University of Nottingham Staff to Strike as Council Decides Future of Jobs
Staff at the University of Nottingham will strike on 30th September and 1st October, as the University’s governing Council meets to decide the final Future Nottingham Phase 2 (FN2) restructuring plans. The two-day strike will be followed by sustained strike action from 5th October to 11th December, alongside action short of strike.
The action comes as both UCU and UNISON have passed votes of no confidence in University Council over its handling of FN2. Council is the University’s governing body – effectively its board of trustees. It has ultimate responsibility for the University’s finances and strategy and, crucially, for holding senior management to account. The unions argue that Council has failed to do so.
Council rubber stamped the draft FN2 business case despite overwhelming opposition from Senate, the University’s principal academic body, and despite serious concerns about the evidence underpinning the university’s disastrous proposals that could result in compulsory redundancies and the loss of entire areas of teaching and research.
UCU argues that there is now no financial justification for compulsory redundancies. Undergraduate recruitment has been strong, applications for voluntary redundancy have increased substantially, staff have submitted extensive alternative proposals capable of delivering further savings and the university itself is saying it now has a surplus.
Yet the University has still not ruled out compulsory redundancies.
UCU has deliberately called the first strike days to coincide with the Council meeting at which the final business case will be considered.
“We don’t want to strike, but staff will not stand by while colleagues lose their jobs and whole areas of teaching and research are dismantled unnecessarily. Council has the power to stop this. Staff have already voted that they have no confidence in its handling of FN2. When Council meets on 30 September, its members must decide whether they will finally hold senior management to account – or force staff into sustained strike action.” Nick Clare, UCU Branch President.
UCU says the dispute can still be resolved and they are very open to talks with management to resolve the issue ahead of the new academic year.
The union is calling on the University to rule out compulsory redundancies and the closure of full departments, protect teaching and research, and engage seriously with the alternative proposals put forward by staff.
For a regular summary of the latest developments locally, members should check their emails for the regular branch newsletter that is sent out on Wednesday afternoons (usually).
Members of the branch, the Department Reps network and your Branch Committee are working hard to protect working conditions and jobs at UoN in the face of Future Nottingham. You can find reminders of what this work includes under the news section.
How did we get here?
In autumn 2023, a significant deficit of +£30m was identified, with spending controls then introduced across the University. Seeing the writing on the wall, in December 2023, a UoN UCU branch meeting passed a motion to oppose redundancies at the University.
VC Shearer West announces that she is leaving Nottingham to take the VC role at the University of Leeds. We also began to hear about Future Nottingham in 2024. During the autumn semester the Chief Financial Officer and the Head of HR also depart. Shearer West was replaced by Jane Norman as VC in January 2025
In autumn 2024, UoN UCU developed and circulated an Alternate Financial Strategy 2.0 that identifies steps that can be taken to address the financial situation without targeting jobs. By the end of the financial year, the University had reported spending £12.1m on severance through MARS as part of an overall £17m loss.
In March 2025, a meeting of the UCU UoN branch passed a further ‘no compulsory redundancies’ motion which resolved to declare a dispute over the refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies.
In April 2025, the University announced ‘Phase 1’ of the Future Nottingham programme. Over 3900 APM staff received notice of risk of redundancy, with 258 administrative/professional services roles to be made redundant, with a further 98 vacant posts not replaced. Staff can apply for voluntary redundancy, with compulsory redundancies to follow if savings targets are not met. Later in April, an indicative e-ballot of UoN UCU members demonstrates that the majority are willing to take strike action to defend jobs.
In May 2025, the official paper ballot of UoN UCU began which resulted in 72% coming out in favour of strike action, and 84% for action short of strike. On 24th July 2025 UoN UCU took one day of strike action, followed by continuous action short of strike.
The University lost 100s (exact number not yet reported) of APM staff through the voluntary redundancy scheme by October 2025.
By September 2025 the branch still received no commitment to compulsory redundancies. Members went on strike for two weeks beginning 22nd September, covering welcome week and the first week of teaching. The VC met with the Branch Executive during this period and offered very little.
In response to the threats both to their jobs and the University as a whole, members voted to continue strike action for a further two weeks beginning 13th October.
The Local Branch Hardship Fund is maintained to help strikers who will suffer significant hardship from loss of pay due to striking. Please consider making a donation if you are able.
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You can also donate to the local hardship fund to support striking staff using Just Giving.
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Last Updated on September 2, 2026 by Tom Coogan
