Compulsory redundancies ‘an option’ for staff at Arts University Bournemouth

Compulsory redundancies have been made ‘an option’ for staff at Arts University Bournemouth.

It is unknown how many staff at the Poole-based university could lose their jobs but the staff have been told that bosses are considering it.

Students will not be affected by any decisions if and when they are made but the university is blaming several factors for its cash flow problem.

A key factor concerns the rise in national insurance contributions, which will rise in April as per Labour’s budget.

According a university spokesperson, Lisa Mann, vice-chancellor and chief executive at AUB, said: “Higher education in the UK is facing many challenges – rising national insurance contributions, rising fuel bills, inflation and stagnation in student funding.

“As for many universities, AUB is not immune from these external financial challenges, and we have now notified staff that there is, unfortunately, no option but to consider a compulsory redundancy scheme.

“I have reassured students that this will not affect their experience or have an impact on teaching.

“We have a learning, teaching and assessment framework that sets out a clear commitment to our students, stating expected teaching hours for their course, we will not be moving away from this, the hours we will deliver will remain the same.”

In the 2022/23 academic year, AUB posted a deficit of £1.1 million at the end of July, down from £2.2 million the year prior.

Meanwhile, a spokesman from Bournemouth University told The Bournemouth Tab: “It has been widely reported that the higher education sector is in a difficult situation financially and we are experiencing the same challenges as many other universities.

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“We are working on a financial plan to ensure we are financially sustainable now and into the future. We will work with our staff and students to develop and implement these plans.”

Cardiff University has also proposed to cut 400 jobs and close several degrees because of a funding shortfall.

The university is currently reporting a £31.2 million operational deficit – significantly higher than AUB posted for July 2023 and has said that it would use compulsory redundancy only if absolutely necessary.

Featured image via LinkedIn and (before edits) proficient-moose on Creative Commons