After months of threats the Open University has announced a formal consultation on using fire-and-rehire against a group of OU Associate Lecturers (also known as ALs or tutors). Over a number of years, the university has allowed, and even encouraged, some ALs to take on workloads far above a standard full-time equivalent (FTE). As part of a new contract negotiated with UCU in 2018 it was agreed that the number of Associate Lecturers with the largest workloads would come down naturally over time, but instead the university watched the number go up.  

To solve this problem of its own making, the university now proposes that these tutors agree to reduce their hours and pay with minimal compensation. If they don't agree to a contract variation they will be fired and rehired at lower pay, with no compensation.  Union action has reduced the number affected under these proposals to less than 30, but staff fear that if this approach is used, no job or contractual term is safe.

‘Fire and rehire’ is a discredited employment practice that the Labour Government in Westminster has committed to ending. Even the interim Code of Conduct brought in by the Conservative government indicates it should be avoided through meaningful efforts to find an alternative solution. 

An open letter signed by nearly 800 staff has been ignored. Instead, the Open University seems determined to press ahead before the law changes, against its reputation as a fair employer and its social mission, including being a supporter of initiatives in trade union education.

Please sign this petition to demand that the Open University’s senior leaders remove the threat of fire-and-rehire. 

For more details see the OU branch UCU website.