By Oliver Hanlon
After six months of industrial friction, Cardiff University management has agreed to a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies in 2026 and the removal of 187 academic staff from immediate risk of redundancy.
While in a statement given to Gair Rhydd, the UCU has welcomed these “major concessions,” at an Extraordinary General Meeting, members voted unanimously to continue the dispute until concerns regarding staff safety in Kazakhstan and an impending “workload and mental health crisis” are addressed.
The human cost of the restructure began in January 2025, when academic staff were first briefed on plans to axe 400 roles, leaving many “shell-shocked and in tears”.
Last June The University refused to agree to the conditions presented by UCU, Unite, and UNISON. These included: “a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies in 2026 as a part of University restructuring exercises”, “the removal of all staff roles from scope for redundancy”, “a guarantee that workloads will not be adversely affected by restructuring exercises”, and “a commitment from university management to implementing a jointly-agreed Health & Safety Strategy and producing specific risk assessments for teaching at Cardiff University Kazakhstan”. This refusal led the unions to register a formal industrial dispute and then industrial action, including strike mandates and marking boycotts.
Following six months of negotiations, the UCU have stated that Cardiff University have agreed to guarantee that there will be no compulsory redundancies for staff at the university in 2026. The university has also agreed to remove 187 academics from the scope of redundancies within the schools of MUSIC, MLANG, and SHARE. The university has also committed to no compulsory redundancies as part of the current restructuring of professional services staff, and a further commitment to offer suitable alternative employment at the same grade should staff roles be deleted. However, the scale of the changes remains unprecedented; in November 2025, a formal Section 188 notice was issued to over 1,100 professional services staff.
Combined with the 1,800 academic roles at risk earlier in the year, Cardiff University placed at least 41% of its total workforce at risk of redundancy in 2025 alone.
In a statement to Gair Rhydd, Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff University, Wendy Larner stated that “Management has been working with all parties – staff and our three campus trade unions – to develop a proposal to remove staff from scope while ensuring that we do make the reductions required”. Larner noted that while no action was “not an option” to secure the university’s future, some posts will still need to be lost by 2029–2030 as activity “ceases or diminishes”. The university maintains that these reductions can be achieved
through “voluntary means” and continued recruitment controls, but that “compulsory redundancies “can never be completely ruled out.”
The UCU credits these concessions to their industrial action, supported by a September consultative ballot where members voted 87% for strike action and 88% for action short of a strike. Yet members remain sceptical; after consulting with ACAS, the union questioned the operability of management’s “no compulsory redundancy” guarantees while roles are simultaneously being deleted.
A central concern remains the “workload and mental health crisis” that the union claims was worsened by a new timetabling system imposed over the summer. According to the UCU, this led to “chaotic scenes” where multiple classes were scheduled for the same tutor at the same time, teaching was scheduled in x-ray theatres, and students were timetabled for back-to-back classes on different campuses with no travel time. In one instance, 100 students were reportedly sent to a toilet block instead of a lecture theatre. Professional services staff reportedly worked weekends to contain the crisis and were only paid overtime after union intervention.
Additionally, the union is demanding that management implement the HSE Stress Indicator Tool and provide specific risk assessments for the safety of staff, particularly those in the LGBTQ+ community teaching at Cardiff University Kazakhstan.
While Vice-Chancellor Wendy Larner expressed confidence that these changes are necessary to “secure the University’s long-term future,” the UCU maintains they will continue to fight for “adequate protection” for their members.
(Full Statements from both parties below)
Cardiff University Vice-Chancellor Wendy Larner’s statement:
“Cardiff University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Wendy Larner said: ‘We have been clear throughout this incredibly difficult and challenging period of change that compulsory redundancies were always the very last resort.”
“Management has been working with all parties – staff and our three campus trade unions – to develop a proposal to remove staff from scope while ensuring that we do make the reductions required.”
“We presented the proposals to trade unions at the end of November and have been discussing these with staff and trade unions for several weeks to arrive at this point.”
“Some posts will still need to be lost by 2029-2030 as activity ceases or diminishes. The University believes these reductions can be made over time and through voluntary means including through continued targeted Voluntary Redundancy and the continuation of other
recruitment controls, already in place.”
“The University has agreed with the campus trade unions they will achieve the necessary staff reductions consensually, where possible. Whilst compulsory redundancy has always been the last resort – they can never be completely ruled out.”
“The proposal enables the University to balance the wellbeing of those impacted staff with the need to enact our proposals to bring about the changes needed as part of the Academic
Futures programme.”
“This means those staff will have much needed security and our students will also have confidence that their studies will continue uninterrupted.”
“I know how difficult the last year has been for our University community. No action was not an option. I am confident that the changes – however difficult – are needed to secure the University’s long-term future.”
UCU Spokesperson Statement:
“A Cardiff UCU spokesperson commented: ‘We welcome these major concessions from the Cardiff University Executive Board. When we initiated this dispute, they told us they couldn’t meet any of our demands. Six months later, after yet another huge union mobilising effort, they have been forced into accepting many of them.”
“Management still has a lot of work to do if it is to avoid a looming cuts-related workload and mental health crisis. We will carry on fighting until bosses are able to offer adequate protection over spiraling workloads and staff safety, both at home and in Kazakhstan. Beyond 2026 we will continue to fight for jobs and avoiding compulsory redundancies will remain our red line.”
“Our members, whether academics or professional services staff, are battered and bruised by a year of cuts and disruption but we have shown yet again that, when we stand together as union members, change is possible even in very dark and challenging times.”