Author: L Scott Blankenship

Email sent to members on Wednesday 1st July 2026. Zoom details redacted for security.

Dear UCU members,

First, please remember today’s members’ meeting at 11.30 a.m. If there is a new, improved offer by management resulting from this morning’s dispute resolution meeting, we will hold another vote. The Zoom details are as follows:

REDACTED

Second as part of our campaign to defend jobs and working conditions at the University of Nottingham, we will be sending regular emails, authored by different UCU members, examining key elements of management’s restructuring plans. Today we have another, more light-hearted intervention. Feel free to share this post with non-UCU members in your area.

A Bold New Era for Nothingham United FC

By Nigel Stratton-Worthington, Senior chief football strategist. 

At Nothingham United FC, we have always believed that football clubs must look beyond the narrow, outdated objective of winning football matches. While some organisations remain trapped in twentieth-century thinking, obsessing over league position, trophies, player recruitment and other legacy metrics, we have embraced a modern vision focused on sustainability, transformation and property acquisition.

This journey began with our landmark purchase of the Central Plaza Retail Complex. Critics questioned why a football club with an existing club shop, a successful online store, and merchandise sales across multiple channels would require a large city-centre retail development. The answer is simple: Vision.

Unfortunately, after purchasing the complex and investing heavily in renovations, club-branded décor, executive suites, strategic consultation exercises and a state-of-the-art stakeholder engagement atrium, we discovered that we had rather less money than anticipated. Some observers have described the resulting £65 million loss as “catastrophic.” We prefer the term “transformational.”

Indeed, the true measure of leadership is not avoiding expensive mistakes but responding boldly once they have occurred. Consequently, the Board commissioned a comprehensive review of club operations. This revealed a troubling statistic: our Spectator-to-Staff Ratio (SSR) was below target.

Naturally, this finding demanded immediate action. Some traditionalists suggested increasing spectator numbers. Others proposed improving team performance. A few extremists even advocated investing in players. However, careful analysis demonstrated that reducing staff numbers would be significantly easier.

Accordingly, we have launched Project Lean Pitch. The principle is straightforward. Every employee contributes equally to football operations. Whether an individual is a first-team striker, goalkeeper, groundskeeper, academy coach, bus driver or tea-room assistant, each count as precisely one member of staff. This robust methodology allows us to identify efficiencies wherever they exist. Importantly, senior management have been excluded from consideration. As the review concluded, strategic leadership is critical to the future success of the club and therefore cannot be reduced. The same regrettably cannot be said for centre-backs.

Following extensive modelling, we have determined that the optimal football squad consists of eight players. This represents a significant efficiency gain over the previous, wasteful eleven-player model. While some have raised concerns regarding FIFA regulations, positional coverage and basic geometry, we believe these objections reflect an outdated attachment to conventional football thinking. Indeed, our modelling shows that fewer players will create exciting opportunities for innovation, agility and personal resilience. Each remaining player will gain valuable experience covering multiple positions simultaneously. This aligns perfectly with our commitment to professional development.

The financial savings generated through these measures will enable investment in several strategic priorities. Most notably, we are delighted to announce plans for a new Executive Wellness and Leadership Medical Centre. The facility will feature private treatment rooms, a strategic recovery suite, leadership resilience pods and an inspirational glass atrium celebrating our transformation journey. Healthy leadership is vital during periods of change.

As for supporters concerned about the future of the first team, I would encourage them to focus on the bigger picture. Football matches come and go. League tables fluctuate. Relegation is temporary. But retail property acquisitions, strategic transformation programmes and executive wellness infrastructure create lasting value. That is why Nothingham United FC remains committed to delivering sustainable excellence for generations to come. Results on the pitch are, of course, only one measure of success. And fortunately, not one we plan to monitor.

             On behalf of the Branch Committee

Email sent to members on Monday 22nd June 2026.

As part of our campaign to defend jobs and working conditions at the University of Nottingham, we will be sending regular emails, authored by different UCU members, examining key elements of management’s restructuring plans. Today we discuss the enormous toll that management’s restructuring plans and simple incompetence have taken on staff. Feel free to share this post with non-UCU members in your area.

I’ve been employed in my role here for less than a year. So far Nottingham have accidently sacked me, put me at risk of redundancy, and potentially lost my personal data to cybercriminals. 

Just over a year ago I was about to graduate with my PhD and start what I thought was my dream job. I felt so lucky to have quickly secured a permanent academic post at a Russell Group University and was excited for the year ahead. 

Since then, the University of Nottingham have accidently sacked me, put me at risk of redundancy, and potentially lost my personal data to cybercriminals.

Back in September 2025, during the first week of teaching, I received an email telling me that my account was going to be closed that evening, as I was leaving the University. This email arrived shortly before 3pm in the afternoon, just I was heading into a medical appointment. I had no idea what this was about, and as a new member of staff, was somewhat panicked that there may have been an issue with my contract. 

It was not until the next day, when I managed to get hold of HR on the phone, that I learned there had been a mistake in the system, and I had incorrectly been processed as a leaver. I was told that they ‘thought’ they could reverse this, and without it affecting my tax, as ‘fortunately’ we had just entered a new pay cycle. To be fair, at this point the University did confirm with me almost immediately that the leavers process had been reversed, and I was back on my account later that day. However, it was not until several months later that it was confirmed that my tax had not been impacted, and as a new member of staff, the whole ordeal had quite an impact on me. 

Then, on the 12^th May of this year, I received an email placing my role at risk of redundancy. I’m still not sure what the pool I have been placed in actually looks like, as the numbers on my letter and the University documents do not match. As with many others placed at risk, this has had a significant impact on my self-worth, sense of security and stability, and my initial sense of pride at working for the University of Nottingham has rapidly waned. It has been incredibly difficult to continue to function, turn up to work, and provide the kind of experience, support and presence of mind that I want to give my students. 

Most recently, on the 10^th June, I received an email from the University letting me know that my data had potentially been accessed by cybercriminals the previous day. I am currently enrolled at the University as a student, as well as a staff member, which is why my data was included in the breach. The email informed us that cybercriminals had potentially accessed our contact information, University details, financial information, and personal information. For me, this includes private medical information. The advice provided was to change our passwords and monitor our accounts for suspicious activity. When I attempted to call IT Services to change my passwords (which students cannot do independently) it was not possible to get through. 

This data breach has been even more worrying for me due to security risks in my personal life, with my address needing to be kept confidential. 

Last year I thought I’d secured my dream job, but so far it has felt like one crisis after another. Looking forward to the coming year, I feel more dread than optimism.  

An indebted thank you to, and solidarity with, colleagues from across the University who are currently participating in industrial action at great personal cost. And to those who are not currently out on strike, a reminder to say no to and to continue to resist requests that undermine the action of colleagues who have withdrawn their labour to save our University! 

      On behalf of the Branch Committee