‘Around 350’ staff at Edinburgh University take voluntary redundancy

The head of Edinburgh University has said “around 350” staff have taken voluntary redundancy as the sector wrestles with a financial crisis, with more jobs being potentially cut.

The institution announced it would have to cut £140 million from its budget to plug a black hole earlier this year, with job cuts likely.

On Thursday, principal Professor Sir Peter Mathieson announced the number of staff who have voluntarily taken redundancy.

“The university’s voluntary severance scheme has concluded and around 350 staff will take voluntary severance, which will deliver year-on-year savings of approximately £18 million,” he said in a statement.

“Managers were asked to consider the impact on colleagues as part of the voluntary severance application approval process and to ensure that workloads are managed effectively, particularly where staff will be leaving the organisation.”

“We are continuing to look at all aspects of cost reduction across the university and this includes both staff and non-staff operating costs.

“Alongside recruitment constraints and a pause in academic promotions, further work will be needed to achieve a stable and sustainable staff base in the long-term and we are taking time to consider our approach.

“We appreciate that that this is causing uncertainty within our community.

“We are continuing to liaise with our joint trade unions and are providing regular updates as we take the necessary steps to ensure a financially sustainable future.”

The university also faces the possibility of strike action with workers currently being balloted by both the University and Colleges Union and Unison – the latter of which is due to close on Friday.

The announcement is the latest blow for Scottish higher education, after Dundee University announced around 700 jobs could be cut as it seeks to fill a £35 million deficit.

A Government-backed task force is due to meet for the first time on Thursday to discuss the future of the university.

Earlier this month, Sir Peter raised the spectre of the end of free tuition fees for Scottish students, calling for a “radical rewiring” of the system.

“When you consider the rising costs of wages, food, housing, energy bills over the past eight years, in all that time the funding we receive to teach undergraduate students from Scotland and the rest of the UK remained stagnant,” he wrote in The Scotland On Sunday.

“This left us over-reliant on increases in international student numbers, which has proven an unstable model as geopolitics grow increasingly volatile and the UK’s attractiveness has declined.”

Answering a question in Holyrood on Thursday, universities minister Graeme Dey said: “The Government is aware of broader financial pressures impacting on the university sector, including the impact of the UK Government’s immigration policies on international student recruitment and the increase to employer national insurance contributions which, it is estimated, will cost Scottish universities over £48 million.

“While universities are autonomous institutions with responsibility for their own strategic and operational decision making, the Government and Scottish Funding Council will continue to engage closely with the sector and offer appropriate support to universities as they develop their plans to address financial challenges.

“In line with our fair work principles, I expect universities to engage meaningfully with staff on the potential impact of their plans.

“My clear expectation is that universities work with staff to make every effort to protect jobs and avoid compulsory redundancies, which should always be considered as a last resort after all other cost-saving measures have been fully explored.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said “staffing and operational matters are the responsibility of individual universities as autonomous institutions”.

But they added that the Government and the Scottish Funding Council “will continue to engage closely with the sector and offer appropriate support to universities as they develop their plans to address financial challenges”.

The spokesperson continued: “In line with our fair work principles, we would expect universities to engage meaningfully with staff on the potential impact of their plans. Our clear expectation is that universities work with staff to make every effort to protect jobs.

“The sector is aware we are open to exploring the future funding model of universities, but we are clear that this Government will not reintroduce tuition fees.

“Access to higher education must be based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay. Broader financial pressures facing the sector remain, including the UK Government’s migration policies, employee national insurance contributions and inflationary pressures.”