Five days of picket lines and cancelled classes: staff at the University of Kent have launched a week-long walkout, demanding concrete guarantees on workloads and job security as the institution hunts for another £19.5 million in savings. The action, called by the University and College Union, runs from 24 to 28 March 2025 and follows repeated restructures and last year’s course closures.
The dispute turns on who is protected and how. Management has promised there will be no compulsory redundancies for academic teaching staff until December 2025. But the same assurance has not been offered to professional services staff—the people who run libraries, IT systems, student support, admissions, estates, research administration and much more. The union says that gap matters because every round of cuts makes workloads heavier for those who remain.
At the heart of the row is a familiar problem across English campuses: income is under pressure. The university says missed international and domestic recruitment targets have opened another hole in the budget. With inflation pushing up pay, energy, and maintenance costs while undergraduate fees remain frozen, Kent argues it must cut costs again. A voluntary redundancy scheme is open, and the university says compulsory job losses would only ever be a last resort.
Why staff walked out
Union negotiators say they asked for two basic protections: rule out compulsory redundancies for professional services and guarantee no detriment to workloads or working conditions during the savings drive. Management did not give those guarantees, and the strike followed. “Professional services staff are vital to the functioning of the university and to the educational experience we want all our students to receive,” UCU general secretary Jo Grady said, adding that members would continue action until those jobs are protected.
The union’s case is blunt: repeated cuts and reorganisations have left teams stretched, with vacancies unfilled and tasks handed to fewer people. The impact is not just office-based. When library teams shrink, opening hours and turnaround times can slip. Fewer IT staff means longer waits when systems fail. A smaller student support team can lengthen waits for counselling and disability adjustments. In admissions and visa compliance, leaner staffing raises the risk of delays and errors that directly affect students.
Professional services roles cover a wide span of work that most students rarely see but feel when it falters. These include:
- Library and learning resources, from e-journal access to digitisation.
- IT and digital services, including virtual learning platforms and exam systems.
- Student wellbeing, disability support, mental health services and careers.
- Admissions, visas and compliance, especially critical for international students.
- Timetabling, finance, estates and labs support that keep courses running day to day.
UCU members argue that without guarantees, any headcount reduction in these areas will shift more work onto remaining staff, increasing burnout and the risk of service failures. They want workload protections that are enforceable, not just assurances on paper. For academic staff, the union points to bigger class sizes, fewer modules, and heavier marking loads after course cuts last year—changes they say are already straining quality and staff wellbeing.
The university’s response has been consistent: there is a “redundancy avoidance agreement” with the union, and compulsory cuts will be avoided wherever possible. A spokesperson said Kent remains open to talks and has plans in place “to ensure any impact on our students is minimised as far as possible.” Management argues it needs flexibility to manage finances responsibly and that starting with voluntary exits is the most humane route.
Students have noticed—and taken sides. The Kent Students’ Union Parliament voted overwhelmingly to back the strike, according to KSU president Lulu Collins. Support is not universal, though. Collins said many students still do not fully understand why staff are walking out, noting limited communication about the restructuring and workload issues. That gap matters because many strikers are also postgraduate teaching assistants, who sit at the junction of employee and student and feel both the cost-of-living squeeze and job insecurity.
Disruption will vary by school and timetable. Some lectures and seminars are cancelled, and some services may run slower during the week. The university says essential functions will continue and that it will try to reschedule teaching or provide materials online. Exams are not imminent for most students, but any backlog now risks cascading into the revision period unless timetables are adjusted quickly.
The bigger picture: tight budgets, volatile recruitment
Kent’s savings drive is part of a wider squeeze in UK higher education. England’s tuition fee cap has been frozen for years while costs have climbed, narrowing margins even at large institutions. Many universities leaned more on international fees to balance the books. Then recruitment became more volatile, especially after changes to migration rules in 2024 that restricted dependants for most taught postgraduates and put the graduate route visa under review. Several institutions have since reported softer international intakes and are cutting costs in response.
When international recruitment misses targets, the shortfall is immediate and steep because fees from those students often subsidise teaching and services for everyone. Universities then roll out hiring freezes, voluntary exit schemes, and programme closures to close the gap. Staff say that cycle—announce cuts, restructure, work more with fewer colleagues—has become routine and corrosive. It is also hard to reverse once support teams hollow out, because rebuilding capacity takes time and money that tight budgets don’t easily allow.
For Kent, last year’s programme closures were one attempt to reset spending to match income. This year’s £19.5 million target is another. The union says the latest round lands on the same workforce already carrying extra responsibilities, which is why a guarantee against compulsory layoffs in professional services has become a red line. Management counters that it cannot responsibly remove all options while the financial picture is uncertain and recruitment cycles are still in flux.
There is also a quality question hanging over the dispute. The union argues that teaching and research depend on strong back-office teams—without them, laboratories close earlier, placements stall, and procurement delays slow research. Students notice when helpdesks are understaffed, when disability support plans arrive late, or when grad jobs fairs shrink because there aren’t enough people to organise them. Those are the “hidden costs” of cuts that don’t always show up in headline numbers but shape the student experience as much as lecture contact hours do.
So what happens this week? Staff are due on picket lines twice during the walkout, with organisers encouraging students and colleagues to join:
- Wednesday 26 March, 8–10am: outside Templeman Library.
- Friday 28 March, 8–10am: outside Registry.
The union will watch turnout and momentum. Strong pickets increase pressure on management to return to talks with clearer offers on job security and workload protections. Weak turnout may push the dispute back into quieter negotiations. Either way, the next few weeks matter: universities set budgets in spring, recruit over the summer, and adjust staffing accordingly. Decisions made now will shape timetables, service levels and student support in the autumn term.
For students weighing the impact, a few practical points help. Check school email and course pages daily for rescheduled teaching. If you use disability or wellbeing services, ask early about any changes to appointments or response times. International students should keep visa or attendance queries on email so there’s a record if delays occur. If your module leader is on strike, ask the school office about alternative contact or what you should do in the meantime.
For staff, the core demands remain the same: protect professional services from compulsory cuts and put binding safeguards around workloads while savings are made. For management, the focus is on balancing the books without deeper damage to student experience—a task made harder by uncertain recruitment and costs that keep creeping up. Where the two sides meet will likely decide not just the outcome of this UCU strike, but the campus tone for the next academic year.
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