Tuesday 10 September 2025
A strike ballot has opened at Sheffield Hallam University as staff fight against job cuts and worsening working conditions, the University and College Union (UCU) confirmed today.
The ballot for strike action and action short of strike (ASOS) opened on Thursday 22 August and will run until Wednesday 1 October.
The dispute centres on the refusal of Sheffield Hallam’s leadership to rule out compulsory redundancies, despite already having slashed around 450 jobs during 2024. UCU has also raised the alarm over spiralling workloads as fewer staff are left to do more work.
The cuts are being driven by the university’s decision to plough more than £200m into major building projects, while announcing further budget reductions of £28m for 2025–26. UCU understands the university is planning cuts totalling £70m over the next four years, representing 20% of its total budget and a 30% reduction in staff costs. At the same time, over £10m is earmarked for a controversial London campus franchise, which is unlikely to deliver returns for years to come.
A voluntary severance scheme launched in May 2025 has resulted in a further reduction of 170 staff but this falls short of the university’s target of 200–250. UCU believes this shortfall places the university on a direct path towards compulsory redundancies and so far the university has refused to give assurances that jobs are safe.
The union is demanding the university:
- makes an immediate commitment to no compulsory redundancies and engages in meaningful consultation
- significantly scales down staff reductions by shifting savings to non-staff budgets
- commits to early consultation over plans to outsource teaching at the International Pathway College to protect existing staff jobs
- ensures associate lecturers are paid properly and ends exploitative zero-hours contracts
- restores applications for promotions, which have been suspended
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “Sheffield Hallam’s leadership has overseen a disastrous programme of cuts and vanity projects, leaving staff demoralised, students short-changed, and the university on a path of managed decline. Staff cannot and will not stand by while jobs are threatened, workloads spiral, and the student experience deteriorates. Instead of gambling millions on speculative ventures, the university should be investing in staff and protecting jobs. Our members are determined to fight compulsory redundancies, and management should be in no doubt about their resolve. The university must urgently change course to avoid industrial action this semester.”