Staff at Sheffield Hallam University have announced 18 days of strike action following the University’s refusal to back down from plans to cut at least 130 academic and research jobs, and to attack pensions and working conditions.
The strike dates are: 27-29 May; 1-5 June; 8-12 June; 15-19 June. 2026
This action is supported by an overwhelming mandate from UCU members at Sheffield Hallam in the recent statutory ballot, which underlines the strength of feeling of academic and research staff against the proposed destructive changes. 87.7% of members voted for strike action and 93.2% for action short of strike, with a turnout of 72.6%, the highest in the Branch’s recent history. UCU’s demands include:
- No compulsory redundancies
- Withdrawal of the proposal to move most academic staff to a wholly owned subsidiary company to create a multi-tier workforce and evade the University’s legal obligation to provide its teaching staff with the Teachers’ Pension Scheme
- Retention of the progression pathway from lecturer to senior lecturer
- Withdrawal of proposals to increase the number of hours per week and number of weeks per year that staff are expected to teach
The University claims that its proposed destructive cuts are unavoidable to secure financial sustainability. UCU believes that they are short-sighted and will condemn the University to a death spiral of decreasing education quality, declining student numbers and an inability to attract and retain talented staff. The recent updated report compiled by Sheffield Hallam UCU highlights the history of bad financial decisions that have worsened the University’s finances. A recent report in the press reveals that the current level of employer’s contribution to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) is likely set to fall. This casts further serious doubt on the University’s plan to save money by evading its legal obligation to offer TPS membership to its teaching staff by removing most of them to a wholly owned subsidiary company. Based on analysis of the University’s finances, UCU has made alternative proposals that are financially viable and offer a future for the University that is genuinely sustainable.
Sheffield Hallam UCU again calls upon the University Executive Board to engage in meaningful negotiation to limit strike action, which UCU sees as a last resort in the face of the University’s intransigence. UCU urges the University Executive Board to review its proposals and pull back from further catastrophic decisions, in order to secure a better future for the University, its students and its staff.
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