Nearly a quarter of Ulster University staff apply for redundancy

The number of people applying for redundancy at Ulster University shows the lack of confidence staff have in the institution, a union has said.

More than 700 people have opted to try to leave the Northern Irish university after it announced plans last year that it was looking to make cuts of about £25 million.

It opened a voluntary redundancy scheme, blaming an operating deficit of £20.2 million in 2025, but the University and College Union (UCU) said this has proved to be too successful.

The 735 staff members applying for redundancy substantially exceeds the university’s target of reducing its staff base by 450 full-time staff. It represents almost a quarter of its total staff of roughly 3,100 people.

The news comes amid reports by the BBC that Northern Ireland’s universities are facing a major cut of £21 million compared with their budgets provided by the country’s assembly in 2024-25, representing a 6 per cent fall.

Paddy Mackel, UCU official, said that the figures are a “stark indication of the depth of concern across the workforce”.

“This figure demands serious reflection by the university’s leadership, its governing council, the vice-chancellor and senior management. While an application does not necessarily mean that every applicant will leave, the scale of the response raises fundamental questions about staff confidence in the institution’s direction and their prospects for the future.”

He added that the university must “also consider the consequences of refusing applications from staff who have concluded that they need to seek their future elsewhere” and said that if those applications are declined without addressing the concerns that prompted them, the university risks “deepening dissatisfaction and further damaging staff confidence”.

Mackel said that the UCU branch, alongside Unite and Unison, negotiated with the university over the summer in a bid to protect jobs and ensure that compulsory redundancies were taken off the table.

However, despite putting forward more than a dozen potential alternatives to job losses, the unions were “deeply disappointed” that Ulster rejected the proposals.

Mackel added that the university is facing a “critical moment” and said the challenges will only become “more acute if the anticipated additional 6 per cent reduction in departmental funding is implemented”.

“The scale of the voluntary redundancy applications, the continuing uncertainty over jobs and courses, and the absence of a convincing resolution to the underlying problems demand an urgent and transparent response from the university’s leadership.”

An Ulster University spokesperson said they agreed “that the number of applications reflects staff concern for the future of the sector” and “we have been honest with staff about the non-sustainable funding model that universities operate in”.

“However, personal decisions to apply for the voluntary redundancy scheme is of course based on many factors including individual circumstances and the compensation offered and we have purposefully worked closely and constructively with union colleagues over the summer to ensure that the compensation package was attractive to those who wanted to take-up this offer.

“The shape of this scheme has led to a situation where we have a better opportunity to make the best choices we can for our staff and students within the context we are operating in.”

They added that, given the number of applications to the scheme exceeded that required to meet savings goals, each case will now be “carefully reviewed against the framework”.

“No decisions have yet been taken on individual applications - a lot of detailed planning and modelling is required before that can happen.”

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com