Leading universities in the UK are using “gig-economy” employment practices for staff in their research departments, a union has warned.
Two in three research-only staff in UK universities are employed on fixed-term contracts – a figure which has changed little in the last decade, a report by the University and College Union (UCU) has found.
The figure is even higher at some of the universities in the Russell Group, which includes some of the most prestigious and research-intensive UK institutions, data has suggested.
The union’s analysis of Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) staff data for 2021/22 showed that 88% of research-only staff at the University of Oxford were employed on fixed-term contracts.
A number of Russell Group universities had a high proportion of research-only staff employed on fixed-term contracts – including King’s College London (96%), the London School of Economics (96%) and the University of Manchester (80%).
Jo Grady, general secretary of the UCU, said the report shines a light on the “widespread use of gig-economy style short-term contracts” for staff working in university research departments.
The UCU report warned that insecure employment can affect the mental health of staff and make long-term decision planning difficult.
It added that “endemic casualisation” can have a negative impact on research culture, affecting research activity, research integrity and academic freedom.
The UCU sent freedom of information (FoI) requests to 103 UK higher education institutions that employ at least 20 research-only staff and/or where research staff made up at least 5% of the academic staff.
