Two-thirds of Cambridge researchers on temporary contracts

More than two-thirds of researchers at the University of Cambridge are employed on a fixed-term basis, says a new report that highlights staff unhappiness with job insecurity, modest pay rises and a “culture of overwork”.

Drawing on new internal staff data, the study by Cambridge’s University and College Union (UCU) branch found that 69 per cent of research staff were working on fixed-term contracts, with 13 per cent on contracts lasting 12 months or less.

In some cases, staff contracts were renewed on a recurrent basis, which the union said was “in contradiction to the university’s official fixed-term contract policy, which mandates the conversion of fixed-term contracts to open-ended ones upon the second renewal, except in exceptional circumstances”.

The Cambridge Researchers Survey also found that the number of fixed-term staff – both academic and research – at Cambridge was approaching the level of permanent staff. According to data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa), 45 per cent of academic and research staff were on fixed-term contracts in 2022-23, that number having risen steadily since 2014-15.

A separate staff survey, which drew 135 responses, gave greater insight into the concerns of those on temporary contracts.

One respondent explained how their “funding is rolling and renewed every year” but “it is often not confirmed until quite late”.

“I often get emails saying that my funding is running out and my leaving date will be a particular day – this is usually extended before this date, but last year I didn’t get official confirmation that it was extended until after the date had passed,” they added.

Another researcher who described themselves as having an “extremely distinguished academic career up to this point” said they would be leaving Cambridge soon because they were “sick of precarious, fixed-term contracts” and did not “have enough savings to keep living beyond my means in academia”, citing high rents in the Cambridge area and childcare costs as contributing reasons for their departure.

A migrant researcher added that precarity had a disproportionate impact on foreign employees, saying that “short-term contracts are especially stressful for people whose visas are tied to our jobs”.

The situation faced by college-based research fellows was also raised, with some living on salaries of less than £30,000, which made them “among the lowest-paid researchers in UK higher education”, the report says.

According to the report’s authors, its findings “reveal significant concerns related to casualisation, job insecurity, excessive workloads and inadequate compensation experienced by researchers at Cambridge University”.

Describing what they call a “culture of overwork”, the study’s authors point to their survey’s finding that 62 per cent of staff said they regularly worked more than their contracted hours, and 26 per cent worked more than 48 hours a week.

A university spokesperson said that “although this survey represents under 3 per cent of research staff, we acknowledge the concerns” in the report and the university was already working to address many of the issues raised.

A review of staff working on fixed-term contracts in 2020-21 had resulted in about 300 staff moving to open-ended contracts, while a “further project is under way, working with the trade unions to review the use of fixed-term contracts at the university and the associated guidance”.

Work on a new academic career pathway for research staff “is in its advanced stages”, and was “intended to help make promotion and recognition for excellence fair, equitable and transparent”.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com