Staff have slammed the ‘toxic’ work environment at the University of Sheffield, claiming to have “lost confidence in the management,” as they continue balloting for industrial action. 

This follows the University’s decision in the Autumn of 2024 to reduce staff costs by £23 million over the course of two academic years by offering members voluntary severance pay. 

However, many feel as though this is a continued demonstration of the poor management by the University’s executive. 

Professor Umberto Albarella of Zooarchaeology, said: “I love my university, love my students but the Management is destroying us.

“This is not just a fight for now but this is a fight for the future generations. We don’t want to go on strike but this executive is systematically dismantling our university.”

The UCU Sheffield branch claims that the management’s timeline of returning to a surplus position within two years is unnecessary. The branch maintains that the strike can be avoided if the University is willing to listen and negotiate. 

Negotiations include asking the university to reconsider all staff budgeting options instead of needlessly letting go of staff. 

There is little certainty whether strikes will take place at this stage, however opinion among many staff members is that a walkout is likely.

A lecturer at the University, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “There are a whole set of contracts in which we operate and management can’t just ignore the union.

“This has been massively mismanaged. The way this has been handled without any real consultation and people being told they’re being made redundant or being told they’re going to be working somewhere completely different.

“They’re just moving people around like pawns on a chess board. Striking is the only real way that staff can show that they mean business. 

“There’s always the issue that it’s really the students that suffer when what we really need to do is make the management suffer. 

We don’t take this lightly. We do our jobs because it’s fun teaching, we don’t like hanging around in the cold.” 

A member of professional services at the University, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I would always support workers to do what they can to improve their conditions in this case though I think it’s wider than that and I think that it’s about our working conditions but also about student’s working conditions.

“The conditions for students are getting worse and worse.  

“I feel like I am just watching lots of slow motion car crashes where I’m holding up a little paper sign saying ‘Please could you try not to crash,’ and trying to ask the University to maybe slow down with a lot of this.

“Staff are one of the most valuable assets at University and prioritising staff means that you can then ensure that students get as good and as consistent experience as possible. 

A spokesperson for the University of Sheffield said:  “In response to the financial challenges facing UK universities, including Sheffield, we have been making savings across the institution, with a focus on maintaining an excellent education and experience for our students.

“As a means to help avoid making compulsory redundancies, we ran a scheme to allow staff to choose to leave voluntarily. To minimise disruption, departures are being managed over the coming months and all core University activities will continue as usual. We value our staff, will continue to support them through this period of change and work constructively with our trade unions.”

The University also made a range of non-staff reductions that were prioritised first and claimed this has already all made considerable strides towards the necessary savings required.