UCU release report on the “gig-economy” in universities

A new UCU report has found that around two-thirds (66%) of research staff employed by British universities are on fixed-term contracts.

The so-called “gig-economy”contracts are sometimes less than a year in length.

The report is based on freedom of information (FOI) requests made to 103 British universities, including the University of Manchester.

The report found that 80% of research staff employed at the University were on fixed-term contracts, with about two in three research staff nationally on the same type of contract.

The report also ranked all of the 103 universities they collected data on, and gave them each a score from 0-100 on how well they “support their research-only staff to improve their security of employment.”

The University of Manchester ranked 10th on this list, with a score of 48.5. The highest ranking university was the University of Leeds, with 64.

Part of the UCU’s methodology involved asking each university a series of questions as to how they improve staff job security.

The University of Manchester was the only employer identified in the report that offered paid notice periods to research-only staff on fixed-term contracts.

The report calls for universities to commit to reducing the use of fixed-term contracts, a more sustainable model of employment for research staff, and providing greater support for research staff at the end of their contracts.

The elimination of the “casualisation” of universities remains one of the UCU’s long term goals, despite the six month pause in strike action due to the failure of their strike reballot.

Jo Grady, the General Secretary of the UCU, said that the report “shines a light on an area that universities would rather keep shrouded in darkness. Namely the widespread use of gig-economy style short-term contracts for the staff who prop up university research departments.”