Redundancy 2025

[Cartwrightandson]

How is your institution doing? I recall last year there was a lot of redundancies and VS...

Also very sorry to hear this

Hello,

Thank you for the support. The meeting is next week.

Sorry to hear that you have this hanging over you.

So sorry to read this. It's like watching Rome burning all around us.

(And UCU is fiddling away like Nero, trying to save Gaza and wipe Israel from the face of the earth ...)

Yes, they are useless. But so morally superior

Is anyone else's institution seemingly dragging this on forever and ever with deadlines getting pushed further and further forward as they keep fucking it all up? The next phase deadline is in a couple of weeks and they state they will get the conclusion out within 7-10 days but the last phases took over 3 weeks to get the conclusions out! This takes us way into August when most people have annual leave booked! So any interviews for the pools of at risk staff will be held over August as they want everyone gone by the end of August. Do we have to cancel holidays and annual leave and lose the money?

Ours seems to be the opposite, though that seems quick to me - they want final decisions too soon for things like retirements that haven't been processed yet to be taken into account, but not as quickly as yours.

This has been going on since April 😭😭 it hasn't been quick in any shape or form. It wont be over until the final phase at the end of October at the earliest.

It's exhausting to have it hanging over you for so long.

The meeting was grim. I think 8 people in my department (including me) are in scope for compulsory redundancy, but there are still options for VS and voluntary reduction in FTE. I am tempted to try voluntary reduction of FTE, but as the sole earner in our household, I cannot afford a huge cut in hours. I also do not know if, even after a reduction in hours, compulsory redundancy will be applied. I am working through summer, but cannot feel as enthusiastic about this work with this looming over my head. Other departments are going through the same process.

Deeply sorry to hear this, @ohnomeagain

Just applied for the voluntary reduction in FTE. I know I may be rushing into this, but I cannot stand the thought of not doing anything.

How many people would need to drop a day to save 8 jobs? Is it a big dept?

So sorry @ohnomeagain and that’s very brave of you as the only earner. I’m entirely responsible for myself and also supplementing the costs of my father’s extreme old age, with no other back up so I’m afraid no way can I earn less than my full salary.

I'm confused about our VS/VR t&c because as a part time worker I am only allowed to set my part time hours for a limited period and can't get my contract changed indefinitely. I don't think my HoD would be too impressed if I said "by the way, I want to go back to full time from Sept" but I could in theory. But they seem to be saying that reducing to part time hours would help us reduce our FTE, and we have one woman coming back from mat leave, one just gone, and one going soon - so I hope they'll be on the same conditions as I was 10+ years ago (yes you can have part time, no it doesn't need to be permanent) and not a new "if you're part time it stays that way forever" contract.

Thank you for the support. The department is quite large and it seems that at least one other faculty is also undergoing this process.

I cannot really afford to take a cut in wages, but think I can pick up a few hours in another job

I think the concern would be if they move to redundancy or VS and base your payout on reduced hours. I wouldn't put that past them!

Again I am so sorry, @ohnomeagain

About 15 years ago the University of California was in financial crisis. It was resolved by imposing mandatory furlough (unpaid leave) of between 2 and 5 weeks of working days on over 100,000 employees, academic and administrative, in one 12 month period. There was a formula for the number of leave days, with higher paid employees taking more.

It was very effective and much more fair than what you are facing.

@Chrysanthemum5 Yes, I fear this too. However, I just feel so anxious that I felt I must do something. I may well regret the decision later.

Of course they will.

I am in the same Uni as @Chrysanthemum5 and although my School has no CRs, we have had emails from our Head asking if we want to voluntarily reduce our working hours. I am not volunteering as I don't think the actual work will reduce! Would be totally happy with a Uni-wide furlough scheme, and in fact suggested the same to my line manager. It seems there are legal/contractual reasons blocking this within the UK.

Plus @hillsiderunner our union is spectacular in its incompetence so we are stuffed

Yep.

I’m finding the inability of organisations who should be fighting for us to actually fight for us to be most striking.

A scholarly association of which I’m a founding member spent its AGM debating a boycott of Israel, rather than a discussion and action plan around the ongoing closure or severe contraction of departments in our discipline.

Progressive virtue signalling on international affairs with no hope of any effect, but no action on things local where change - or mitigation - might do something productive.

@hillsiderunner are you hearing any comments about the latest VS targeted at grades 9 and 10? Seems to be an even worse offer than the last one!

I am just recently in grade 9 (at the bottom) so I took a quick look at the details. I thought it seemed the same/better than the prior offer. Possibly the enhanced retirement is where the extra is, I suspect (I did not look at that).

Am not thinking of applying for either. As an academic, it will take ages to get a new job in the current climate. But am curious to see which/any senior faculty in my School go for this new offer. Potentially there could be a few people who only now become eligible (due to grants/fellowships ending).

Not the most cheerful atmosphere and then I have to decide whether to go on strike and lose pay next week. Probably I will as I would not like to see compulsory redundancies.