LEAKED documents from an elite group of universities indicate that employers are running scared of the scandal over insecure employment among thousands of lecturers.

Heads of Russell Group universities, representing supposedly top-tier higher education institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, the London School of Economics, Kings College and Imperial College fear a reputational fallout over the University and College Union (UCU) strike.

Documents seen today by the union allegedly show that university bosses are worrying that the “casualisation” of staff contracts will lead to “reputation damage” as their exploitation of teachers through insecure contracts becomes more widely known.

They also reveal that the universities are aware that such contracts affect the physical and mental health of staff and students.



More than 60,000 university lecturers are employed on insecure contracts.

This means that at the end of one academic year they do not know if they will have a job when the next academic year begins.

Many lecturers affected are not paid during half term and full time breaks.

The UCU, whose members are involved in a programme of 14 days of strike action, said the report warned that politicians and others are starting to express concerns about the casualisation of university teaching and research.

Previous analysis of data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency revealed that Russell Group universities employed more staff on insecure contracts than other institutions, the UCU said.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “This secret report shows that some universities do understand the extent of casualisation in our institutions, and the serious damage that it does to the health of staff and education of students.

“Sadly, it looks like it is fear of reputational damage, rather than concern for staff or students, that has prompted universities to act on casualisation.

“Our message to all university vice-chancellors is simple: speak out. Make it clear to the people negotiating on your behalf that you want them to do more to deal with the key issues in these disputes.

“We are ready for serious negotiations to try and stop the strikes and end the disruption at our universities.”

Lecturers are on their third week of strike action over the dispute, which also involves pay, attacks on pensions, gender inequality and excessive workloads.