A new UCU report claims that staff at UK colleges and universities are doing the equivalent of at least two days of unpaid work every week.
The report, which was published in June from surveys conducted in November and December 2021, is the third of its kind and is based on the responses of more than 13,000 workers in universities, colleges, prisons and adult and community education.
Staff work two days unpaid
The UCU explained that the answers to the number of extra hours staff work per week are ‘based on a standard contractual 35-hour working week.’
87% of university staff say that their workload has increased over the past three years, whilst 68% say it has increases significantly. The statistics are even higher in college education, with 93% of college staff saying their workload has increased over the same time span. 41% of college staff say their workload is unmanageable.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said that the findings of the report ‘must be a wake up call to employers and governments, not least the one in Westminster, which claims it has put skills at the heart of the “levelling up” agenda.’
‘If this workload crisis is not addressed with urgency, all education leaders and ministers will have done to set the sector up to fail,’ Grady said.
Is increase in admin work to blame?
An increase in administrative work has been cited as a significant reason for bigger workloads, with 88% of college staff saying that admin work has increased over the past three years. This issue is also apparent in universities, as university staff who teach say that general and departmental administrative work has increased by 83%.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also been a factor in increasing workloads, with college staff ranking increases in the use of technology for marking, communication and admin and increases in online working within the top five reasons for additional workloads.
Meanwhile, university staff claimed that online and ‘hybrid’ learning (a mix between online and in-person teaching) has created much more work for them.
‘The survey responses also show that toxic levels of administrative work are a prime cause of unmanageable workloads across every setting including in prison education. Education bosses, governments and funding bodies need to reduce the burdensome box ticking exercises and free staff up to focus on the things that matter, like teaching, supporting students and research,’ Grady stated.