Employment

Statement issued as union claims fears of ‘reputational damage’ have forced leading UK universities to act

Move to reduce reliance on SCI citations in decision-making could affect everything from researchers’ careers to university rankings, experts say

Graduate students had been seeking help with high housing costs

University of Salford says ‘consultation is ongoing’ with eight professors in its business school as ‘newly focused research strategy’ is implemented

Union and employers refuse to make further concessions as 14 days of industrial action continue at 74 universities

Staff vent frustration that employers haven’t recognised the bigger picture behind the walkouts

Paper confirms that academics with permanent posts are on average more satisfied with their job than those on temporary contracts

Universities decline to make fresh offers on pay and pensions as union prepares for second round of industrial action

Alienation of Chinese students and graduates risks encouraging a monoculture of the ‘male, pale and stale’, senate told

Law scholars see wider battle against hierarchical abuse in US dispute

University of Massachusetts Boston enables departments to bid for second position for under-represented scholar when undergoing existing search

Walkouts to escalate over February and March

Bristol deal also gives greater recognition to ‘good citizenship’ in promotion process and is seen as model for sector

Total number of union branches eligible to strike this year reaches 74

Employers’ body says it has ‘gone further than ever before’ with latest offer, but union says it is ‘some distance’ from fulfilling staff demands

Hundreds of complaints are passed to regulator, including claims that punishing hours and pressure have contributed to divorces and estrangement from children

Almost a third of staff in UK higher education are now classed as teaching-only

New Zealand analysis of ‘globally unique’ dataset repudiates common justifications for earnings disparities

Cornell-based centre asks candidates to assemble in teams and submit joint proposals to boost collaboration

Staff nerves fray as whistleblower row university calls time on course

UCL academic ‘staggered by the levels of mistrust’ shown as institutions ‘over-comply’ with Home Office policy

UCU report examines how academics on insecure contracts are ‘vulnerable and open to exploitation’

Arbitrator finds campus unfairly limited hours to avoid having to provide tuition fee benefits

Like the rest of society, universities have largely failed to consider the specific needs of menopausal women. Here, one scholar describes how this can lead to marginalisation and bullying – and why the issue is as important as the fight for maternity rights

Poll of 4,000 researchers reveals half have sought or wanted help for mental health problems, and four in 10 are victims of bullying or harassment

Study finds levels of psychological safety falling well short of national benchmarks, and getting worse

Study finds that some scholars can earn lucrative rewards from international contracts, but may deprive domestic postgraduates of vital experience

UCU says that universities should focus on solving dispute ‘instead of trying to spin their way out of this’

Effectiveness of courses aimed at improving diversity in leadership called into question by interviews with ethnic minority staff

Survey of 200 hires finds them often stuck in usual disciplinary confines rather than working across boundaries as intended

Union cites aspirational university statement as grounds to halt walkout

Judgment likely to reignite the battle over the fixed departure ages at the university and elsewhere

UCU, employers and USS will discuss the ongoing pensions row, following series of recommendations from expert panel  

Email also says staff should not work from home for general reasons for more than one or two days per semester

Study finds that overseas scholars in former communist countries work there not out of deliberate choice but often due to ‘happenstance’, love or to escape poor job prospects at home

Blocked from firing hostile professors, institutions restrict their teaching rights

University’s first graduate walkout since 1973 comes as winter break approaches

Proposals include new job classifications, a rolling back of metrics, and shorter publication lists in a bid to end excessive ‘emphasis on research performance’

Ucea chair’s institution among those to decide against withholding salaries

Precarious contracts ‘damage’ universities’ teaching and reputation, panel says

Step comes as employers and union debate equality, casualisation and workload, without movement on pay offer

Thousands walk out, but universities say they expect ‘low to medium’ levels of disruption

After last year’s walkout over pensions, this year’s action is ‘part of something bigger’, say union members

Coventry union members on strike over “onerous and unreasonable” system

Women are less effective at bargaining monetary benefits but have more success when they feel supported by professors, says study

Survey of 10,000 researchers suggests that despite headlines, salary and location are still bigger drivers

Jo Grady says ‘a lot of’ university leaders want to strike a deal over contributions to Universities Superannuation Scheme

Caught up in a national anxiety about falling behind technologically, universities have recruited hundreds of new professors including data experts and digital humanities professors

V-c warns pension and pay strikes will damage whole sector but union members believe experience shows industrial action will force change

Staff will walk out at 60 universities starting from 25 November

About 1 million students set to be affected by walkout

University believes new criteria rewarding selfless behaviour will ‘focus minds’

Scheme means universities can spend levy money on own training for lecturers instead of seeing it claimed by government

Student labour movement feels momentum despite Trump administration pressure

After long-running protests, security staff and cleaners to be brought in-house, following similar move for other workers

Ucea report suggests more direct methods of reining in staff spending are being used amid financial pressure

Hesa data analysed by UCU also show how few black and other ethnic minority scholars are in senior positions

Warwick statistician Jane Hutton attacks lack of transparency over her dismissal from board of Universities Superannuation Scheme

Pension fund chair says Warwick statistician had ‘breached a number of her director’s duties’, but insists probe was ‘completely separate’ to investigation of her claims

President says Ivy League institution is reaping reward of looking past academic silos and selecting staff on ability to tackle external challenge