quicker.

If childcare is so expensive, you are just stretching the problem out for longer but going part time. It’s not actually making it cheaper (unless you have another child who will be at school soon). So it’s a cash flow issue.

You’re not employed so the rules around flexible working won’t apply. Even if it’s university funded it’s still possible it was part of a block grant from a funder, or budgeted for with university financial years, and therefore can’t go past an end date. That’s pretty standard (I work in uni funding). I’m a bit surprised that you are surprised TBH

In which case it seems unfair to say the stipend can't be paid pro rata because the project needs completing by a certain date by the people who want the research?

When studying for a degree/post grad no one is usually relying on the work produced so students aren't paid. If there are people that need the research completing by a certain deadline and then it seems like a job that needs to be done?

@ElfHasBeenSilly

I just googled it and this website has a list of current award holders and key contacts (not everywhere seems to have a contact, but most do):

https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/equality-charters/athena-swan-charter/members#currentt*

Your university is being shit.

Take the full time stipend (which is insulting peanuts anyway, given that I got that much from the AHRC 17 years ago).

Work flexibly in whatever way suits you. Maybe nursery 3 days plus one day at weekends. Don't discuss your working arrangements. Just get on with finishing thesis in whatever way is best for you.

I finished like this. Always took one day a week off to save money and because wanted a baby-day. Nursery had private school holidays so there were 17 weeks a year without childcare anyway . So full time was very theoretical and that childcare wouldn't have worked for a non-flexible, office-based full time job. But then if you were doing one of those, you'd have an actual salary. I had to be very focused and write efficiently in the childcare time I had, but that's not such a bad thing.

Nobody gives a toss about what you're doing in humanities. This is both the worst and the best of it. So just figure out what working pattern actually works for you to get the thesis written.

The Athena Swan contact list isn't necessarily current (it isn't for my institution).

HR should be able to tell you who is leading on Athena Swan. I would imagine you have an equality/inclusion/diversity team: someone from there.

It's definitely worth pursuing.

Equality law still applies. You can’t discriminate on the basis of sex. If you discriminate against PT students without a good reason that is likely to be indirect sex discrimination (as PT students are more likely to be female).

I’m really surprised people are defending this
and very pleased that my university doesn’t do it.

I would also take this approach. Take the £13k (shocking it's still this shit - I got £12k/yr 20 years ago!)

Write up an adequate thesis as fast as possible and get the hell out of there into work. Supervisor doesn't need to know your working hours or childcare arrangements.

I also can't believe people are defending this! In general, and in particular because this is a solo humanities project - which as @lordloveadog says no funder is waiting for with bated breath. Even worse on the back of not even giving you maternity leave, but making you interrupt. That's outrageous.

UKRI, which funds the vast majority of PhDs, funds parental leave at full pay for six months, allows for part time study, and childcare support for attending conferences.

How can your university get away with such terrible work practices (not to mention level of pay) that are far from the norm, and that clearly contravene equality legislation?!

Make a noise @ElfHasBeenSilly !

Or alternatively, if you don't have the time, energy and headspace, don't make a noise, keep your head down and your work practices to yourself, finish your thesis however you can, and get the hell out! What @bumpytrumpy said.

This is surely discrimination!! I went part time after maternity leave and got the stipend paid in full, but 50% reduction in terms of monthly pay. Mine was50% research council and 50% funded by the university. I also got paid maternity leave.
I would be kicking up a huge fuss if I was you!

This is discrimination for 1) being a woman and 2) being a parent.

If all else fails, I would also be going to the press. It's disgusting and shocking that some would defend such treatment of mothers within academia.

@caroleanboneparte but that's simply not true? I reduced to part time and got full stipend paid over the longer period.

Your institution’s policies are disgraceful. Students funded by the institution can definitely go part-time and receive funding accordingly. I agree that refusing to continue funding a student wanting to go PT after having a baby is highly risky if they think it’s not indirect sex discrimination.

Yes, there are lot of things on this thread that are not true - you 100% can go part time on research council doctoral funding (and Wellcome and I'm sure most others). You cannot claim UC if you are full time on your PhD. You are not eligible for tax credits, as you don't pay tax. You are not eligible for student funding that is available for undergraduate parents. University childcare options do not - at least I've never heard - give meaningful or any discounts for students. In fact, PhD parents fall through every gap when it comes to childcare, and it's totally unfair.

I'm actually about to write something (short) about this for a policy audience. Please write or DM me if you have any personal experiences you would like me to know about!

@chamenaged fantastic that you're writing about this.

It pissed me off no end that if I had been in prison, my partner could have claimed tax credits for childcare. But because I was doing a PhD, he couldn't.

I applaud you for that @chamenaged !

I had a difficult time as a mother and PhD student.
(Male) Supervisor not responding to emails, refusing to do zoom calls with child present (during pandemic), saying I needed to be on campus (despite having baby and not enough money to pay childcare or even travel costs).

I find that the common response from other academics - oh well I had it bad when I did my PhD too, so why should it be better for you?

My supervisor just couldn't understand it. He also did a PhD with a young baby!!

As a PhD student you aren't a real 'student' or an employee but stranded in the waste land somewhere in between with few rights or care from anyone
As a woman and mother there was no help whatsoever beyond receiving the stipend- which in this case has even been taken away. And I am fuming on your behalf OP!

Obviously, much of what I experienced being partly luck of the draw with some being given fantastic supervisors who go above and beyond. And that also seems unfair. Some people do it all themselves.

PhD supervisor here. Just one comment to add: check why your university is paying such a low stipend. As far as I know UKRI has minimum rates, which would apply across the board: www.ukri.org/what-we-offer/developing-people-and-skills/find-studentships-and-doctoral-training/changes-to-the-minimum-stipend-from-1-october-2022/. See linked documents on that page that state that Part-time study must be offered

thanks @lordloveadog and @whereaw - it's a really terrible situation, and so sorry you had to deal with it, when a PhD and a baby are challenge enough alone!

Great point about prison - I might steal that...

Who is funding you, @ElfHasBeenSilly ? Unless PT is against their regs or your work must be completed in a certain time frame, I am hopeful that you have a case

I came on to encourage you to liaise with Athena SWAN but @parietal got there first. Does your School have a (School level) award? If so you also have a committee and the members should be part of the public record. You might see if there are any members you think would be sympathetic, at least to the extent of looking further into this for you. I would approach the uni-level committee as a second option

Thank you all so much. I’ve been in touch with the SU. We’re waiting for the VC to confirm it. Been waiting since Monday. I’ve spoken to pregnant then screwed who were sympathetic, but couldn’t help as such because it’s not employment law as I’m a student. Next step is to contact HR later today when I’ve got some childcare time and can concentrate. After that, I’ll speak to UCU.

The head of the graduate school, the administrator of the graduate school, and the VC are all totally ignoring me via phone and email. I’m wondering why that might be?

@poetryandwine thank you. Nice username!

It is a university scholarship.