Unpaid work is hell – university under fire over “volunteer” theology teachers

A respected university religious research department is at the centre of a dispute over unpaid teaching staff.

It comes as the UCU has protested to Durham University over a website advert for extracurricular classes being taught by unpaid volunteers.

Last summer the university issued a statement that it was “neither policy nor practice” to recruit unpaid staff. It followed two attempts to ‘hire’ unpaid research assistants by the University of Birmingham and University College London last summer.

Both adverts were withdrawn after complaints from UCU and on social media.

However, UCU officials said the adverts for jobs at Durham University’s theology and religion department appeared to fall into the same category.

The union questioned whether the teaching work complied with national minimum wage legislation.
Officials said unpaid posts undermined the principles of equal pay, exploited people able to work for free, and discriminated against those who simply cannot afford to.

Jon Bryan, regional support official for UCU said: “The advert says it requires applicants to devise and deliver courses without payment, which is completely at odds with the firm commitment Durham gave us last year that it does not recruit unpaid staff.

“The university needs to make a clear statement outlining its position on people working for free.

“We simply do not accept the defence that teaching for free is a development opportunity – clearly it is not available to people who cannot afford to work for free.

“Universities should be striving for excellence, not seeking to exploit those who can afford to work for nothing as free labour.”

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