Union considering legal action against University of Huddersfield over alleged u-turn on staff pay award

Earlier this year, we reported that the university was planning to make almost 200 compulsory redundancies due to ‘huge financial pressures’.

This caused an outcry among the unions, staff and students, with an open letter written by a group of second-year students to Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bob Cryan, opposing the university’s “treatment” of staff.

Following negotiations with the university, unions were able to secure a better deal for staff facing the axe, with a £5,000 payment agreed for those who opted to take voluntary redundancy. This was on top of the statutory redundancy pay staff were already entitled to.

Huddersfield’s University and College Union (UCU), which represents academic staff, says that throughout the process, the £5k pay award was put forward as a “flat rate” for all workers who agreed to take voluntary redundancy.

The union explained that multiple members of part-time staff contacted the university’s HR department to double-check that they would be entitled to the full £5,000 payment to have this confirmed in writing.

Some members of staff are reported to have agreed to voluntary redundancy on this basis.

However, the UCU says that despite what some were initially told, staff members who are part-time have since received a letter informing them that they are not entitled to the full £5,000, but will instead receive a pro-rata payment.

Huddersfield UCU Branch Chairman, Dr Gary Allen, said: “Following extensive negotiations over several weeks, the university tabled an improved redundancy offer of a “flat rate” £5000 in addition to statutory redundancy entitlement. This offer was put to members on June 11 and members voted by a narrow margin to accept.

“Several members on part-time (fractional) contracts checked with HR whether they would receive the full £5000 and were told that they would. At no point in any correspondence did the university suggest that this was not the case.

“Members at risk of redundancy had until 5PM on Thursday, June 20 to apply for the voluntary scheme. It was not until members began receiving letters on June 25, confirming that their applications for voluntary redundancy had been accepted, that they were told that the £5000 would in fact be applied pro-rata to their fractional contracts.

“This meant that the payments were now thousands of pounds lower than had been agreed. We have many emails proving that our members have been misled in this way.

“We have appealed to the university on both legal and moral grounds, but so far to no avail. We continue to explore the legal option with UCU lawyers, and we have written to University Council to ask them to intervene.

“This is a new low in already badly damaged industrial relations at this university. There is no longer any trust in senior management.”

When the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) put the above to the University, a spokesperson said: “The University has always and will always fairly and correctly apply all benefits and related financial payments, voluntary or otherwise appropriate to a person’s fractional contract.”