Queen's University to cut jobs as it faces £11m deficit

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) is set to cut up to 270 jobs - more than 5% of its workforce.

According to documents seen by BBC News NI, the university is facing a deficit of more than £11m in 2024-25.

It is planning to cut the jobs through a voluntary redundancy scheme.

In a statement, a university spokesperson said: "There will be no compulsory redundancies.”

"We are in the early stages of developing a proposed voluntary severance scheme and are awaiting a response from the trade unions to our invite to discuss," they said.

"Due to legal considerations, we are unable to disclose further details at this time."

QUB currently employs almost 4,800 staff in range of academic, research and support roles.

In documents seen by BBC News NI, the university said that the staff redundancy plans did not mean that degree courses would be cut or closed.

But unions have claimed the university failed to consult them properly over the redundancy plans or provide detailed reasons for them.

Both the University and College Union (UCU) and Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (Nipsa) have raised concerns about the process.

The UCU's Northern Ireland official, Katharine Clarke, said that the university management had so far "shown no desire to avoid dismissals".

"All they want to talk to the unions about is opening a voluntary severance scheme," she said.

"The UCU received notification from Queen’s over a month ago that it is seeking to effect 270 redundancies but since that time the union has not been supplied with the information required by law to engage in statutory consultation.

"When an employer proposes to make 20 or more workers redundant, legislation compels the employer to provide both the number and descriptions of the workers it proposes to dismiss.

"The employer must demonstrate posts are no longer required or that there is a reduced need for a particular kind of work."

"Queen’s have failed to supply this information."

Bernard Trainor from Nipsa said that the union was "deeply concerned about the proposed implementation of a Voluntary Severance Scheme at Queen's".

"Despite a review of the university's public accounts, there is no clear evidence to support the need for such a measure at this time, raising serious questions about its rationale," he continued.

Mr Trainor said the union is worried about the impact the scheme will have on remaining staff.

"A reduction in the workforce of up to 270 staff will inevitably lead to increased workloads for those left behind, putting undue pressure on staff and potentially compromising the quality of education and services delivered by the university."

He said the union believes "full and meaningful consultation" should take place before the scheme is implemented.

In 2017, a tribunal ruled that Ulster University (UU) was guilty of “serious failure to consult” with the UCU over redundancies and told it to pay a total of over £1m to 143 former members of staff.