You’re Fired

The University of Cambridge have dismissed more than 5,000 employees over the last six years, it emerged yesterday.

Cambridge University sacking unemployment

The University of Cambridge have dismissed more than 5,000 employees over the last six years, it emerged yesterday.

Of the 5058 boffins who were shown the door, 58 were ''established'' academics.

The University, which has 9,035 employees on its books, was particularly brutal in 2009 and 2004, saying goodbye to 952 and 913 employees respectively.

837 employees were dismissed in 2005, 624 in 2006, 692 in 2007 and 893 in 2008.

The University has dismissed a further 147 people up to March this year at a time when controversial proposed modifications to the dismissal procedure are underway.

The University currently employs almost 4000 senior academics, who all make up the governing body Regent House.

However, as The Tab revealed this week, members of Regent House will vote on May 7 on proposed changes to alter the dismissal and appeals procedures for employees. The new rules would prevent employees dismissed for disciplinary offences to appeal to both the University Tribunal and the seven-strong Septemviri.

Professor Ross Anderson, from Cambridge's computer laboratory, said that Darwin and Newton's outspoken ideas would have been ''strangled in the cradle'' given the current cut-throat employment stance of the University.

''I am pretty concerned the changes could make it easier to sack academics.

''As a professor of security engineering, I seem to be involved in a front-line controversy every year. I have no doubt I will continue to say things that irritate ministers.

''If the changes were made, eventually some civil servant will try and have a word with the Vice-Chancellor and say I'm a fly in the ointment."

However a University Spokesman, was quick to add that "the the term dismissal is a legal term governed by the Employment Act which covers redundancy, dismissal and, as is the case for 99% of the cases here, the ending of fixed-term research contracts of which there are many in higher education due to the nature of research funding"