Cardiff University keeps 650 ‘in scope’ for redundancy despite no compulsory job losses pledge

Martin Shipton

Cardiff University has been criticised for keeping 650 academics “in scope” for redundancy, despite pledging not to impose compulsory redundancies in 2025.

In January the university announced plans to cut 400 jobs and close five of its Schools including Nursing and Music.

Following a campaign by the University and College Union (UCU) that included overwhelming support for industrial action including strikes and a student assessment boycott, the university moderated its position.

‘Distress’

On May 15 Vice Chancellor Wendy Larner sent a statement to all staff which said: “I’m writing to provide an update on the consultation for Our Academic Future, which closed on May 6. I want to start by acknowledging that the last three months has been a really difficult time for many colleagues, and I do not underestimate the distress and worry that continues to be experienced by our community as we address our academic and financial sustainability.

“Firstly I am able to confirm that colleagues in the School of Healthcare Sciences, the School of Medicine, the School of Biosciences, and the School of English, Communications and Philosophy are now out of scope of the consultation. This means that these staff are no longer at risk of redundancy.

“It has been possible to remove these Schools from scope due to a combination of the number of staff in those Schools who have taken voluntary redundancy or have left the institution, and the acceptance of alternative proposals submitted by staff. Removing these Schools from scope means that the number of staff in the ‘at risk’ pool has now reduced to 650.

“We have also made significant progress in reducing the academic FTE (full-time equivalent) target we had set. You will remember that we had initially proposed a target of 400 FTE. I am able to confirm we are now seeking to reduce FTE by 138. That reduction will take place over a number of years, and it is worth unpacking why this number has changed during the consultation:

“We have accepted alternative proposals which will see Schools teaching higher numbers of students than in the original proposals – for example, Chemistry will retain the BSc Medicinal Chemistry degree, Mathematics will create a new programme, and we will continue to offer Nursing. We therefore need to retain more staff in those areas. The alternative proposal for Nursing, for example, meant lowering the target by 40 FTE.

“We have acknowledged the need for staffing for the Kazakhstan campus, which reduced the target for the in-scope Schools by 34 FTE.

“In some cases we have adjusted the FTE target for some Schools, notably the School of Global Humanities where the proposed FTE reduction has reduced by 15 FTE.

“Finally we have taken into account the number of staff leaving the institution, either by voluntary redundancy or voluntary severance, or simply leaving – this is currently 133, and these have been removed from the total.

“I know that this offers little comfort for those of you whose roles remain at risk. We have, of course, now committed to no compulsory redundancies in 2025, and reconfirmed that compulsory redundancies will only ever be an action of last resort in future years. We are continuing to review the Schools that remain in the ‘in scope’ pool with a view to removing as many staff as possible from this pool. We will continue to keep you updated.

“I want specifically to reference the proposed School of Global Humanities, because I know that the news that the School of English, Communications and Philosophy (ENCAP) is coming out of scope might cause further anxiety for those in humanities disciplines who remain in scope. We have been able to remove ENCAP because of the number of staff who are leaving the School, and because we know that we plan to continue to teach the full range of ENCAP’s current courses in the future.

Alternative proposals

The Statement continued: “We have received several alternative proposals for the proposed new School of Global Humanities and its corresponding disciplines, and we are currently modelling those proposals. Some of those proposals include options for retaining elements of disciplines we had initially proposed to close. A workshop has been held to bring together academic staff from across the constituent Schools and trade union representatives, to inform the development of that School, including its proposed course portfolio and structure. We will share the proposed shape of the new School with colleagues as soon as we possibly can.

“We have also received several alternative proposals regarding the proposed School mergers and the structures of these new Schools. Again, we are working through these proposals to ensure that we are taking the views expressed into account. I want to reaffirm that these mergers will not be in place until 2026-27, with preparatory work taking place during 2025- 26, and that the alternative proposals will also inform and indeed perhaps shift the structure of those proposals.”

One of the academics still “in scope” for redundancy said: “The agony goes on for 650 academics at Cardiff University, damaging productivity in areas where the university is committed to growth. Such as the Business School.

“At a time when people are wanting to be getting on with their research and with course planning for the next academic year and beyond, their focus instead is distracted by fears for their jobs and their futures.

“It is good that the numbers in scope have come down, but that begs the question of why so many were put in scope over three months ago.

“This has been an unnecessary, distressing and wholly avoidable melodrama which has destroyed trust in the university’s senior management for the foreseeable future.”

Grave concern

A Cardiff UCU spokesperson said: “We cautiously welcome parts of this statement from the University Executive Board, although there remain numerous areas of grave concern for our members about management’s continued programme of cuts.

“It is good to see that the university has further reduced the number of staff in scope for redundancy and removed some schools and departments’ ‘at risk’ status. We also welcome the reduction in numbers of staff the university is seeking to reduce overall, as well as the indications it has given that some disciplines initially earmarked for closure in its initial highly damaging proposals now have the potential to be saved. Our members will be relieved to hear that management now agrees with UCU’s long-standing argument that we should aim to restructure the university, and make savings, over a longer period.

“We will continue to press university leaders in the strongest terms to: take all staff out of scope for redundancy – it is simply not acceptable to keep our members in such uncertainty; continue provision of teaching and research in music, modern languages, ancient history, and religion and theology; draw on the university’s vast sums of accessible cash to fund a longer recovery period than it is currently planning on; and to rule out compulsory redundancies completely in relation to their current restructuring plans.

“We will also continue to campaign on the pressing issue of workload-related mental and physical ill-health given the numbers of staff who have been forced out voluntarily in the wake of its cuts announcements and the inevitable workload increases for those who remain. We continue to make the case that transnational education projects like Cardiff University Kazakhstan (CUK) should be approached slowly, with extreme caution, and only after extensive accounting for potential risks.

“We are currently working work with management in the spirit of partnership and collaboration but, in case our concerns cannot be resolved by working together, we are currently consulting members over potential future industrial action on the major issues created by this precipitous and poorly-planned process.”