Image: Racho_m [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Covid-19 impact prompts voluntary severance scheme at University of Sussex
A voluntary severance scheme has opened at the University of Sussex after its council backed the move, citing financial worries caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
In an update on the University of Sussex’s website, chair of council Denise Holt confirmed the council had approved plans for the voluntary severance scheme, which opened on 27 May. Holt explained that while the university expected to “break even” in 2019-20 despite absorbing a £13 million hit due to Covid-19, “concerns do remain about next year’s financial position, and that of subsequent years” for the university.
She added the proposals had been put before the council by the executive “after careful reflection and with regret”, but with a focus “on the long-term sustainability of the University and the best interests of current and future staff and students”.
“I recognise this may be an unsettling time for staff and Council will be following the progress of the scheme very closely,” Holt wrote, claiming the university had “taken great pains” to make sure the scheme “would respect our Sussex values”.
It comes after the University of Sussex urged managers to terminate “non-business critical” roles among temporary staff in March to help ease upcoming financial pressures. The University of Sussex Financial Review, which was seen by Research Professional News, said the non-critical posts held by temporary or agency staff “will need to be reviewed and terminated as soon as possible”.
One estimate predicts that falling incomes due to the coronavirus pandemic could cost universities a collective £2.6 billion next year as international and domestic students stay at home, and income from events and accommodation dries up.
A spokesman for the University of Sussex said: “We have gone nearly a decade without any kind of major cost-cutting exercise at the university and, while we’re in a sound financial position for 2019-2020, like many others in the sector, we are under increased financial pressure due to the impact of Covid-19.
“We have been in meaningful discussions with our campus trade unions prior to launching the scheme yesterday, to ensure it is appropriate and attractive to those who choose to apply. To clarify, the university has not asked managers to abruptly end all temporary contracts.
“We have frozen all staff recruitment that is not critical to the running of the university and we are being extra cautious about committing to contract extensions at this time. We revised and reshared with staff our financial guidelines in order to clarify this.”