University of Oxford’s Riches are Built by Hundreds of Insecure Workers – Why are they Fighting Them?

It has £8billion in endowments, roughly equivalent to the annual budget of HMRC and the Department of Business & Trade put together. The University of Oxford, granted a Royal Charter by Henry III in 1248, has amassed an empire of land, fees and donations to become one of the richest and most financially stable universities in the world. 

But that picture feels a world away from the reality for many of the University of Oxford’s lecturers. They look at the seeming permanence of hulking limestone columns, and know they could be sacked in a second.  

In January this year, two creative writing masters lecturers, authors Alice Jolly and Rebecca Abrams, won a landmark case against the University of Oxford. The Employment Tribunal agreed that the ‘casual’ workers, who were employed on “personal services” contracts, which they argued denied them basic workplace rights, should be classed as employees – with the job security and rights that come with it. 

Despite them having taught the course for over 15 years under the close control of the University, Oxford had tried to argue they were mere casual providers of services, tantamount to zero hours contracts. And therefore able to be dispensed with at a moment’s notice. 

The Judge agreed with lecturers Jolly and Abrams. They are now fighting for compensation, a fight that could affect hundreds of insecure workers at the prestigious institution. Oxford University and College Union believes there are over 5,000 casual staff without secure contracts working for the University and its colleges. Of these, they estimate that at least several hundred should be directly affected by the ruling. 

But staff and their legal representatives argue the University is continuing to drag out the dispute and seeking to delay a settlement. The row has become beset with allegations that the University is ‘stonewalling’ talks. 

The tribunal winners want compensation and rights for hundreds of casualised staff who they say should be affected by the ruling – however the University is understood to want to limit any award to just a handful of workers.

The spat has resurfaced as Oxford elects its next Chancellor, a largely ceremonial role but one which comes with clout and prestige. Nearly 40 candidates are running including New Labour grandee Peter Mandelson, as well as former Conservative ministers Dominic Grieve and David Willets. 

The next steps in the legal process following January’s ruling include a mediation process in November, and a five-day hearing scheduled for next year to bring the matter to a close.

But workers are said to be frustrated with Oxford’s refusal to settle and the high legal fees they are incurring.

“University [leaders] have stated that they are unwilling to discuss their position with Oxford UCU, the recognised trade union representing Ms Abrams and Ms Jolly. Branch Officers remain willing to help find a solution,” a spokesperson for Oxford UCU told Byline Times. 

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Oxford is considered by lecturers’ union the UCU to be “one of the worst offenders” among academic institutions in the UK when it comes to keeping academic staff on precarious and low paid contracts.

A spokesperson for Oxford UCU told Byline Times many other tutors at the creative writing department have similar patterns of work to the two claimants. 

“[But] Human Resources have denied that the January 2024 ruling affects these other tutors. This interpretation is untenable: Oxford UCU has since received a legal opinion from the firm Leigh Day which confirms that the ruling applies to many of the tutors who are currently engaged as casual contractors,” they said.

Hourly paid tutors at Oxford Colleges are often treated as self-employed, working on zero-hour contracts or indeed with no contracts at all. The hourly rate does not seem to be aligned to the University’s pay scale. 

“The logic behind this system is therefore difficult to understand, especially given that the Cambridge Colleges, working in partnership with UCU, have recently made significant progress on hourly pay,” the Oxford UCU spokesperson said.

The official Oxford University pay scale shows that those employed full-time as academics (Grades 6+) earn between c. £33,000 and c. £78,000. But those employed on insecure gig-economy style contracts are thought to earn far less. 

Stephen Kinsella, founder of Law for Change which funded the legal challenge, says: “This is only half the story. The official pay spine does not make clear how many staff are directly employed by the University of Oxford on small fractional or hourly paid contracts. 

“Nor does it include the thousands of academic staff who are outsourced through the Department for Continuing Education or the Oxford Colleges.” 

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Oxford UCU says the battle over insecure work reflects a crisis in the wider Higher Education sector, with lecturers facing worsening conditions. 

“There is no justification for the high levels of casualisation across the Higher Education sector. The University of Oxford and its constituent Colleges, which are both collectively and individually wealthy, should have industry-leading standards of employment. Instead, they are often negative outliers,” the spokesperson said. 

A recent report by LSE UCU found that Oxford had the highest levels of academic staff on fixed-term (rather than permanent) contracts among large Russell Group universities, running at two thirds, significantly above the average (40%). 

Aware that a settlement affecting hundreds of staff could cost significant sums, the University is vociferously fighting against the ruling, Kinsella argues. 

“It is obvious that the legal costs incurred by Oxford will far exceed the amount of the claims,” legal backer (and husband of claimant Alice Jolly) Stephen Kinsella tells Byline Times. 

A University of Oxford spokesperson said: “This case is continuing and the University has no further comment at this stage.”

But workers and their backers just want to see a speedy resolution. Perhaps some of the 38 candidates for Chancellor will speak up. “The continuing refusal of Oxford to accept the ruling and simply treat its academic staff fairly and decently should concern any serious candidate for Chancellor,” Kinsella said.

As Alice Jolly said after her tribunal victory in February: “I simply cannot understand why the University has spent four years (at huge cost) trying to silence me and Rebecca when they knew all along that the contracts are a sham.

“This legal action is not about our personal circumstances. It is about the future of Higher Education and also about the status of writers who teach in universities.”

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Josiah Mortimer also writes the On the Ground column, exclusive to the print edition of Byline Times.

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