Preston's University of Central Lancashire looks to shed staff numbers through voluntary redundancies

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is inviting employees to register expressions of interest for voluntary redundancies.

UCLan says it does not have the exact staff numbers the process would involve but is striving to avoid compulsory redundancies.

In a statement joint institutional leads at UCLan Liz Bromley and Lynne Livesey said: “The university remains financially stable but given the current economic and political uncertainty in the UK, we have decided to act now to protect our future operations.

“To help us achieve our cost reduction proposals for the 2019/20 academic year, we have invited expressions of interest from any of our staff who may wish to discuss a potential voluntary redundancy arrangement.

“At this stage we have no specific cost reduction target or the exact numbers of staff that this should potentially involve, however we do need to understand the level of interest initially before making any decisions.”

Representatives from the University and College Union (UCU) has been in talks with UCLan about its financial position. Regional official, Martyn Moss, said: “Our focus throughout has been on minimising the impact of any required changes on staff and avoiding any compulsory job losses.”