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Oxford accused of relying on young academics employed on gig-economy terms

Leading university accused of relying on young academics employed on gig-economy terms

Data obtained through freedom of information requests by the University and College Union and shared exclusively with the Observer reveals that about 61% of core tutorial teaching is done by academics on fixed-term contracts or in hourly-paid roles. The one-year role, taking over an associate professor’s tutorial teaching, student support and running and marking exams for a year while they are on secondment, was originally listed as a full-time position, which would have meant an hourly rate substantially below the minimum wage. The union said stipendiary lecturers, who did 38% of tutorial teaching last year according to UCU’s data, are paid at below the university’s recommended minimum grade for academic staff and usually do many hours of extra work that is effectively unpaid.

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