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66% of research staff on insecure contracts

Support for Research Staff 2023

31 January 2024

樱花动漫's Support for Research Staff report lays bare the extent of shocking 'gig-economy' style employment practices at some of the most prestigious universities in the UK. 

The report is based on freedom of information (FOI) requests to the 103 UK higher education institutions that employ at least 20 research-only staff and/or where research staff made up at least 5% of the academic staff, combined with Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data on research staff terms of employment. The results, published for the first time, paint a damning picture of the sector's employment practices. Key findings include:

  • around two in three research staff are employed on fixed term contracts, including 88% of research staff at the University of Oxford, 96% at King's College London, 80% at the University of Manchester and 96% at London School of Economics
  • nearly a third of universities (30%) were unable to say whether research staff were redeployed at the end of their contract. Of those institutions that did respond, redeployment levels were as low as zero
  • only one employer offered enhanced paid notice periods to research only staff on fixed-term contracts
  • most employers paid only statutory redundancy pay to research staff dismissed at the end of a fixed-term contract. 

Read the full report: Support for research staff: 2023 FOI report [396kb]

Headline findings by institution

*樱花动漫 is aware that some employers use open ended contracts to employ research staff but include an identifiable 'at risk' date in the contract. These will not show as fixed-term contracts in the HESA data but we believe they offer little benefit over a fixed-term contract for most staff. Caution is therefore advised in reviewing the HESA figures.
 

InstitutionTotal number of research only staff

Terms of employment - fixed-term

 
Leeds Arts University50%
University College London3,9302%
City, University of London1406%
The University of Aberdeen4008%
The University of Winchester1011%
Glasgow School of Art1017%
Solent University517%
The University of Bristol1,41017%
The University of Lancaster45519%
SRUC13522%
Ravensbourne University London525%
University of Cumbria525%
The University of Glasgow1,31025%
Royal College of Art2027%
The University of Northampton1030%
Sheffield Hallam University19537%
The University of Dundee56541%
Staffordshire University1044%
Canterbury Christ Church University3545%
The University of Huddersfield13546%
University of Worcester1546%
University of the Highlands and Islands3547%
Courtauld Institute of Art1050%
The National Film and Television School550%
The University of Central Lancashire12050%
University of Bedfordshire3051%
The University of York76051%
Bournemouth University5053%
Cardiff Metropolitan University2054%
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland554%
Middlesex University3555%
Robert Gordon University6055%
The University of Leicester49555%
Bath Spa University558%
The Institute of Cancer Research60059%
The University of Cambridge4,13059%
The University of East London3060%
The University of Westminster6060%
The University of Brighton13562%
The University of Leeds1,15063%
Aberystwyth University14065%
Cranfield University27065%
The Open University13565%
Cardiff University1,01066%
Newcastle University1,05066%
University of South Wales7066%
University of Suffolk1066%
Guildhall School of Music and Drama567%
Norwich University of the Arts567%
Royal College of Music567%
University of the Arts, London567%
The University of Wolverhampton5567%
De Montfort University1568%
The Manchester Metropolitan University14068%
The University of Sheffield1,50068%
Glasgow Caledonian University10069%
The University of Bradford3570%
The University of Exeter1,00570%
Edge Hill University1071%
Heriot-Watt University29071%
Swansea University47571%
The University of Greenwich6571%
University of Hertfordshire4571%
The University of Sussex40571%
The University of Edinburgh2,08073%
University of Wales Trinity Saint David4073%
Kingston University3074%
Leeds Beckett University1074%
Birmingham City University3575%
London Business School575%
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine15575%
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama575%
University of Chester1575%
University of Nottingham1,17575%
University of St Mark and St John575%
The University of St. Andrews42575%
Edinburgh Napier University7076%
Falmouth University1076%
The University of Stirling19076%
University of Derby577%
University of Gloucestershire3577%
Bishop Grosseteste University1078%
The University of Chichester1078%
Anglia Ruskin University3079%
The University of Lincoln11079%
University of London (Institutes and activities)1579%
The University of Manchester2,06080%
The University of Strathclyde57080%
The University of Reading39081%
The University of Southampton88081%
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine2,43082%
Keele University10082%
Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh3582%
The University of Hull11082%
University of Plymouth22082%
The University of Birmingham1,45583%
Liverpool John Moores University14584%
The University of East Anglia37084%
The University of Surrey39584%
Teesside University6585%
The University of Warwick83085%
Loughborough University30086%
The University of Kent21586%
The University of Liverpool90086%
Bangor University20087%
The University of Essex13087%
Aston University19588%
London South Bank University4588%
The University of Oxford4,81088%
The Royal Veterinary College5589%
University of Durham42589%
Birkbeck College12090%
Royal Holloway and Bedford New College14090%
The University of Portsmouth1091%
The University of Salford3591%
Abertay University2592%
St George's, University of London10092%Share
Ulster University24592%
The University of the West of Scotland3592%
Brunel University London15093%
Oxford Brookes University3094%
Queen Mary University of London80594%
Queen's University Belfast68594%Share
SOAS University of London5095%
University of Northumbria at Newcastle16595%
King's College London1,89096%Share
London School of Economics and Political Science46596%
The University of Bath31596%
Goldsmiths College6098%
The University of Sunderland1098%
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine44599%
The Arts University Bournemouth5100%
Buckinghamshire New University5100%
Roehampton University10100%
Royal Northern College of Music5100%
University of the West of England, Bristol5100%
Last updated: 1 February 2024