OXFORD UCU REPORT ON PAY AND WORKING CONDITIONS FOR CASUALISED STAFF IN OXFORD COLLEGES AND THE DEPARTMENT FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION

Below you can download a copy of our report “Beyond HESA: Pay and Working Conditions for Casualised Staff in Oxford Colleges and the Department for Continuing Education”.

The report presents an analysis of data gathered via a survey which Oxford UCU ran throughout Trinity Term 2023. In doing so, it lifts the lid on the sheer scale of the Collegiate University’s dependence on casualised and low-paid teaching.

THE FINDINGS ARE STARK:

• Once marking and preparation time is factored in, the pay of hourly paid workers often amounts to less than the National Living Wage. Meanwhile, waged staff often subsist on small fractional contracts, at risk of, if not actually in poverty – i.e. with an annual household income of less than 60% of the UK median income. 
• The data suggests that hundreds of University and College staff members are effectively locked into a cycle of short- or very short-term contracts, sometimes lasting decades.
• Because casualised academic work in Oxford is generally insecure and low-paid, staff often juggle roles which together amount to far more than full-time equivalent hours.
• Women are especially affected by these conditions, since they are much more likely to occupy casualised roles. The evidence suggests that extremely low pay produces a lack of ethnic and socio-economic diversity, and discriminates against disabled staff (among others).