Voluntary Redundancy Scheme

Targeted Voluntary Redundancy Scheme 2025

A Voluntary Redundancy scheme targeted towards Academic (Grade 7 and above - Lecturer, Associate Professor, Professor) roles in identified Schools has been launched.  This scheme is targeted on those Schools where some realignment of academic resource will benefit the financial operation of the School.  It is not open to all Schools.

The Schools or Department included in the scheme are:

• School of Biological Sciences - Biomedical Engineering only
• Institute of Education
• School of Humanities – Classics, English Language and Applied Linguistics, English Literature, Languages and Culture
• School of Art and Communication Design – Art only
• School of Mathematics, Physical and Computational Sciences - Mathematics and Statistics only
• School of Built Environment - Construction Management and Engineering only

These Schools are identified from the Teaching and Research performance data which includes data on teaching and research and Student Staff Ratios, all of which show an SSR for 2024/25 of below 15.   To account for lower SSRs on the basis of high research spend, those with research spend (three year average) in the top quartile have been excluded.

Running a scheme in other Schools where there is a higher SSR or where growth is planned would likely mean that posts would have to be backfilled, reducing the cost savings which can be achieved.

The inclusion of a School or Department in the scheme is in no way a reflection on academic quality or on individual staff contribution in these Departments, only that the student staff ratio needs to be rebalanced across different disciplines.  

Voluntary redundancy payment

The voluntary redundancy payment will be calculated as a sum equivalent to the statutory redundancy payment based on uncapped continuous service and uncapped weekly salary, plus 2 months gross pay. The total voluntary redundancy payment will be subject to a cap of £75,000. The University believes that payments up to £30,000 can be paid free of tax. Due to the timing of the proposed leaving date, the deferred 2024/25 pay award will be included in the weekly pay calculation.

The VR payment will not include a payment in lieu of notice, and a notice period to 31 August 2025 will be expected to be worked in full. There is no difference in the calculation of the VR payment based on grades.

We have created a set of worked examples that illustrate the voluntary redundancy payment and how it is calculated.   

When does the scheme open and close?

The opportunity to apply for voluntary redundancy will open on Monday 20 January 2025

If you wish to apply for voluntary redundancy, please fill in some basic details on a VR form that will be submitted to HR.  This form must be submitted no later than 23:59 on Sunday 9 February 2025.

In response to your emailed request, HR will provide you with a letter setting out the details of the voluntary redundancy payment to which you would be entitled should your application be accepted.

Please do not request further information if you are not a member of staff in the identified Schools / Departments as your request will not be processed.

How do I apply?

You must sign and return a copy of that letter if you wish to proceed with the application.  By returning the letter, you are offering to take voluntary redundancy on the terms set out in that letter.   The final deadline for the return of this letter will be 23:59 on Sunday 16 February 2025.  No applications received after this date will be considered.

Background

The University has previously sought to significantly grow student numbers to address financial shortfalls.  While 2024/25 student recruitment has been broadly in line with 2023/24, it fell short of the growth target, and thus leaves the University with an increased, rather than reduced deficit.

Reducing the deficit requires a greater reliance on cost savings than originally envisaged. Staff costs account for the largest share of the University’s cost (57% in 2023/4), so any meaningful reduction in cost would expect to include reductions in staff cost.

Student recruitment patterns have changed in terms of disciplines, and within the overall broadly stable student numbers institutionally, some disciplines have seen some growth, while others have seen significant declines in recruitment compared to previous years.

The University’s planning assumption for the next years is that student recruitment will follow a similar pattern to this year, and therefore assumes consistent numbers of home students and only modest growth in international student numbers. The growth is therefore expected to be concentrated in a number of areas.

Workloads in Academic Schools and Departments are more directly impacted by student numbers than work in most Directorates. Academic staffing ratios in Schools tend not to change in line with variations in student numbers, the consequence of which is that there are significant variations in Student-Staff Ratios (SSR) across Schools / Departments even in comparable disciplines.