📢 Birmingham UCU members – the Employment Rights Act 2025 is now live and it’s a big shift for us in HE.
Key points for staff at UoB:
Unfair dismissal: qualifying service will fall to 6 months and the cap on compensation is going, increasing the risk to employers who sack staff unfairly.
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From today, staff at Durham University begin working to rule.
No more covering for the hundreds of jobs that have been cut.
Staff will work strictly to contracted hours and withdraw goodwill.
Universities cannot operate on unpaid labour.
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1441...
Yes. You can read more about it here.
www.universities-scotland.ac.uk/steeringgroup/
Thanks for sharing this.
When meeting students this week the Interim Principal thinks the deficit is £24m (£2m a month).
The interim Director of Finance told staff last week that it’s £15m.
The Chair of Court was in the meeting with students. She didn’t issue a correction.
Are they happy with miscommunication?
Whilst the University of Dundee is not in either of these university groups, we are one of the most research intensive universities for our size.
In an unprecedented move, one reflective of the deeply unprecedented times at our university, UoN branches of three different unions (@UCU.org.uk, @unisonorg.uk, and Unite) have all successfully passed motions of no confidence in the Vice Chancellor and the entire executive board.
In August, in a meeting with the Scottish Gov, Nigel Seaton stated that it was “necessary to be clear with staff what redundancies would likely be needed now.”
The University Recovery Plan he drafted stated there would need to be 340 redundancies.
Yesterday he told staff there are no plans.
Solidarity to all UCU branches!
We continue to fight against compulsory redundancies at the University of Dundee.
Listen to what students and staff think about the current job cuts at the University of Dundee.
Thanks to STV for their continuing excellent reporting.
youtu.be/GYhLFLVRy9Y
We're really trying to avoid more industrial action here, folks...! @tucneyh.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk @unisoninhe.bsky.social @timeshighered.bsky.social @danhollandnews.bsky.social @chroniclelive.co.uk @chionwurah.bsky.social
An excellent article summarising the strength of feeling on campus against the VS scheme and its timing, at the University of Dundee.
thejutejournal.com/2026/02/22/i...
Read our statement on the announcement of 200 jobs to be lost at the University of Dundee.
“DUCU believes that the timing of exits proposed in the VS scheme will cause massive disruption at a very sensitive time…when exams, marking, & processing of grades are taking place.
sites.dundee.ac.uk/ducu/
Is there more accountability for royalty than there is for leaders and former leaders in the UK university sector?
Another 200 job losses have been announced at the University of Dundee.
Read our response here news.stv.tv/north/dundee...
What a great turn out on the picketline.
Your members are really turning up in force to put management under the most pressure possible!
Solidarity from us all in Dundee
The pipeline of the next generations of researchers is being cut off. This is extremely worrying news and is likely to get worse in the coming years.
*AT A UNIVERSITY SPIN-OFF*???
How is that legal? He makes decisions that impact the resources (financial or otherwise) that that spin-off benefits from.
Power to the University of Bristol's local branch of UCU
Solidarity ✊️
"University of Bristol asks Humanities and Languages academic staff to voluntarily quit"
share.google/ZudICjxrcMdc...
We were told that the University of Dundee is following the Scottish Community Engagement principles, which include that “those affected by the process are involved at the earliest opportunity”.
The process started but UEG don’t know what will happen with our data.
It is not meaningful engagement.
Colleagues who went to one of the “Strategy to Recovery” sessions this week were told that UEG don’t know how their feedback will be analysed. It might go out to a third party and AI may be used.
Outsourcing this work whilst UEG has grown. Sounds like there are costs that can still be cut.
Says it all really. ✊✊✊We go again today! @ucu.org.uk @ucunorthumbria.bsky.social
Did you see any seals near Burntisland today?
Solidarity with colleagues at Stirling who are striking over the threat to jobs.
That’s three branches in two days who are joining others on the picket lines or in dispute across the Scottish university sector!
A great point made at the Scottish Parliament Committee.
Without a growth mindset the University of Dundee will be caught in a vicious cycle of continuing job cuts, losing over 100+ jobs every year due to inflationary pressures.
Why did UEG focus on a major restructuring that will not save money?
Solidarity to all colleagues at Herriot-Watt. An amazing turnout!
Solidarity to colleagues at the University of Aberdeen for getting a mandate for industrial action.
Join the University and Colleges Union branch at the University of Dundee today.
Our strike action and lobbying was a major factor in securing additional funding for the University.
We consistently protect our members and ask for redundancies to be ruled out.
Join now - www.ucu.org.uk/join
The stresses that staff have been under at the University of Dundee for 16 months are explained here by Dundee UCU Co-President, Melissa D’Ascenzio.
She outlines some measures that could help relieve this stress.
The University of Dundee has still not ruled out compulsory redundancies until the summer.
This is despite the conditions of £40m funding explicitly stating that redundancies cannot go ahead until they have submitted a new strategy and workforce plan.
This is causing huge stress to all staff.
