Cardiff University has promised no compulsory redundancies in 2026, according to Nation Cymru.
The agreement, reached with unions including the University and College Union (UCU), Unite and Unison, follows an industrial dispute over proposed job cuts. The talks were allegedly triggered by plans that placed hundreds of staff at risk of redundancy.
As part of the deal, 187 academic staff who were previously at risk, in departments such as music, modern languages, history, archaeology and religion, have now been removed from redundancy plans.
The university has also pledged that no professional services staff will face compulsory redundancy during its ongoing restructuring programme. Where roles are removed, staff will be offered suitable alternative positions at the same grade.
Reacting to the decision, a Cardiff UCU spokesperson said: “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 spiralling 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.”
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.”
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