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Grateful to Birmingham UCU’s retiring organiser Russ for years of care, graft and steadfast solidarity with staff and students. Wishing you a radical, restful and joyful next chapter – thank you for everything, In Sol.

Redundancies don’t just affect those selected. Where posts are cut but work remains, other staff absorb extra duties, increasing workload and impacting wellbeing, teaching quality and student support

If your consultation felt predetermined, tell us. Birmingham UCU is mapping where the university’s official narrative about process doesn’t match what staff actually experienced.

Members reported consultation that felt like a tick-box exercise, with decisions effectively made before discussion. Meaningful consultation should shape outcomes, not rubber-stamp them.

Not in UCU yet? This is exactly when union membership matters. It gives you a voice and a route to challenge consultation processes that don’t meet basic standards of fairness. www.ucu.org.uk/join

Our members’ meeting heard serious concerns about the ‘business cases’ behind recent redundancies. In some areas, the savings claimed weren’t properly evidenced. When jobs are on the line, that’s not good enough.

Have you been told ‘the business case is clear’ without real information? Share your experience with Birmingham UCU. Member testimony helps us challenge weak or unjustified decisions.

UCU membership means you’re not left to pick apart a business case alone. The branch can support you with advice, representation and collective challenge to unfair proposals.

Over the last 12 months, the University of Birmingham has run five redundancy processes: Cell Therapies Suite, Biosciences, UoB Online, Modern Languages and Worklink. This isn’t one-off – it’s a pattern across the institution.

If you want collective protection when jobs, workloads and fair processes are at stake, join Birmingham UCU. We are challenging these restructures. www.ucu.org.uk/join

Redundancies anywhere in the university affect all of us. Work rarely disappears; it is pushed onto remaining staff. If you’ve seen this in your area, your experience needs to be part of the Birmingham UCU conversation.

Some colleagues are more susceptible in a heatwave, including pregnant staff and people with certain underlying conditions. Individual risk assessments should be available covering room allocation, duties, and the option of working from home. 1/3

If you’ve got staff meetings, away days, training or social events scheduled over the next couple of days, it’s reasonable to ask for a hybrid format with a reliable online joining option alongside the in‑person room. 1/4

Red extreme heat alert now in force across the West Midlands, with a red UKHSA heat-health alert running until tomorrow evening. This level of warning means risk to life for everyone, not only those usually considered vulnerable. 1/3

The University of Birmingham can apparently find £879,828 for a Westminster lobbying firm, but claims there is no money to end casualisation, reverse cuts, or fund decent pay for staff. 1/4

UCU runs excellent training – from health & safety rep inductions to Challenging the far right: rebuilding solidarity. These courses build skills we need locally in BUCU: negotiating, organising, and defending members. If you’re curious about stepping up your involvement, drop us a DM.

We are already seeing employers misinterpret the EHRC Code of Practice around gender identity. Our position is clear: equality duties still fully apply, and any changes must be consulted on and legally robust.

Casualisation is not inevitable. We are formally requesting detailed data from UoB on insecure contracts and pressing management to change course. This national exercise will arm us with evidence to challenge precarity in our own institution.

Overwork is not a personal time‑management issue, it’s a collective problem created by employers. UCU’s Workload Survey will feed into national campaigns and local negotiations to reduce workload pressure. If you want your reality reflected in that data, complete the survey

UCU’s 2026 Workload Survey is live. It’s open to members and non‑members, with a chance to win one of five £50 vouchers. The more responses we have, the stronger the evidence for challenging unsustainable workloads nationally and here at Birmingham