Union warns Newcastle University strike compensation could set ‘dangerous precedent’

A union secretary has said that compensation paid to Newcastle University students for missed teaching could set a precedent and “put other universities on alert”.

According to a Freedom of Information request, the uni handed out £2.4m in compensation to 10,934 students by the end of July.

UCU secretary for Newcastle, Loes Veldpaus, said it would be “interesting to see” how other institutions across the country respond to the awarding of the “significant” sum, BBC reports. 

Others involved claim this payout demonstrates that the university could afford to drop the compulsory redundancies threat in the first place.

The strike action that took place between March and June 2025 was triggered by the university’s plans to cut their budget deficit by making a £20 million reduction in its salary bill.

This follows a reported £35 million “black hole” faced by Newcastle University due to the decline in international students, an issue shared by many institutions around the country after the government’s changes to visa requirements.

This was a time of anxiety and uncertainty for many students, left wondering what exactly they were paying for.

Affected students were contacted by the university with compensation offers earlier this summer and had until the 23rd of July 2025 to accept the offer. If students did not accept this offer by the passage of this deadline, they became no longer eligible for compensation from the university. The university considered this a full settlement for teaching disruption during the 2024/25 year.

The compensation offered £100 per interrupted module for home students and £200 per module interrupted for international students, with a maximum of £600 compensation available for home students and £1,200 for international students. As of the end of June, 8,825 students had received compensation.

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Psychology graduate, Erin, received £200 for disruption to teaching in her final year. She said that though the strikes disrupted her learning, she fully supported the strikes and they needed to happen. She felt she was able to catch up and that the compensation was an acknowledgment of the setbacks experienced.

The strikes were called off on the 27th of June 2025, after agreement was reached with the university. Around 200 staff have taken voluntary redundancy. A similar ballot has opened at the University of Leicester over the threat of compulsory redundancies and, if Loes Veldapus if right, they could be set to follow suit with Newcastle.