Skilled staff work on zero hours contracts College and uni figures revealed
Highly skilled staff at universities and colleges which rake in hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money each year are working on ‘ Sports Direct- style’ contracts.
Figures released by Ayrshire College and the University of the West of Scotland show hundreds of staff are on so- called “zero hours” contracts, while others are on temporary deals which expire at the end of the academic year.
Other members of staff are paid by the hour to teach thousands of people each year.
The National Union of Students say the contract situation means some people may feel short- changed by the teaching they receive at these institutions.
Vonnie Sandlan, president of NUS Scotland, said: “We know that staff are too often overworked and understretched and exploitative contracts only lead to further demoralisation which in turn impacts on students’ experience.
“It’s particularly disappointing to see so many staff being placed on such poor contracts whilst university and college senior managers are awarded annual pay rises, often way above and beyond inflation.
“Employers might think that the work comes and goes, but for the staff in our universities and colleges who do so much, often for little recognition and reward, the need to pay bills doesn’t.”
Research carried out in 2016 found that the richest universities in Britain, the Russell Group institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge, rely most heavily on workers on insecure terms.
The investigation, led by the University and College Union, led to pledges from some universities to scrap the use of the controversial “zero- hours” contracts but many institutions continue to use the deals.
Our figures, obtained via a Freedom of Information request, show that UWS employs 746 members of staff on “zerohours” contracts - and the University also revealed that the exact same number are paid hourly for their work instead of on a salary basis.
And Ayrshire College has 59 members of staff paid by the hour, while 17 are on so- called “zero hours” contracts with most of the workers with no set hours working in support roles as and when required.
A UWS spokesman said: “In line with many universities across the sector UWS utilises variable hours contracts. The highest proportion of UWS variable hours contracts is for roles such as exam invigilators, guides, scribes and notetakers. The use of these contracts reflects the fluctuating business needs of UWS and enables the University, which pays above the living wage, to manage staff resources flexibly and efficiently.”
A spokesman for Ayrshire College added: “Staff are our most important resource and we need to ensure that we have the right staff with the right skills for our students to have the best learning experience. Staffing arrangements also need to be flexible to meet the needs of the delivery of courses throughout the year.
“Until we know the make- up of the student cohort who will be studying the courses, the requirements for additional support needs in the classroom need to be flexible dependent on the courses and the weekly timetable for each course.
“There is an essential requirement for flexibility with regard to certain staffing arrangements due to the variations encountered, week by week, semester by semester and year on year.”