University academics have “more generous” working conditions in a number of areas compared to professionals in other sectors, a report suggests.
Academics have a number of job-related benefits – particularly around their pensions, sick pay, annual leave and access to sabbaticals, according to the paper by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) think tank.
It comes as a marking and assessment boycott is being carried out by University and College Union (UCU) members at 145 universities across the UK in an ongoing dispute over staff’s pay and conditions.
University staff staged a series of strikes in February and March in two separate disputes – one on pensions and one on pay and working conditions.
Nick Hillman, director of Hepi, said academics “compare well to those in other professions” in the areas most associated with industrial action.
