Sheffield Hallam University: UCU slams 'scandalous' intent to 'axe 225 jobs' despite £8bn London campus plans

Cost-cutting plans to axe 225 jobs at Sheffield Hallam University have been blasted as “scandalous” by national union leaders.

The Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) has accused the university of breaching long-standing industry agreements and prioritising a new £8billion campus in London over the jobs of academic staff.

Dr Jo Grady, UCU General Secretary and a lecturer at The University of Sheffield, said: “Sheffield Hallam staff will be voting to take strike action because the cuts management is trying to force through are scandalous. They would see teaching, research and academic standards torn to shreds.”

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Amongst the cuts to academic staff, Sheffield Hallam University are also said to be planning an overhaul of their current academic structure. The UCU have said management at the university plan to “remove the (grade 9) principal lecturer role, force line management responsibilities onto (grade 8) lecturers and create a new teaching (grade 6) “academic tutor” role”.

The union has stated 80 members of academic staff face compulsory redundancy, whilst 140 have already left during a voluntary redundancy severance scheme in December 2023.

A letter from Dr Grady to Sheffield Hallam’s new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Liz Mossop, outlined how these moves were a “direct attack on UCU members” and breached long-standing national and local agreements dating back to the 1990s.

These agreements include a minimum grade for lecturing staff and protections for career progression arrangements - both elements the UCU claim will be “breached” by the current plans.

Sheffield Hallam University said these statements were “misleading”, adding: “We are undertaking a change programme that includes alterations to some academic and leadership roles. This resulted in approximately 120 risk of redundancy letters being issued to affected staff. However, new roles have been created, and these are ring-fenced for applications from those at risk.

“We are confident that we will be able to keep compulsory redundancies to a minimum.”

The UCU have also voiced concerns over the amount of money going into property development at the university, including £40million so far on the new Howard Street development in Sheffield, and an £8bn investment in a new Sheffield Hallam campus in London.

Dr Grady said: “It is outrageous that rather than reviewing its spending on new buildings and a satellite campus halfway across the country, management would rather slash jobs, jeopardise academic standards, and tear up our hard-won terms and conditions. We urge the university to urgently take stock and change course.”

A university spokesperson responded: “We are investing in our Sheffield campus estate to provide outstanding facilities for students and staff, to ensure that the University continues to be an attractive place to study and work. This will also deliver significant regeneration of a key gateway to the city centre and provide a new public green space for local people.

“We are also planning to open a London campus in 2026 to diversify our income, as the higher education partner in a regeneration project being delivered and financed by a private developer and the local authority.

“These are both important initiatives that underpin our long-term plans for success and financial sustainability.”

The UCU will be balloting members at the university on prospective industrial action on April 15, 2024 until May 22, 2024 - including potential strike action.

Universities across the UK had seen near-yearly strike action since 2018 in two separate disputes over pensions and pay and conditions. These came to a conclusion in 2023 when members voted to end their action on pensions, and when a ballot aimed at renewing the mandate for action on pay and conditions did not reach the 50 per cent turnout required, despite 68.3 per cent of respondents backing further strike action.

In response to the new ballot, a spokesperson for Sheffield Hallam University said: “Sheffield Hallam remains one of the largest and most popular universities in the country, with Gold-rated teaching and award-winning research. But, like many other universities, we are having to make tough decisions about the way we operate due to pressures that are largely out of our control – such as the decade-long flat UK undergraduate fee, rising pension costs and changes to visa rules that restrict international student recruitment.

“We are disappointed that UCU has chosen to ballot members for industrial action, despite our engaging thoroughly with trade union representatives on plans that support maintaining a healthy financial position and keeping redundancies to a minimum, in light of the well-documented challenges that universities across the UK face.”