Tag Archives: UCU

Get the UCU data: further education zero hour contracts

Sixty-one percent of further education colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have teaching staff on zero-hour contracts, according to the University and Colleges Union (UCU).

200 colleges responded to Freedom of Information requests from UCU. A further 75 failed to reply within the 4 weeks required by the Freedom of Information Act.

We’ve obtained the UCU FE data (published here) that shows the numbers of teaching staff or assistant staff per college on zero hour contracts and how the contracts are used in the industry. Continue reading Get the UCU data: further education zero hour contracts

Get the UCU data: higher education zero hour contracts

We’ve been reporting on the use of zero hour contracts in higher education, following FOI requests by the University and Colleges Union (UCU). Of 162 requests sent by the UCU, 142 replied.

Edinburgh and Glasgow universities – both members of the Russell research group which attracts billions in grants – and the Royal College of Art are among the elite institutions using zero hour contracts.

Understanding the HE FOI data:

The HE employees are divided into three groups:

  • teaching staff,
  • researchers, and
  • academic support services (for example librarians, administration, or computing).

The first column gives the total number of employees on zero-hour contracts in that institution. The three beige columns on the right break this down into teachers/lecturers (T), researchers (R), and academic support (AR). Between the two are staffing numbers according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency.