A complete rundown of all the UK unis where staff plan to strike in autumn 2025

It’s a new academic year, which means new strike days are being announced. Staff at loads of unis across the UK plan to go on strike in autumn 2025.

If you hadn’t got the memo, UK unis are really not thriving right now. Higher running costs and fewer international students have led to lots of UK unis struggling for cash. Even prestigious Russell Group unis are contemplating merging departments. Many have announced drastic job cuts. Funnily enough, your lecturers aren’t too thrilled about this. Students at lots of unis have already dealt with their lecturers striking in the spring and summer, but even more industrial action is planned for the new academic year.

So, here is a (rather long) rundown of all the UK unis where we know staff are making plans to strike in autumn 2025. We’ll keep updating this page if lecturers at more unis announce protests (which, let’s be real, is pretty likely).

University of Edinburgh

The union are timing their strikes with the university’s Welcome Week, from Monday 8th to Friday 12th September. Some Freshers’ Week events might be impacted by this.

Edi Uni has already disposed of 350 staff through a voluntary severance scheme. But on 28th August, they announced another scheme targeted at senior staff.

The vice-chancellor Peter Mathieson said: “We remain firmly committed to open and regular engagement with our community as we take the necessary steps to safeguard the future of our university.”

Lancaster University

Over 3000 signatures! ✨👊
Keep signing and sharing our petition to stop mass redudancies at @LancasterUni

1 in 4 staff will lose their jobs in a year or less https://t.co/DgLAIeqecZ@before_profit @GuardianDigital @InhumanNigel @phil_m_chandler @UoNUCU @ucu @UCU_Ulster

— Lancaster UCU (@LancasterUCU) August 13, 2025

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Lancaster University plans to cut a huge 462 roles by July 2026 in order to save £35 million. The UCU fears this could amount to as much as one in four staff members losing their jobs. A majority of union members expressed interest in striking during a consultative ballot in July. The union haven’t announced any firm plans about strikes in the autumn, but it seems to be a strong possibility.

A university pro-vice-chancellor for engagement, Sarah Kemp, told the Lancaster Guardian: “The university is in sound financial health, with good levels of liquidity that would be the envy of most UK universities.

“However, significant changes have taken place, particularly with the international student market over the last two recruitment cycles and we expect this to get significantly worse for this summer cycle. These changes are impacting all UK universities. For Lancaster, we need to act over the next 12 months if we are to continue to be financially strong and stable.”

University of Leicester 

The uni has told academic staff in the chemistry, geography, history, film studies and modern language departments that they could be made redundant. The Leicester branch of the UCU opened a strike ballot on 28th July. This could lead to strikes in autumn.

A spokesperson for the uni told Times Higher Education: “We are exploring a range of options to ensure our future sustainability. No decisions have been made and, as such, we cannot rule out compulsory redundancies.”

Liverpool Hope University

So, this Liverpool uni initially planned to get rid of 39 staff members in the creative arts and humanities,  education and social sciences, and human and digital sciences departments. After negotiating with the UCU, the uni paired back this idea, and now aims to only 11 jobs. About 30 people could potentially lose their jobs. Staff will strike from Monday 22nd to Friday 26th September, then from Monday 29th September to Friday 3rd October.

A spokesperson from the uni said: “We are in contact with at-risk colleagues, providing information about redeployment opportunities and continue to offer colleagues wellbeing support. We remain committed to mitigate against compulsory redundancies where possible.”

University of Nottingham

On the 29th August, Notts staff announced they would be striking over the uni’s plans to cut back 356 positions. They haven’t firmed up the dates yet.

Staff are not impressed that their jobs are at risk, yet the uni has spent £43.1 million revamping the new Castle Meadow Campus.

I could try to come up with something witty and snarky to say about this, but honestly this mismanagement of the University is just disgusting. Cutting jobs while haemorrhaging money like this is just wrong.https://t.co/WZIbxHEN1d

— University of Nottingham UCU branch (@UoNUCU) August 27, 2025

“The proposals are part of our Future Nottingham programme,” a uni spokesperson said, “which outlines ambitious future plans, while addressing the serious financial challenges facing the higher education sector.”

Robert Gordon University

Staff at this uni in Aberdeen already went on strike in April and May. More strikes are planned for the week between the 8th and the 12th of September.

Robert Gordon Uni already got rid of 130 staff through a voluntary redundancy scheme, but plans to make further cuts.

“Against what continues to be an extremely challenging sector context, the actions that have been taken so far have been difficult but necessary,” the principal Steve Olivier told the BBC.

University of Sheffield

Sheffield have already made cuts to save money. The uni has now started a voluntary severance scheme for staff in the chemistry, civil engineering, East Asian studies, management and materials science departments. The union opened another strike ballot at the end of August.

A spokesperson for the uni said: “Following the negotiations held with UCU earlier this year, we stand by our commitment to make no compulsory redundancies in this calendar year. We are also continuing to work with the UCU and other trade unions to avoid them wherever possible in the future.”

University of the West of Scotland

UWS’s Ayr Campus
(Credit: Thomas Nugent)

UWS aim to get rid of the full-time equivalent of 75 academic jobs.

Staff at four different campuses will participate in a walkout on 11th September. Further strikes are planned on the 16th, 22nd and 23rd of September, then on the 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 8th, 20th and 21st of October.

A spokesperson for UWS told the BBC the uni was facing “a very challenging financial environment” and “is committed to mitigating the impact on staff, with a focus on employment retention where possible.” The uni hasn’t ruled out compulsory redundancies “as a last resort”.

Other UK unis might announce more strikes in autumn 2025

Lots of other UK unis had strike days in the summer of 2025, and some are still participating in action short of strike (ASOS) in autumn 2025. This means they protest by only doing the literal bare minimum work outlined in their contracts, and avoid doing other things such as covering for absent co-workers and helping out at events. This sometimes involves refusing to mark exams.

The UK unis that already went on strike over the summer include the University of Bradford, Durham University, the University of Lincoln and the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Staff at these unis haven’t announced plans for more strike days yet. But if they did, the news wouldn’t exactly come as a shock.

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