Trade unions have a long history of providing learning for their members. After years of decline this flourished after the 1997-2010 Labour government introduced the Union Learning Fund and legal rights for union learning representatives. This article reviews that extraordinary renaissance and discusses how a new Labour government could learn the…

Higher Education staff in the United Kingdom (UK) work long hours to complete their duties. In a 2021 survey, staff reported a weekly average of 51 hours: a fact well understood to undermine health and educational quality. Yet, UK law sets a maximum working week of 48 hours, and failure to uphold this maximum is a criminal offence for employers.…

This paper examines staff perspectives on institutional representations of a range of areas of diversity and inclusion in a key post-compulsory education sector: that of UK Higher Education (HE). The paper focuses on comparing representational statements made by institutions with the reality of their lived experiences as perceived by staff. The…

This discursive paper addresses the lack of recent robust research on the experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer or Questioning (LGBTQ+) Higher Education (HE) staff, particularly Early Career Academics in the UK. While efforts have focused on supporting LGBTQ+ students, scant attention has been given to the challenges faced by LGBTQ+…

Purpose: The paper posits that the enforced work from home (WFH) arrangement due to COVID-19 provides a unique setting for the study of trust in changing contexts. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to examine to what extent COVID-19 WFH changed trust relationships among remote employees, their managers and organisations and how this has…

Academic staff experience high levels of work-related stress and poor mental health. As a result, many institutions face high staff turnover. These outcomes may be driven by complex and, at times, apparently oppositional objectives academics need to meet around research and teaching. These factors may present both practical and social…

Our study engages evidence from a University and College Union branch archive to explore developments in employee relations (ER) that reflect the organisational effects of marketisation of UK universities. The evidence exposes points of strain in ER at a level of professional divide between managers and academics, and helps to understand their…

This paper focuses on how generic skills can be developed to enable young adults to best utilise them in making transitions into the labour market. Drawing on the literature and a Commercial Education Trust study of practices which encourage employer engagement in skills development, it is argued that 'putting skills to work' is not automatic or…

Employers participate in mental health initiatives in a number of ways. Key amongst these is the provision of accessible places and events for employees to discuss mental health issues. Inspired by these conversations, we held a workshop for staff to encourage the discussion to develop more widely, facilitated by the first two authors of this…

This article considers the extent to which the legal framework of Higher Education in the UK (2000- 2010) responded to the needs of the professional work-based student, while in both employment and study. Drawing on Case Law, Education Law and the body of literature on Work-Based Learning (WBL) it discusses the context of the professional student…

The purpose of this article is to challenge employers to make the best use of the latent potential of their part-time student workforce and to retain this talent postgraduation. The authors report research which shows that increasing numbers of university students are working part-time alongside their degree studies, while at the same time…

Drawing on in-depth interviews with 30 academics from various disciplines in both UK and Chinese universities, this comparative study aims to offer new insights into how academics in British and Chinese universities maintained work-life balance and the similarities and differences experienced between academics of both countries. This study finds…

This article explores the aspects of employer engagement in higher education (HE). The vocational field of the adventure and outdoor industry provides the context, with associated undergraduate degrees offering contemporary "real-world" provision, underpinned by values of inclusivity and widening participation--an approach that addresses…

This paper identifies how a series of higher apprenticeships projects funded by the UK coalition government in England between 2012 and 2014 are located within structures of professional and vocational formation. Factors that relate to the structuring of formation are discussed, including how notions of professionalization and legitimacy, and the…

As cuts in public-sector funding continue to affect the lives and careers of public-sector workers in the UK, and in other countries, there are added pressures on educational establishments to equip students with the knowledge and skills for employability, sustainable employment and career development in an employment marketplace characterised by…