Anger as university reneges on working from home policies for low-paid staff

Martin Shipton

Cardiff University has been accused of seeking to renege on working from home policies for low paid employees in areas like the library service.

The trade union Unison is seeking to mobilise opposition to the move.

A university employee contacted Nation.Cymru and said: “Amid all the recent cuts to our schools and redundancies, there’s now a wave of retreating on well-established policies of working from home.

“These policies were created to support staff mental health and create a better work/life balance, and removing them also goes against the university’s green policies by making staff commute into work.

“The revoking of these policies is to hit only the lowest paid grades, obviously, especially the university’s library service. It is being done in an underhanded way, creating an atmosphere of distrust and intimidation, and individual circumstances – caring responsibilities, finances, mental and physical health etc – are not being considered.”

‘Silencing’

The employee added: “I’d like some reassurance as to anonymity, as the culture here is one of silencing anyone who speaks negatively about the university.”

A newsletter sent by Unison to its members is headlined “Don’t let the university close the book on blended working”. It states: “On September 3 the university starts a 45 day consultation for university library staff. The university is proposing that lower graded staff, currently working with a blended approach (some home working, some on-campus working) return to working on-campus 100%. Interestingly, higher grades are not being asked to consider this!

“Not only is this incredibly unfair, but this runs a real risk of having a negative impact on staff wellbeing and mental health.

“In a staff briefing delivered by library heads, staff expressed their upset and frustration at the proposed changes and said that they feel they are being punished, despite the fact that they all work incredibly hard to deliver the best possible service for students.

“Unison intends to fight this proposal, but we need your help. Please give us your thoughts and feedback so that we can feed back our own evidence on these devastating proposals.

“We have already raised concerns with the university over the detrimental effect this will have on mental health, wellbeing and work life balance. But the more evidence we have the better. If you would be willing to share your concerns on how this will impact you, we can use this in our evidence to oppose this. We can of course make all feedback anonymous.”

Increase in library visits

A document issued by the university management in support of the change states: “Since 2021 there has been an increase in library visits recorded in the … statistical returns. There was a 73% increase from 2021/22 to 2022/23 and a further 5% increase in 2023/24, where footfall reached 1,170,659. This increase in footfall has translated into an increase in demand for in-person support, evidenced in recorded enquiry data collected across sites. Recorded site enquiry data suggests that this in person queries on campus increased by 18% in 2023, and a further 13% in 2024. Since 2022, the volume of in person on campus queries have risen from 42761 to 57048.

“This trend was reflected in a user survey in April 2025, where 50% of respondents recorded that they had used in-person support compared to 35% using email or Library Chat.

“We have also seen an increase in the use of services provided on campus by or with the support of daytime staff. An example which illustrates this is the growing demand for loanable laptops, which has increased from 658 loans in 2022 to 3159 loans in 2024; an overall 380% increase in demand. This service, protecting high-value items and a high-demand service, is supported by staff through: addressing issues with laptops, checking lockers and laptops, including peripherals, regular time-consuming windows updating.

“This trend was reflected in a user survey in April 2025, where 50% of respondents recorded that they had used in-person support compared to 35% using email or Library Chat.

“We have also seen an increase in the use of services provided on campus by or with the support of daytime staff. An example which illustrates this is the growing demand for loanable laptops, which has increased from 658 loans in 2022 to 3159 loans in 2024; an overall 380% increase in demand. This service, protecting high-value items and a high-demand service, is supported by staff through: addressing issues with laptops, checking lockers and laptops, including peripherals, regular time-consuming windows updating.

“In the same period, we have recorded a decrease in demand for services supported off campus. For example, the level of engagement with our instant chat service (Library Chat) has fallen, with an average of 5.1 calls a day in 2024. This decrease in demand for online support, and increase in on campus activity parallels the post-covid shifts in behaviour: the return of on-site services, with more teaching and University services delivered in person, libraries returning to normal capacity for study spaces and users able to browse collections which were restricted during the covid-19 lockdown and social distancing.”

Generic data

However, the university employee who contacted us said: “The document issued to us titled Appendix 3 – Integrated Impact Assessment is of note as not one of the impacted members of staff was spoken to when compiling this, it uses generic data and assumptions and the HR staff member who was responsible for it, is brand new to the job.

“The meetings with managers were heated as they had to listen to how poorly paid we are, how disenfranchised we are by the job, the library service and the university as a whole.

“Senior staff members looked rattled and were flustered by the responses from staff who spoke and challenged these unfair and unnecessary plans. The overarching feeling was one of ‘we know this will be awful for you and we don’t care’ and that abolishing our work from home provision was more a case of convenience for library managers than any genuine business need, and it is certainly not being done with any equity amongst library staff or genuine pastoral care for us.”

‘Blended working’

A Cardiff University spokesperson said: “Blended working, as the presentation to staff acknowledged, has become an established pattern across most parts of the University. However, some staff including Lab technicians, Estates staff, Catering, Student Connect, Security etc already work 100% on campus.

“Blended working is based on business need. The University’s guidance acknowledges that ‘Where there is a business need for you to be on campus to carry out certain activities, you will be expected to come in’. This guidance is available on the Staff Intranet and has been shared with affected staff in the case for change documentation.

“The team impacted by the proposal worked 100% on-campus before the pandemic. They currently work a split of 80:20, with the majority of time spent on campus. These members of staff answer face-to-face enquiries, manage physical stock on-site and a range of other work which is site-based.

“Following the lifting of pandemic related restrictions, on-site activity in libraries has recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Our sites are increasingly busy, with footfall across libraries increasing from 642, 945 in academic year 21/22 to 1, 170, 659 in 23/24. This means those staff having more contact with and enquiries from students.

“The proposal sets out a considered way to address this challenge of increasingly busy libraries, which are focussed on delivering excellent services to our students and staff.

“As part of the proposal, an integrated impact assessment has been produced and shared. This addresses potential impacts on staff, including mitigations and signposting to resources. This was done with input from the University’s compliance and risk team. Engagement activities with staff, during this period, will provide an opportunity to add detail, including around personal circumstances; the University will address these at the end of the consultation period.

“We reject the suggest that this proposal is ‘being done in an under-handed way’. It is taking place under a clear and established minor change process, agreed with recognised trade unions. The consultation starts shortly with in-person briefings with affected staff.

“The following engagement activities, for feedback or counterproposals, were set out at the meeting:

· Staff briefings – 3 September in person; 9 September online (recorded)

· Share consultation document – 3 September

· 1-1 consultation meetings available with line managers – 15 September to 17 October

· Online form for feedback and suggestions – 8 September to 17 October

· Drop-in sessions with interim library directors – 15 September to 17 October

“Any changes will be shared with staff on 5 November, with any proposed changes not coming into effect until 1 February 2026.

“This process is being done carefully and with care for all impacted staff. As the case for change recognises, there may be reasonable adjustments in place which could include working from home. Line managers will be working with affected staff who have reasonable adjustments in place to review and consider them in light of the proposals. Senior managers will continue to support all staff throughout this process.”