At-risk university staff 'gagged', union says

Staff at a university undergoing a restructure are not allowed to tell colleagues their jobs are at risk, a union has said.

The University College Union (UCU) said management at the University of Sunderland "forbade" the affected staff from having discussions about the potential redundancies with "students, alumni or colleagues".

The university confirmed a consultation on "minor structural changes", which might impact two members of staff, was under way.

A spokesperson said those involved had been asked not to "communicate widely" about the changes, but neither staff member had "raised any issue" with the request.

"As this consultation is happening during term time, the University reasonably requested that those involved did not communicate widely about the process until it was concluded," the spokesperson said.

"This request was made to minimise disruption to students and colleagues not involved in the changes; neither staff member has raised any issue with this request."

They added affected staff were "encouraged" to discuss the process with each other, their line managers, their faculty's dean and HR.

The UCU said the small team of academic staff were told about the restructure last week.

It follows plans for wider job cuts at the university, which could see 76 members of staff made redundant, according to the union.

UCU regional support official Jon Bryan said: "It is outrageous for staff who have been threatened with the sack to effectively be gagged by the university and prevented from telling their colleagues.

"Wanting to manage the messaging of change with students is understandable, but the HR department wants to vet all requests from impacted staff to speak to other colleagues, which is a cruel way to deal with those who have been impacted."

The university said it was "committed to working positively" with the UCU.

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