University of Huddersfield redundancies: Yorkshire university staff living in fear as risk of compulsory redundancy looms

Staff members and unions have painted an unfortunate picture of the current goings-on at Huddersfield University. Money saving measures are being enforced across the institution, from staff cuts to buildings being mothballed. At the same time, millions are being poured into new building projects and university bosses are in receipt of hefty salaries.

Previously, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported that another wave of job losses were on the way for those working at the University of Huddersfield for the third time in 12 months. This is in the shape of a Voluntary Severance Scheme (VSS) with staff across all departments of the university being asked to come forward.

Staff morale at the institution is described by its own Students’ Union as being at an all time low. There are fears that should numbers be insufficient, compulsory redundancies will be on the cards causing a great deal of “stress and mistrust,” according to members of staff.

Trade Union, UNISON, which represents non-academic staff at the university, explained that the take up of the VSS is understood to be “unusually low,” with staff anticipating the university’s fourth wave of compulsory redundancies in the last three years.

Andy Watkins, Area Organiser with UNISON, said: “This is just the latest round of redundancies at Huddersfield University and we believe they could be well into three figures.

“The last ten years have been a golden era for Higher Education, as senior leaders have enjoyed executive-style pay and bonuses. However, rather than investing in staff, the University of Huddersfield’s senior leadership have squandered millions on building projects.”

UNISON’s Branch Secretary Stephen Howe said: “Industrial relations at the University of Huddersfield have been strained since before the pandemic. As a union, we are inundated with issues from across the campus.

“Staff have had enough and they are anxious, confused and scared for the future. We have seen large-scale member meetings, and their message is clear. That it’s time we entered serious talks, and the senior leadership need to improve their approach to staff.”

The union maintains that there has been no consultation with unions over the job losses, despite the organisation writing to Vice-Chancellor Bob Cryan without response.

Some members of staff who wish to remain anonymous regard the “authoritarian” management structure to be the root of the issues being faced by the institution. It has been claimed that within the hierarchy of the university, deans and the senate don’t have much say in the way the University is run.

So, who does? The University Council is responsible for the decision-making at the University. Sitting on this council are people like the president of the Students’ Union, a number of committee members, and Vice-Chancellor Bob Cryan.

According to a report published in January by the Times Higher Education, Huddersfield’s Vice-Chancellor received £408,000 in the years 2021-22, receiving a basic salary of £336,000, with the pay gap between Professor Cryan and the average lecturer ever increasing. Prof. Cryan’s earnings ranked as the second highest of any Vice-Chancellor outside of the Russell Group universities.

Rubbing more salt in the wounds of those at risk of losing their jobs is the university’s relentless investment into new buildings, with some asking the question whether the university values buildings more than its staff. The most recent investment is in the £250m National Health Innovation Campus.

The University has offered justifications for its investments, explaining the difference between capital expenditures, which include the investment in buildings, and revenue costs, which are the everyday expenses like wages. They also stated that the University is in a stable financial position and has reserves.

However, staff have countered this by arguing that, whilst new buildings may be considered an “asset” on paper, in practice they would be very difficult to sell off in a time of crisis.

The University has also stated that they are performing very well, in terms of student numbers but staff have attributed this to the “massive growth” in the numbers of overseas students, who pay higher fees than UK residents. According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), of the community of almost 21,000 students who enrolled at the university in 2021/22, just over 4,200 were international.

Unlike the upward trajectory of students, staff numbers are reportedly not performing well. Aside from the obvious loss of staff due to the current VSS, numbers are said to be dwindling, with offices being closed and a high turnover of staff in certain departments.

All of this is, of course, ultimately impacting on students. Staff have described their anxiety over courses being cut, combined, or “rationalised”, sometimes due to being in deficit for as little as a year. Some have claimed they have had to “jump through hoops” to keep their courses going, and even then there is no guaranteed payback.

Unfortunately, the staff members being lost are often said to be very experienced, as they have found it easier to pick up jobs elsewhere. Generally, lecturers at the university are very highly qualified with staff ranking in the top three in England for the proportion who hold doctorates, have higher degrees and hold teaching qualifications, according to HESA data from 2022.

Postgraduate students have reportedly been particularly impacted by their exit, with an alternative supervisor sometimes taking over in a subject area they aren’t necessarily an expert in. Another consequence of this exodus of quality staff is that the university is allegedly having to pay outside experts an hourly fee to pick up the slack.

The university has previously received praise for its high levels of teaching and received Gold Teaching Excellence and Students Outcome Framework in 2017. On top of this, the University was ranked University of the Year at the Times Higher Education Awards in 2013.

A spokesperson for Huddersfield’s University and College Union said: “Despite the loss of valued colleagues during the recent redundancy rounds and the danger of losing more, staff who remain at Huddersfield are fully dedicated to their students. Our members, and all of our colleagues at the University, work incredibly hard, often well over contracted hours, to provide the best experience they can for our students.

“Historically, Huddersfield has been a university with high student satisfaction and excellent graduate outcomes. We are fighting to ensure that it remains so in the future, providing access to quality higher education for the local community. It is such a shame that the management of the university does not recognise these efforts and treats staff so poorly.

“The management would rather sit on millions of pounds of reserves and spend money on buildings than recognise and reward the outstanding efforts of their staff.”

When the LDRS contacted the university with a number of specific questions relating to the issues in this article, they reiterated their initial stance and said: “We continue to ensure that our staff community and our estate are fit for our current and future growth plans, and in line with the courses we offer and the research we are undertaking.

“That means from time to time there is a need to re-align our workforce, and we always try voluntary measures as a first step. Unions are of course always consulted.

“Investment in buildings is also a necessary part of our future planning, and is essential to the development of the institution and its work to serve its communities.”