Cardiff University agrees to no compulsory redundancies in 2026

Martin Shipton

Union members at Cardiff University have welcomed “major concessions” from management including no compulsory redundancies in 2026 in an ongoing dispute about job cuts and working conditions.

In June this year management failed to agree to demands from the University and College Union (UCU), Unite, and Unison, which led to the campus unions registering a formal industrial dispute. The specific demands were:

* A guarantee of no compulsory redundancies in 2026 as a part of university restructuring exercises;

* The removal of all staff roles from scope for redundancy;

* A guarantee that workloads will not be adversely affected by restructuring exercises; and

* A commitment from university management to implement a jointly-agreed Health & Safety Strategy and produce specific risk assessments for teaching at Cardiff University Kazakhstan.

In order to strengthen negotiators’ hands, Cardiff UCU members mobilised for the second time in 2025, winning an indicative ballot overwhelmingly in favour of both strike action and action short of a strike up to and including a marking boycott (ASOS).

After intense negotiations over a six-month period the University Executive Board has now conceded the following:

* A guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for academic staff in 2026;

* The remaining 187 academics at risk of redundancy removed from scope (affecting staff in the Schools of MUSIC, MLANG, and SHARE); and

* A commitment to no compulsory redundancies as a part of the current restructuring of professional services staff and a further commitment to offer suitable alternative employment at the same grade should staff roles be deleted.

However, UCU reps commented that in relation to an impending “workload and mental health crisis”, along with concerns over staff safety (especially LGBTQ+ staff) in Kazakhstan, management has not offered enough to allay widespread concerns. At a packed Extraordinary General Meeting UCU members voted unanimously to continue to fight until more meaningful concessions over workload and staff safety are offered.

Concessions

A Cardiff UCU spokesperson said: “We welcome these major concessions from the Cardiff University Executive Board. When we initiated this dispute, they told us they couldn’t meet any of our demands. Six months later, after yet another huge union mobilising effort, they have been forced into accepting many of them.

“Management still has a lot of work to do if it is to avoid a looming cuts-related workload and mental health crisis. We will carry on fighting until bosses are able to offer adequate protection over spiralling workloads and staff safety, both at home and in Kazakhstan. Beyond 2026 we will continue to fight for jobs and avoiding compulsory redundancies will remain our red line.

“Our members, whether academics or professional services staff, are battered and bruised by a year of cuts and disruption but we have shown yet again that, when we stand together as union members, change is possible even in very dark and challenging times.”

‘Last resort’

Cardiff University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Wendy Larner said: “We have been clear throughout this incredibly difficult and challenging period of change that compulsory redundancies were always the very last resort.

“Management has been working with all parties – staff and our three campus trade unions – to develop a proposal to remove staff from scope while ensuring that we do make the reductions required.

“We presented the proposals to trade unions at the end of November and have been discussing these with staff and trade unions for several weeks to arrive at this point.

“Some posts will still need to be lost by 2029-2030 as activity ceases or diminishes. The university believes these reductions can be made over time and through voluntary means including through continued targeted Voluntary Redundancy and the continuation of other recruitment controls, already in place.

“The university has agreed with the campus trade unions they will achieve the necessary staff reductions consensually, where possible. Whilst compulsory redundancy has always been the last resort – they can never be completely ruled out.

“The proposal enables the university to balance the wellbeing of those impacted staff with the need to enact our proposals to bring about the changes needed as part of the Academic Futures programme.

“This means those staff will have much needed security and our students will also have confidence that their studies will continue uninterrupted.

“I know how difficult the last year has been for our university community. No action was not an option. I am confident that the changes – however difficult – are needed to secure the university’s long-term future.”