Sources
Severance
- Unpublished UoS documentUniversity of Sunderland, Voluntary Severance Scheme 2024 (Staff)
Sections 3, 5 and 6. Open 23 July to 6 September 2024, Grade G and below in FACI, FES, FOT and FBLT. (July 2024)
Not published.
- Official documentGOV.UK, Redundancy pay: your rights
The statutory age bands (half, one or one and a half weeks per year of service) and 20-year cap that several of the other schemes build on. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://www.gov.uk/redundant-your-rights/redundancy-pay - Official documentCardiff University, University Executive Board blog: flexible working and voluntary severance schemes (2 July 2020)
"The voluntary severance payment offered under the terms of this scheme is 4 months' salary and applies to all eligible staff, regardless of length of service or contractual notice period entitlement." Read from the Internet Archive copy. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://web.archive.org/web/20210301014828/https://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/university-executive-board/2020/07/02/flexible-working-and-voluntary-severance-schemes/ - PressThe Gaudie (University of Aberdeen student newspaper), 8 December 2023
Modern languages staff at risk: "ALL staff will receive a lump sump of four months pay", for staff employed more than two years. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://gaudie.co.uk/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/news_FOUR-MONTHS-severance-for-language-staff.pdf - Official documentUniversity of Oxford HR, Calculating a voluntary severance payment
Weeks' pay per year of service: 0.88 under 22, 1.75 aged 22 to 40, 2.63 aged 41 and over; actual weekly pay, no limit; maximum 20 years and 52.6 weeks. Standing policy. Read from the Internet Archive copy (March 2026). (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://web.archive.org/web/20260313142543/https://hr.admin.ox.ac.uk/calculating-voluntary-severance-payment - Official documentLiverpool Hope University, Voluntary Redundancy scheme re-opened July 2025
The higher of: statutory weeks at actual gross weekly pay (20 years maximum) enhanced "by a multiplier of 1.5", or "six months gross salary". Notice worked on top, to 8 October 2025. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://www.hope.ac.uk/media/gateway/staffgateway/peopleservicesdocuments/VR%20%20re%20open%20Scheme%20July%202025%20(3).docx - Official documentBangor University, Voluntary Severance Scheme Policy and FAQ 2024
"All members of staff will receive a payment of six months' pay", based on gross pay; where statutory redundancy would be greater, the VS sum will exceed it. Read from the Internet Archive copy. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://web.archive.org/web/20241213111939/https://www.bangor.ac.uk/humanresources/documents/VS_Policy_&_FAQ_2024_Eng.pdf - Union branchUNISON Yorkshire and Humberside, 18 June 2024
Huddersfield's final offer "includes a flat-rate payment of £5,000 to at-risk staff as well as statutory redundancy pay". (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://unison.org.uk/yorkshire-humberside/2024/06/18/cash-for-voluntary-redundancy-offer-found-by-huddersfield-university-bosses-after-union-pressure-says-unison/ - Official documentUniversity of Manchester, FAQs for voluntary severance (sport review)
2.25 weeks' actual pay per completed year, capped at 30 weeks. Scheme open 22 March to 22 April 2022. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/dse/about/sport-review/faqs/faqs-for-voluntary-severance/ - Official documentHeriot-Watt University, Severance Payments Policy (effective 1 July 2024, v1.3 June 2026)
Voluntary: 1, 2 or 3 weeks' actual pay per year by age band, max 20 years, capped at the lower of one year's salary or £90,000. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://www.hw.ac.uk/document-library/hr/SeverancePaymentsPolicy.pdf - Official documentUniversity of Reading, Targeted Voluntary Redundancy Scheme 2026/27, worked examples
Uncapped statutory redundancy pay plus two months' gross pay; service capped at 20 years; example total capped at £75,000. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://www.reading.ac.uk/human-resources/policies-and-procedures/review-and-restructuring/vr-targeted-scheme-2026-7/vr-targeted-worked-examples - Official documentUniversity of Huddersfield, Voluntary Severance Scheme 2023
"The severance payment you would receive is 6 months' gross salary and access to your pension dependent on membership, your age and pension scheme rules." Required two years' service and the Dean or Director's approval. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://staff.hud.ac.uk/media/intranet/content/hr/downloads/vss/VSS_2023.pdf - Official documentQueen Mary University of London, Voluntary Severance Scheme FAQs (March 2024)
4 months (1 to 3 years), 7 months (over 3 to 8 years), 9 months (over 8 years), inclusive of contractual notice. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://qmucu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/voluntary-severance-general-faqs.pdf - Official documentUniversity of Aberdeen, Voluntary Severance/Enhanced Retirement Scheme 2026 (5+ years' service)
Up to 12 months' salary including pay in lieu of notice. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/media/site/staffnet/documents/Scheme-doc---5--years.docx - Official documentUlster University, Voluntary Redundancy Scheme 2026, Key Facts
LRA ready reckoner x 1.3 at actual pay (or £783 a week if higher), plus 50% of gross annual earnings. Max 65 weeks or £123,750. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://www.ulster.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/1896644/Ulster-University-Voluntary-Redundancy-Scheme-Key-Facts-3-September-2026.pdf - Union branchRichmond (RAIUL) UCU branch, Voluntary Severance Scheme
One month's basic salary per year of service, capped at 12 months and £50,000. Open 3 to 31 October 2024. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://richmond.web.ucu.org.uk/voluntary-severance-scheme/ - Union branchUCU Bristol, On Voluntary Severance (10 February 2026)
"What was offered in IT was 6 months pay. What is offered in Humanities and Modern Languages is 9 months pay." (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://www.ucubristol.org.uk/2026/02/10/ucu-bristol-on-voluntary-severance-50-surplus-professional-services-transformation-programme/ - PressWorld Socialist Web Site, University of Sheffield staff strike (5 May 2025)
"a minimum of three months' worth of salary, with an extra month of pay for each year of service beyond three years, up to a maximum of nine months". No source given by the article. (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/05/05/lgop-m05.html - PressThe Courier (Newcastle student newspaper), 9 May 2025
Staff who left voluntarily "agreed to a nine-month financial package". (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://www.thecourieronline.co.uk/?p=248369 - PressThe Tab Sheffield, 15 December 2023
Sheffield Hallam's scheme for academic staff "offers 10 months of gross pay". (accessed 10 Nov 2026)
https://thetab.com/uk/sheffield/2023/12/15/sheffield-hallam-offers-academic-staff-voluntary-severance-scheme-amid-financial-struggles-51350
International income and the minutes
- Official documentUniversity of Sunderland, Report and Financial Statements 2018/19
Note 1 (tuition fees) and Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income.
https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/help/corporate-legal/legal-finance/financial-reports - Official documentUniversity of Sunderland, Report and Accounts 2019/20
Note 1 (tuition fees) and Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income.
https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/help/corporate-legal/legal-finance/financial-reports - Official documentUniversity of Sunderland, Annual Report and Financial Statements 2021/22
Note 1 (2021/22 and 2020/21 comparatives) and Statement of Comprehensive Income.
https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/help/corporate-legal/legal-finance/financial-reports - Official documentUniversity of Sunderland, Annual Report and Financial Statements 2022/23 (approved by the Board on 6 December 2023)
Vice-Chancellor's statement p.9: managing income shortfalls by "increasing international student numbers on our UK campuses".
https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/help/corporate-legal/legal-finance/financial-reports - Official documentUniversity of Sunderland, Annual Report and Financial Statements 2023/24
Note 1 (restated 2022/23 comparatives); Managing Risk: decline "likely to continue into the medium term".
https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/help/corporate-legal/legal-finance/financial-reports - Official documentUniversity of Sunderland, Annual Report and Financial Statements 2024/25 (approved by the Governing Body on 3 December 2025)
Vice-Chancellor's statement (Global Reach; Financial Outlook) and Note 1.
https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/help/corporate-legal/legal-finance/financial-reports - Official documentUniversity of Sunderland, Board of Governors minutes, 5 October 2023
Item 4b, UKVI Inspection and Immigration Rule Changes.
https://sunderland.ac.uk/about/about-the-university/how-university-managed/leadership/board-of-governors/meeting-minutes - Official documentUniversity of Sunderland, Finance, Development and Resources Committee minutes, 16 November 2023
Item 6, Going Concern.
https://sunderland.ac.uk/about/about-the-university/how-university-managed/leadership/board-of-governors/meeting-minutes - Official documentUniversity of Sunderland, Board of Governors minutes, 6 December 2023
Item 5c, International Students; item 8, Annual Report approved; item 24, Financial Performance Update.
https://sunderland.ac.uk/about/about-the-university/how-university-managed/leadership/board-of-governors/meeting-minutes - Official documentUniversity of Sunderland, FDRC minutes, 27 June 2024
Item 11, University Financial Forecasts 2024/25 to 2028/29.
https://sunderland.ac.uk/about/about-the-university/how-university-managed/leadership/board-of-governors/meeting-minutes - Official documentUniversity of Sunderland, Board of Governors minutes, 4 December 2024
Item 4a, Core Activities and Cost Reductions.
https://sunderland.ac.uk/about/about-the-university/how-university-managed/leadership/board-of-governors/meeting-minutes - Official documentUniversity of Sunderland, Board of Governors minutes, 6 February 2025
Item 19, Estate Development Update.
https://sunderland.ac.uk/about/about-the-university/how-university-managed/leadership/board-of-governors/meeting-minutes
Visas and enrolment
- Official documentHome Office, Immigration System Statistics, entry clearance visa outcomes (table Vis_D02), quarterly releases Aug 2024 to Aug 2026
Nigeria, Sponsored study, Student, Main Applicant. Refusal rate = refused / (issued + refused). Each quarter as first published.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release - Official documentHome Office, Immigration system statistics, year ending December 2025
Published 26 February 2026. Nigeria Q4 2025: 5,073 issued, 1,106 refused. (published 26 Feb 2026)
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2025 - Official documentHome Office, Monthly entry clearance visa applications: January 2026
Sponsored Study, main applicants: January 2025 28,700; January 2026 19,800 (rounded to nearest 100). (published 12 Feb 2026)
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/monthly-entry-clearance-visa-applications-january-2026 - Unpublished UoS documentUniversity of Sunderland, Semester 1 international enrolments by nationality, 2025/26 and 2026/27 (faculty exports: FBT, FESCI, FHSW)
Sum of the three faculty exports, same filters both years (Semester 1, withdrawals included), 2026/27 as at November 2026. Biggest markets in 2025/26: Nigeria 1,400; Nepal 777; India 721; China 527; Pakistan 418; Ghana 187. By faculty: Business and Technology 3,368 to 1,376; Education, Society and Creative Industries 950 to 785; Health Sciences and Wellbeing 1,437 to 1,265. (2026)
Not published.
Claims we chose not to make
- “The stingiest scheme in the UK.” We found the terms of 19 other schemes at 16 universities, not every university’s. Eleven come from the universities’ own documents and eight from union branches or the press; the chart marks which. Two schemes matched Sunderland’s four-month cap.
- Kent and Keele. Claims that Kent paid three months and Keele paid statutory redundancy only could not be traced to any source, so they are left out.
- Schemes we could not read at source. Where we saw terms only in a search summary and could not open a document, union post or article stating them, we left them out.
- “Nigerian visa refusals caused Sunderland’s fall.” The fall was concentrated in one faculty, UK applications were falling, and Nepalese numbers fell sharply without a jump in refusals. We show the pattern and its exceptions.
- “A forecast predicted the collapse.” A national trend line set against a Sunderland figure is not like for like.
- “The Executive did nothing after February 2026.” The latest minutes we have seen are from June 2025, so we ask instead.
- An average severance payout from the accounts. The 2024/25 note does not make clear which costs its 161 individuals relate to.
- Course targets for 2026/27. The internal file mixes years of study and does not say when targets were set.
How the numbers were worked out
- Severance calculator. Cash payments only; pension benefits are not counted. Months = salary ÷ 12. A week’s pay = salary ÷ 52.1429. Each scheme uses the formula in its source; where a scheme builds on the statutory age bands, we apply them at actual pay as that scheme states. Eligibility tests such as Ulster’s three-year payback rule are not modelled. “Middle of the other schemes” is the median of the schemes you would be eligible for.
- International share. Full-time international tuition fees ÷ total income, consolidated, from Note 1 and the Statement of Comprehensive Income. 2022/23 uses the restated figures in the 2023/24 accounts.
- Refusal rate. Refused ÷ (issued + refused), withdrawn applications excluded, for the latest quarter in each release as first published. Each figure was checked against the original Home Office file.
- Biggest markets. Ranked by 2025/26 Semester 1 international enrolments across the three faculties: Nigeria (1,400), Nepal (777), India (721), China (527), Pakistan (418), Ghana (187). Refusal rates are for the October to December quarter in the February 2025 and February 2026 releases. Myanmar is left out because we did not extract its figures.
- Enrolment snapshots. Both years use the same export filters (Semester 1, withdrawals included). The 2026/27 figures are as at November 2026.
- Quotes. Verbatim. Ellipses mark cuts.