Redundancy payout secured for at-risk uni staff
Staff taking voluntary redundancy as part of plans to cut almost 200 jobs at a West Yorkshire university will receive an extra £5,000 payment, union representatives have said.
The University of Huddersfield wants to axe 198 jobs and at least 12 courses to address what it has described as a "financial crisis in the university sector".
Unison said the payout had been agreed with the university after members had indicated willingness to take industrial action over plans for compulsory redundancies.
The BBC has approached the University of Huddersfield for a comment.
'Hard won'
Unison said the £5,000 payment would come on top of statutory redundancy pay, with 91% of its members voting to accept the offer.
The union's University of Huddersfield branch secretary Steve Howe said: "Initially, the university wouldn’t budge from its intention of making almost 200 compulsory redundancies. But securing a commitment to looking at voluntary redundancies first is a significant achievement.
“The additional £5,000 payment to all those taking redundancy has been hard won and welcomed by workers."
Speaking in April, when the job cuts were first revealed, a university spokesperson said it was facing a budget deficit in 2023-24, which had been "further exacerbated" by a decline in international students - something it blamed on a change in government policy.
The spokesperson also said: "Since 2012, UK undergraduate tuition fees have increased by only 2.8%, from £9k to £9.25k, despite inflation surging by over 50%.
"This has precipitated a financial crisis in the university sector, affecting many institutions including ours."
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