24 June 2016

University's position on 'casual' employment contracts

As part of a national pay dispute, there are claims that more than 50% of academic staff involved in teaching at the University are employed on ‘casual’ contracts. Here is the most recent data.

  • The University employs approximately 3500 academic staff across a range of roles encompassing teaching and/or research. Of these employees, 69% are engaged on regular contracts and 31% are on fixed-term contracts.
  • Of the 2500 staff regularly involved in teaching, 85% are employed on regular contracts, with 15% on fixed term contracts.
  • The remaining 1000 academic staff are mainly funded by external research councils and charities on fixed-term grants and, as part of their contract, may undertake a few hours of teaching per week.  33% of research staff are employed on regular contracts and, because of the nature of their funding, 67% are employed on fixed-term contracts.
  • Whilst the University does not regularly use ‘zero hours’ contracts to employ staff, over 1000 postgraduate students are given paid opportunities each year, for career development, to deliver lectures and tutorials.

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