Lecturers told that burning the midnight oil is a fire risk

UNIVERSITY students can often be found working late into the evening, scrambling to finish assignments. But at Queen Mary University of London, it is the “overworked” lecturers who have been burning the midnight oil, often sleeping in their offices overnight.

Lecturers were warned by managers this week that if they continued to stay in university buildings at night they could face disciplinary action. In a letter sent to all staff, the university threatened to punish those who continued defy the curfew, as it warned that doing so could jeopardise their safety in the event of a fire.

The circular, seen by The Daily Telegraph, states: “This is not acceptable practice and is potentially dangerous given that we do not have the required level of fire detection to alert people sleeping in these buildings.

“If anyone is found sleeping overnight in our academic buildings, they could be liable for disciplinary action.”

Professor Tim Bale, a lecturer in politics at Queen Mary, said many staff members were “overworked” and that their jobs had become “all-consuming”.

“There is a problem with overwork among academics, but it’s difficult to talk about because of the popular impression that we get paid very well for doing not that much,” he said.

A spokesperson for the university said: “We provide space in our campus accommodation for this purpose. We will … work to ensure that all staff are aware of the facilities available if they do wish to stay on campus overnight.”