Compensating Students for Strike Sets Precedence

By Ifeyinwa Susan Francis

As of the end of July, Newcastle University has paid £2.4 million in compensation to 10,934 students, according to a Freedom of Information request.

The university compensated students whose learning was disrupted by staff strikes between March and June, which occurred in response to job cuts.

Loes Veldpaus, secretary for the university’s branch of the University and College Union (UCU), said it would be “interesting to see” how other institutions across the country respond to the decision to award such a “significant” sum.

The industrial action ended in June after UCU secured assurances from the university that it would not cut more jobs until next year.

More than 200 academics had already chosen to take voluntary redundancy, according to the university.

Anna Nix said she faced a “stressful time” when she missed teaching modules due to the strike.

Compensation amounts differed based on how many teaching modules each student lost. The scheme followed guidance from the higher education regulator, the Office for Students.

UK fee-paying students can claim £100 per disrupted module, with a cap of £600.

International students can receive £200 per module, up to £1,200.

Amala Parry, a student from Nottinghamshire, said she lost 20 hours of teaching time and received £200.

The 21-year-old added, “The lost time cut my contact hours down by half in the second semester, and I only had eight hours as it was. It was the final semester of my third year, and it did have an impact.”

Anna Nix, 22, from the Czech Republic, said she lost five hours of teaching and also received £200.

She described the period as stressful.

“I was in my third year, writing my dissertation, so there was a lot of uncertainty. We didn’t know what was happening,” she added.

A Newcastle University spokesperson said, “We are offering students compensation for missed teaching due to industrial action, in line with the latest guidance from the Office for Students (OfS).

We redirected funds saved from unpaid salaries during the strike toward the compensation scheme.”