The University and Colleges Union (UCU) has said Durham University's voluntary severance scheme is "hard to accept", after the university announced the move on Thursday. The union's response follows a previous voluntary severance (VS) scheme run 18 months ago, which the UCU says cost around one in twenty of its colleagues, most of them in Professional Services.
In a full statement, the UCU said those who remain are living with the consequences of the earlier scheme, which it described as including "longer hours, heavier workloads, and lost knowledge and experience". The union questioned whether the cuts will harm workloads and the student experience, and added that another round of VS "will not fix the sector's finances".
Union cites financial surplus
The UCU noted that Durham's own accounts show the university moved from an underlying deficit of £6.7m to an underlying surplus of £3.6m in a single year. The union said the scheme "does not address short-term pressures or existing deficits" and called it "a deliberate choice to grow the surplus at the expense of staff".
The statement also highlighted that, across the sector, university staff pay has fallen by up to 30% in real terms since 2011. At Durham, the union said this is the third round of voluntary severance since 2024.
University response
A Durham University spokesperson said the voluntary severance scheme is for academic staff, and that the university is in a secure financial position. The spokesperson said the scheme "gives academic colleagues an opportunity to consider their future plans" and helps the university "create sustained financial capacity to invest in priorities aligned to our strategy".
Decisions, the spokesperson added, will be made following consideration of academic, research and operational needs, including academic workload implications. The scheme opens on Monday 9 November and closes on Monday 7 December.
The university also shared that there are "no targets for specific savings or reductions" and "no plans or proposals" to reduce academic staff numbers at the conclusion of the scheme. It said it "does not intend to close departments" and is expected to record an "improved operating surplus" for the 2025-2026 year.
