Uni in Unpaid Job Advert Row

The University and College Union (UCU) claimed that because the adverts indicated that teaching and preparation work was required, the people delivering the courses should be paid.

Last summer the Director of Human Resources said, “it is neither policy nor practice at Durham to recruit unpaid research staff” in response to a letter sent by UCU asking that universities do not hire staff to do unpaid work.

UCU said the university could not use the fact the courses were voluntary as an excuse not to pay staff.

The Durham advert comes after two attempts to hire unpaid research assistants by the University of Birmingham and University College London last summer. These were swiftly withdrawn following complaints from UCU and on social media.

UCU claimed that unpaid posts exploit people able to work for free and discriminate against those who cannot afford to. They said that teaching for free cannot be defended as a development opportunity.

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Jon Bryan, regional support official for UCU, said “The advert says it requires applicants to devise and deliver courses without payment, which is completely at odds with the firm commitment Durham gave us last year that it does not recruit unpaid staff…

“Universities should be striving for excellence, not seeking to exploit those who can afford to work for nothing as free labour.”