English universities spent more than £112 million on severance payouts last year, with thousands of staff members departing their roles – but most institutions continued to grow, adding almost 11,000 positions in total.
Analysis by Times Higher Education of the accounts of 73 institutions that have so far published information on redundancy, severance pay and other forms of compensation showed the total bill in 2022-23 was £44 million more than the £68 million spent by the same institutions the year before.
While 5,786 staff were affected in 2021-22, this figure had risen by 1,036 last year to 6,822 – meaning each person received, on average, a payout of £16,000.
The data come at a time of upheaval in the sector, with more restructures planned by several institutions as they reorganise course offerings in response to a difficult financial climate.
