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UCLan looks set to cut jobs in the coming months

Posted on - 23rd June, 2019 - 7:00am | Author - | Posted in - Business, Politics, Preston News, UCLan, University campus
UCLan's Harris Building in Corporation Street Pic: Tony Worrall
UCLan’s Harris Building in Corporation Street Pic: Tony Worrall

Preston’s university looks set to shed jobs in the coming months.

The University of Central Lancashire has asked for staff to come forward who are interested in taking voluntary redundancy.

No numbers have been given for how many jobs are set to go at the university or what sort of roles would be lost.

UCLan says due to ‘challenging external factors’ it has a cost-saving challenge despite the university’s latest financial accounts showing a surplus of £1.34million.

Joint Institutional Leads for the University Liz Bromley and Lynne Livesey said: “The University remains financially stable but given the current economic and political uncertainty in the UK, we have decided to act now to protect our future operations.

“Similar to many other universities, we are developing strategies to manage a range of factors including the year-on-year freeze in fee levels at a time when staff and other operating costs are rising in line with inflation. Current budget plans do not factor in the significant reduction in level of resource for universities and students, which could impact the sector if the recommendations from the Prime Minister’s Augar Report are implemented. There is further financial uncertainty around Brexit and loss of European funding.

“We are taking steps proactively to become more resilient by continuing to broaden our activities, linking research, business engagement and high-quality teaching and facilities to ensure we deliver an excellent student experience whilst also generating new income streams alongside student fees.

“To help us achieve our cost reduction proposals for the 2019/20 academic year, we have invited expressions of interest from any of our staff who may wish to discuss a potential voluntary redundancy arrangement.

“At this stage we have no specific cost reduction target or the exact numbers of staff that this should potentially involve, however we do need to understand the level of interest initially before making any decisions. Our approach throughout this process will be considered and carefully planned.

“We are proud of our continued ‘employer of choice’ score in our annual staff survey and we are committed to managing this process as effectively and sensitively as possible, especially for those individuals involved. We will do all we can to avoid compulsory redundancies and thank our staff for their continued support and understanding through this process.”

UCLan said the redundancy process would not affect its £200million Preston campus masterplan, which remains on track.

Read more: UCLan invite the city to see how the £200million campus masterplan is progressing

The University and College Union confirmed to the Lancashire Post they had been in talks regarding the redundancies.

Read more: UCLan confirms where its July graduations will take place

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