Union fears ‘disastrous consequences’ of Sheffield restructure

The University of Sheffield has been urged by a union to pause its planned restructuring and consult staff, or risk “disastrous consequences”.

Koen Lamberts, Sheffield’s vice-chancellor, informed staff this week that the institution was planning on creating a “new school structure”, reducing the number of academic departments and creating more evenly sized schools.

In an all-staff meeting the next day, senior management reportedly said they could not guarantee there would not be any redundancies.

The university told Times Higher Education that there were no anticipated academic redundancies as part of the new school structure.

Robyn Orfitelli, president of the Sheffield branch of the University and College Union, said there have been more than 20 restructures at the institution since 2019.

“University management has not taken the time to slow down to properly evaluate whether these restructures have led to positive or negative changes before moving onto the next one, and now are subjecting the entire university to a change management process which will cause a remarkable level of stress and job uncertainty,” she said.

Sheffield’s proposals are due to be presented to the university senate on 13 December. Unions were told about the plans one hour before Professor Lamberts’ email was received by staff, on World Mental Health day.

Dr Orfitelli, a lecturer in linguistics, said the proposed groupings of academic disciplines in the schools had not been the subject of input from staff in these areas.

“A change of this magnitude will impact every single staff member and student of this university, and the only acceptable next step is to pause, seek meaningful feedback from staff and students, and to resubmit a revised version to full, proper review under our governance structures,” Dr Orfitelli said.

“Anything less than that risks disastrous consequences for this university.”

In his email, Professor Lamberts said little strategic thought was given to the creation to the size and shape of departments in 2008-09, which has led to inconsistencies and unevenness across the institution.

“In some parts of the university, large student intakes and the associated workload make it difficult to maintain research excellence,” he said.

He said bringing together some departments within the five faculties – engineering, science, health, arts and humanities and social sciences – to create larger schools would reduce bureaucracy for staff, and ensure equal support across the university.

“This decision is not about saving costs – it is about making improvements for the future that benefit our staff and students,” the vice-chancellor said.

Meredith Warren, a senior lecturer in biblical and religious studies, said Professor Lamberts had caused “a lot of worry and anxiety among staff and students”, and done so at the busiest time of year.

“His callous treatment of staff and students during the recent industrial action is matched in how he has unilaterally decided to force through major unnecessary changes, which will impact every member of the university,” said Dr Warren.

“It also seems like he has tried to circumvent the democratic processes at the university for his own aims.

“We've just been on strike for workload issues, so I can’t see how reducing staff numbers will do anything but make the problem worse.”

According to its most recent financial statements, the university posted a deficit of £72 million in 2021-22.

In his letter, Professor Lamberts wrote that the new structure would be implemented in phases over the next two years – with some schools being in place for 2024-25 and some for 2025-26.

Professor Lamberts told THE that the university was “currently seeking views from our staff on the proposed new structure”. He said that the changes would not affect how courses are delivered and students will continue to study as normal.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com