All academic staff at Sheffield Hallam University invited to apply for redundancy amid cost cutting

Deputy vice chancellor, Prof David Shepherd, in an email announcement, said it applied to those on teaching, research, senior academic and professor contracts - some 1,700 staff.

The university said it was to address "financial challenges" it was facing with rising costs, citing inflation, pensions, and a flat undergraduate fee.

Reports suggest that payments would be based on 10-times monthly gross pay, with a leaving date for those applying set to be at the end of February.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the university said: “Sheffield Hallam is one of the largest and most popular universities in the country, yet like many universities across the sector we are experiencing financial challenges due to a combination of increasing costs associated with inflation, rising pension costs, and a flat undergraduate fee.

“These combined pressures mean that we must take steps to reduce our costs through careful financial management as part of a plan to remain financially stable in the future. One element of this is a Voluntary Severance Scheme for academic staff which will run in January 2024.

"In line with normal practice, Trade Unions have been made fully aware of the details of the scheme.”