- Staff experience varies significantly between departments
- Limited progression routes in some areas
- Poor behaviour by some staff and managers is tolerated or protected
- Pay increments frozen for two years following promotion
- Heavy and uneven workloads with little flexibility or redistribution
- Flexible and hybrid working policies are inconsistent and manager-dependent
- Admin staff frequently face unreasonable demands from faculty
- Escalatory and political behaviour (e.g. CC’ing managers) instead of constructive dialogue
- Feedback is sometimes escalated rather than addressed directly
- Favouritism affects workload, progression, and promotion opportunities
- Serious concerns about management: in one department, a manager is in a relationship with someone he directly managed. The manager also influenced friendships and working relationships in ways that created tension within the team.
- Resistance to new ideas unless they originate from management
- Lower-paid staff often demonstrate higher competency than higher-paid roles
- Pay disparities across admin roles are not aligned with workload or responsibility
- Staff awards frequently overlook non-teaching and frontline staff
- Ongoing budget cuts mean vacancies are not backfilled, increasing pressure on remaining staff
- Limited investment in facilities, systems, and frontline teams
- Too many senior leadership roles compared to investment at ground level
- There have been some concerns around governance, particularly with staff representatives serving beyond their intended term. It can sometimes create confusion around accountability and decision-making.
