QMUL is undergoing a reorganisation by a thousand cuts. For the past couple of years, fixed-term staff’s conditions and access to work has deteriorated; Post-Graduate Researchers’ teaching opportunities have dwindled; the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) underwent a Voluntary Severance Scheme which got rid of dozens of colleagues in academic and professional service posts in 2024; the Schools of English & Drama and of Film, Languages, and Linguistics were merged in 2024; in 2025 all Professional Services is undergoing reorganisation and invited to take up severance packages; a chatbot is being rolled out at the cost of colleagues in Student Experience; a portfolio review undertaken through the consultancy NOUS is putting programmes on the chopping block; the Schools of History, Geography, and Politics & International Relations have been told Council will sign off on a merger in June 2025; etc.

The uncertainty and lack of transparency about all these cuts is amping up the anxiety of staff and students.

Therefore, This page is a hub for colleagues to keep up to date with developments and assist organising to ensure that staff stay at the heart of future planning for the university. It will include up to date information about developments, events and means of support. 

  1. News and Updates
  2. Events
  3. Information
  4. Get involved
  5. Contact us

News and Updates

Latest blogposts related to the future plans

VOTE! For what universities are

We need staff back at the table in decision making about higher education. Voting in the ballot is a key step in doing so.

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Events

To ensure we all stay in the loop and connected throughout the process, unions and reps will keep setting up information and organising sessions.

  • September 2025: multiple small-scale restructure programmes staggered seemingly to avoid the legal requirement of notice (but generating enormous amounts of one-on-one casework support)
  • 10 July 2025: Meeting of Council in which they’re being asked to sign off on the merger of the Schools of Geography, History, and Politics & International Relations
  • 12 June 2025: Meeting of Senate in which they will discuss the merger of the Schools of Geography, History, and Politics & International Relations
  • 9 June 2025: Voluntary Severance Scheme reopened solely for colleagues in the Schools of History, Geography, and the Arts
  • 25 April 2025: QMUL HR sent a revised s188 notice [letter required by law when an employer plans to make 20 or more employees redundant within a period of 90 days] for the restructures in ITS and in the Faculties of Humanities & Social Sciences and Science & Engineering. As of 25 April 2025, proposed redundancies currently affect a total of 59 employees. These are direct losses, and do not include: vacant posts not replaced, Fixed Term Contracts not renewed, people taking Voluntary Severance, adverse probation, and other forms of termination. And this does not yet include the Professional Service reorganisation.
  • 23 April 2025: the education team in the faculty of Science & Engineering learns about restructure plans and risks of redundancies.
  • 8 April 2025: all staff meeting for colleagues in the Faculty of Science & Engineering
  • 8 April 2025: Closure of the Voluntary Severance Scheme (announced in the middle of term and closing before the end of term)
  • 7 April 2025: the rollout of AskQM — the Salesforce chatbot for Student Experience
  • 24 March 2025: meeting among colleagues from the Schools of History, Geography, and Politics & International Relations.
  • 20 March 2025: the interim VP for HSS discussed the merger with the Schools of History, Geography, and Politics & International Relations, saying it would be signed off on by Council in June 2025.
  • 13 & 17 March 2025: “Town Halls” in the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences about the state of the restructuring
  • 12 March 2025: Voluntary Severance Scheme opened for targeted areas, including: School of Mathematical Sciences (SMS), School of Physical and Chemical Sciences (SPCS), Institute of Dentistry (IoD), Institute of Health Science Education (IHSE), William Harvey Research Institute (WHRI), School of Geography, School of History, School of the Arts. All Professional Service Colleagues are invited to a Voluntary Severance Scheme. It stays open for a month, until 8 April.
  • Mid-March 2025: colleagues in IT are having one-on-one conversations with HR about redundancies that will drastically reduce IT support and make us dependent on an outsourced firm located in Serbia.
  • Early March 2025: School of Geography learns that the search for a head of School now is a search for an *Interim* Head of School. Suggestions about dividing up physical and human geography together were floated but have since been ruled out.
  • February 2025: conversations about taking severance packages are happening in one-on-ones with Professional Service staff — see this blogpost with some info about what your rights are in those one-on-one conversations.
  • Autumn 2024: “Consultations” with some Directors of Education to feed into the quantitative framework NOUS is developing which will determine our programme offer
  • August 2024: management closes the on-campus nursery. [the building still stands empty months on, in February 2025]
  • 31 July 2024: date by which anyone who takes the Voluntary Severance Scheme leaves the university
  • 11 July 2024 Council considers the merger
  • 13 June 2024 Senate passes the proposal for the merger, without marketing research, without business case, without data that proves it will ensure financial improvement.
  • 31 May 2024: opening indicative vote on industrial action
  • 8 April 2024: deadline to apply for the Voluntary Severance Scheme in HSS
  • 14 March 2024, 3pm: all-staff meeting, David Sizer LT (Bancroft Building) and MS Teams
  • 12 March 2024, 11:30am: QMUCU branch meeting (see inbox for zoom link)
  • 6 March 2024: Voluntary Severance Scheme opened for staff in HSS, closes on 8 April
  • 15-16 February 2024: Senior management has organised two meetings open to all, 11am-12pm.
  • 12 February 2024: UK-wide Defend the Arts and Humanities digital rally to share organising practice
  • 9 February 2024: QMUCU and QM Unison held a first joint meeting for branch committees and HSS reps.
  • 7 February 2024: many though not all colleagues across the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences receive an email letting them know about meetings in which the Vice Principal will inform about the changes ahead.

Information

We keep track of all information that is shaping decision making in an attempt to generate transparency and enable colleagues to make well-informed assessments and decisions.

Get involved

Restructures are disruptive and can leave individuals feeling alone and ill-treated through the process. Find strength in numbers and ensure colleagues and yourself aren’t isolated. Join your union and ensure that we keep employees’ present and future at the heart of this process.

  • Join QMUCU: UCU is not just a ‘lecturers union’, whatever the shorthand in the press implies. QMUCU has members among academic, research and teaching staff, as well as professional staff in IT, libraries and administrative roles, mostly between Grades 4-8. More information and link to the joining form here.
  • Join QM Unison: Unison represents professional services staff, in security, cleaning, libraries, IT and administration roles, mostly between Grades 1 to 4. More information and the link to the joining form here.

You can help spread information about collective work by distributing these flyers about what is happening and about how we work collectively.

For members of the union, we can support individuals with casework. We have regular casework sessions over zoom. You can book a slot here with your member number.

You can get some training in being a rep and have the employment rights information to hand.

Colleagues are challenging the way staff has been treated at QMUL. We are collectively learning about the possibilities of the law, questioning decisions made, and developing strategies. For more information about the Community Legal Knowledge Project, see this webpage.

Contact us

If you have further questions, want to get involved, have ideas about how we can shape the process, do not hesitate to reach out. If you are a qmucu member concerned about your job and working conditions, you can discuss with our caseworkers. The form below is for more general contact.

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