Welcome to the blog section of the UCEA website.
UCEA’s latest blog post (03 March 2026), How to disagree… well and safely is by Karen Campbell-White, Director of Strategic Communications, Jane Yelloly, Sr Campaigns Manager, Prof Sara Mole, Population Health Sciences and Dr Helen Knowler – Arena Centre for Research Based Education at UCL. UCL’s Disagreeing Well campaign team share the importance of creating platforms where colleagues and students can engage in difficult conversations within a safe space. In a world that can feel increasingly fractured and polarised, they champion the need to ensure inclusion is more than just a policy - it is a practice embedded across the institution.
15 October 2025, How we’re transforming colleague experiences at Manchester Met, is by Pamela Flynn, Chief People Officer, Manchester Metropolitan University. Pamela reflects on how Manchester Met’s strong sense of shared purpose and community pride is at the heart of its Great Place to Work strategy and Employee Value Proposition. Through compelling examples, she highlights how colleague input shapes initiatives around strategy, culture, development, wellbeing, recognition, and inclusion to foster a supportive and high-performing environment. Manchester Met, recently named Modern University of the Year, achieved the number one spot for employee experience in the 2024 / 2025 HE Inspire rankings (by People Insight).
1 October 2025, Why Embracing Neurodiversity Strengthens HE for all is by Jane Cullen, Training Manager at The Brain Charity. Jane shares powerful insights, facts, and statistics about neurodiversity in society and the workplace. She highlights the need to break down barriers and champion inclusion by creating spaces where every mind can thrive - showing that embracing difference isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.
18 September 2025, Pensions are a significant part of the HE employee value proposition, by Paul Mason, UCEA's new Director of Pensions Strategy. As Pension Awareness Week (15-19 September) draws to a close, Paul reflects on HE pensions provision - one of the significant benefits of working in the sector. Whilst it is so important to plan for the future, Paul considers employee uptake and some of the barriers to building a ‘good’ pension pot, such as the gender pension gap. He also outlines some of UCEA’s important work in developing solutions to assist HEIs in offering a strong and flexible reward package.
9 September 2025, Why sport and wellbeing should be at the healthy heart of the HE employee experience by Greg Christison, Communications Manager, University of Stirling. After returning from parental leave, Greg reflects on how sport plays a vital role in the employee experience – supporting mental and physical health, building community, and contributing to a sense of belonging. He notes that many institutions across the UK recognise that sport and wellbeing are essential to attracting and retaining talented staff in an increasingly competitive sector, as well as a huge benefit of working in HE.
14 July 2025, Collective experience by Raj Jethwa, Chief Executive of UCEA. Raj explains why the sector’s current situation actually presents an opportunity to progress joint work on important issues, including contracts, workload and equality pay gaps. In the digital age of AI, whilst reflecting on recent HE industrial relations, he highlights the importance of learning from history to avoid repeating mistakes and to start to make meaningful progress for the future.
3 April 2025, USS: 50 years young – reflections on the scheme’s golden jubilee year. USS Director Will Spinks, appointed by UCEA following his longstanding USS involvement, looks at the USS journey so far, considers the current position of the scheme (‘So, on our 50th anniversary, how are we doing?’), and addresses some key ongoing questions including ‘What challenges does the scheme need to prioritise?’
16 January 2025, Definitely menopause, maybe?, is by Anna Radley, Head of Learning and Performance and Vanessa Roots, Senior Workforce Policy Officer at the University of Greenwich. Anna and Vanessa take us through the fascinating journey of how menopause has gone from being a largely overlooked issue to a topic that is now openly discussed, recognised, and supported at the University of Greenwich. Their compelling storytelling shows us how the brave testimony of a colleague facing menopause sparked a wave of positive change. They offer key insights into the initiatives that have played a crucial role in the University’s determination to raise awareness and provide practical support to those experiencing menopause and perimenopause.
13 November 2024, Yesterday was just another important day, is by Raj Jethwa, Chief Executive of UCEA. Raj reflects on yesterday’s annual autumn New JNCHES meeting with sector trade unions as well as his participation in the Wonkhe Festival of HE. Raj explains the importance of such New JNCHES discussions and how there is a coming together to start work on the reform of the pay spine, and on delivering reductions in equality pay gaps, including those involving ethnicity, disability and gender, and to address workload and contract concerns. The blog explains the common thread across both events yesterday - the motivation and determination to work together in our sector to meet the unprecedented challenges we're facing. Raj also reminds us that UCEA’s EX Five-Pillar programme of work outlines why they are relevant to the joint work.
7 November 2024, It’s time to get with the ManBassador Programme at your university, is by Peter Connelly, Director of Sport at Aston University and active ‘ManBassador’. Peter explains how the ManBassador Programme is a stigma-breaking intervention for the workplace, taking a gender-specific approach to improve health and save lives. He explains the training and delivery at Aston and offers invaluable advice – the most important of which is to get involved.
31 October 2024, It is all about the experience – surely? is by Professor Ken Sloan, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer at Harper Adams University. Ken is the lead UCEA Board member for our strategic work on the Employee experience (EX). His blog outlines the importance of developing sector EX, together.
4 July 2024, Pensions: is the value of this benefit understood by staff?, is by Richard Paul, Senior Pensions Technical Adviser at UCEA. Richard explains the importance of communicating the value of the pension schemes we offer our staff. He sets out how the HE sector’s traditional DB pension schemes provide a range of benefits and options that members may not fully appreciate and that DC arrangements, which have become more common provide an affordable and flexible pension offering for groups of HE staff that compares favourably to those outside the sector.
4 June 2024, Seeking seekers in a positive sector, is by Emma Johnson, Head of Marketing at Warwick Employment Group (jobs.ac.uk). Emma explains how they are working with HE institutions while working alongside UCEA to break down some of the old and new barriers to demonstrate the value of a career in HE. They are helping HE institutions create compelling campaigns to showcase what a career in our sector means, joining a community like no other. UCEA’s objective of improving the collective narrative for the sector as employers of choice chimes with jobs.ac.uk’s ongoing aims in this area we hope to continue to draw attention to one another’s respective campaigns.
16 January 2024, What’s it really like to work at the University of Liverpool?, is by Keith Watkinson, Director of Human Resources, University of Liverpool. Keith explains how his university is now producing a compelling Employee Value Proposition. First he questioned why candidates might join Liverpool when most in our sector tend to say similar things when we hire. The university sought a more distinctive story when it came to considering working there. This involved considerable research, engaging with over 1000 colleagues. Their partnership work with SMRS is now enabling them to share their new story with the world.
6 November 2023, Breaking the cycle, is by Professor George Boyne, Chair of the UCEA Board and Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen and Raj Jethwa, Chief Executive of UCEA. George and Raj explain that while progressing pay negotiations is a necessity, it depends on finding common ground with trade unions. The blog is forward-looking, to introducing a degree of stability into HE industrial relations and focus on the important work needed to support students and staff by considering all options.
23 October 2023, Autumn doesn’t last forever, is by our Chief Executive, Raj Jethwa. Raj expresses his growing concerns surrounding the delays to progress joint work to come to a shared perspective on sector finances. While it appeared as if we had come to an amicable way forward following the positive initial meeting in September there have been frustrating delays since. Raj emphasises the urgency to use the dwindling time to complete this detailed review prior to the start of the 2024-25 New JNCHES negotiations. The blog emphasises how employers and trade unions have a responsibility to set aside recent disagreements, to engage with this essential undertaking and to help to re-set our sector’s industrial relations.
4 September 2023, Autumn – a need for new beginnings is by our Chief Executive, Raj Jethwa. Raj sets out that while MAB action has resulted in damage to UCU, employers and our sector as a whole it is the small number of our students, those in our sector who matter most, who have borne the biggest repercussions. Raj explains how it is vital that trade unions respond the detailed employers’ proposals to resolve the outstanding aspects of the 2023-24 New JNCHES negotiating round. It has been a month since UCEA made the proposals and the delayed response is unfair to our sector, especially to those students who have suffered.
20 June 2023, Agreement needs to start with a shared perspective on finances is by our Chief Executive, Raj Jethwa. Raj explains why misunderstandings relating to the sector’s finances exacerbate the potential tragedy of some students’ futures being put at risk by degree classifications delays because of UCU’s ongoing actions. He explains how his experience in previous sectors involved industrial relations focusing on finance modelling agreements needed to underpin changes to pay and contracts. Raj points out that the absence of an agreed perspective of affordability is a shortcoming of the HE bargaining process and calls for an independently facilitated shared perspective on HE sector finances. UCEA calls on trade unions to arrive at a shared perspective on sector finances.
22 May 2023, Facing facts when it comes to industrial relations is by Jerry Cope, UCEA’s Deputy Chair of Board and member of the New JNCHES negotiation committee. Jerry’s blog explains how in his 30+ years of negotiations, discussions, calculations and considerations with many trade unions and on pay review bodies there has always been one vital ingredient for any chance of progress or settlement – facts. Facts that need to be gathered, understood and agreed by all parties who may disagree on policy but are at least working from a common base.
18 April 2023, It’s time for another survey – but please don’t be dissatisfied! is by our Head of Communications and Membership, Andy Fryer. The blog launches our triennial membership satisfaction survey which runs until 12 May 2023.
10 January 2023, Focussing on the employee experience in a sector that traditionally hasn’t, is by Kate Faxen, Head of Employee Experience at UCL. It emphasises the importance for our sector to embrace an approach to enhancing the employee experience and reminding readers of the rich resources available.
5 December 2022, Total Reward Strategies and Employee Value Propositions: Please remind me…why do we need them and how do we deliver them? is by Dr Duncan Brown, Visiting Professor at the University of Greenwich and Principal Associate, IES. This is the latest contribution to emphasise the importance for our sector to embrace an approach to enhancing the employee experience.
21 November 2022, Conversation to consultation for the direction of pay bargaining, is by our Chief Executive, Raj Jethwa. This follows the introductory It’s time to listen: the future of collective pay bargaining blog, going on to explain how the launch of UCEA's consultation follows 15 months of comprehensive conversation with our member HE institutions. The aim is for the formal consultation to deliver definitive feedback on how best to move forward with collective bargaining
3 November 2022, What I talk about when I talk about Employee experience, is written by Mark Latuske, Deputy Director of People & Culture (Employee Experience), Ulster University. This succinct blog follows Mark’s case study, An organisation-wide approach to employee experience - one of the many excellent case studies included in UCEA's 'Employee experience in HE' guide, with access available to members via UCEA’s EX section of the website.
21 July 2002, The benefits of the best jobs, is written by Martin Augustus, UWE Bristol’s Head of Employee Relations. Martin's excellent contribution encourages readers to re-examine the vast range of benefits that are often overlooked when working in our sector.
19 July 2022, The many benefits of working in HE need to be better understood, is written by Roshan Israni, UCEA’s Deputy Chief Executive. Roshan emphasises how important it is for the sector to highlight how much HE benefits are valued when the public narrative of the sector often offers the opposite. The blog provides a timely reminder of how our recent report evidences the good and highly competitive HE practices by benchmarking against other sectors.
17 March 2022, Enhancing the HE employee experience, together is written by Roshan Israni, UCEA’s Deputy Chief Executive. Roshan emphasises how important it is for our sector to embrace an approach to enhancing the employee experience. The blog follows the UCEA’s recent launch event, setting out the work relating to this exciting new employee experience strategic priority.
UCEA’s latest blog post (03 March 2026), How to disagree… well and safely is by Karen Campbell-White, Director of Strategic Communications, Jane Yelloly, Sr Campaigns Manager, Prof Sara Mole, Population Health Sciences and Dr Helen Knowler – Arena Centre for Research Based Education at UCL. UCL’s Disagreeing Well campaign team share the importance of creating platforms where colleagues and students can engage in difficult conversations within a safe space. In a world that can feel increasingly fractured and polarised, they champion the need to ensure inclusion is more than just a policy - it is a practice embedded across the institution.
15 October 2025, How we’re transforming colleague experiences at Manchester Met, is by Pamela Flynn, Chief People Officer, Manchester Metropolitan University. Pamela reflects on how Manchester Met’s strong sense of shared purpose and community pride is at the heart of its Great Place to Work strategy and Employee Value Proposition. Through compelling examples, she highlights how colleague input shapes initiatives around strategy, culture, development, wellbeing, recognition, and inclusion to foster a supportive and high-performing environment. Manchester Met, recently named Modern University of the Year, achieved the number one spot for employee experience in the 2024 / 2025 HE Inspire rankings (by People Insight).
1 October 2025, Why Embracing Neurodiversity Strengthens HE for all is by Jane Cullen, Training Manager at The Brain Charity. Jane shares powerful insights, facts, and statistics about neurodiversity in society and the workplace. She highlights the need to break down barriers and champion inclusion by creating spaces where every mind can thrive - showing that embracing difference isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.
18 September 2025, Pensions are a significant part of the HE employee value proposition, by Paul Mason, UCEA's new Director of Pensions Strategy. As Pension Awareness Week (15-19 September) draws to a close, Paul reflects on HE pensions provision - one of the significant benefits of working in the sector. Whilst it is so important to plan for the future, Paul considers employee uptake and some of the barriers to building a ‘good’ pension pot, such as the gender pension gap. He also outlines some of UCEA’s important work in developing solutions to assist HEIs in offering a strong and flexible reward package.
9 September 2025, Why sport and wellbeing should be at the healthy heart of the HE employee experience by Greg Christison, Communications Manager, University of Stirling. After returning from parental leave, Greg reflects on how sport plays a vital role in the employee experience – supporting mental and physical health, building community, and contributing to a sense of belonging. He notes that many institutions across the UK recognise that sport and wellbeing are essential to attracting and retaining talented staff in an increasingly competitive sector, as well as a huge benefit of working in HE.
14 July 2025, Collective experience by Raj Jethwa, Chief Executive of UCEA. Raj explains why the sector’s current situation actually presents an opportunity to progress joint work on important issues, including contracts, workload and equality pay gaps. In the digital age of AI, whilst reflecting on recent HE industrial relations, he highlights the importance of learning from history to avoid repeating mistakes and to start to make meaningful progress for the future.
3 April 2025, USS: 50 years young – reflections on the scheme’s golden jubilee year. USS Director Will Spinks, appointed by UCEA following his longstanding USS involvement, looks at the USS journey so far, considers the current position of the scheme (‘So, on our 50th anniversary, how are we doing?’), and addresses some key ongoing questions including ‘What challenges does the scheme need to prioritise?’
16 January 2025, Definitely menopause, maybe?, is by Anna Radley, Head of Learning and Performance and Vanessa Roots, Senior Workforce Policy Officer at the University of Greenwich. Anna and Vanessa take us through the fascinating journey of how menopause has gone from being a largely overlooked issue to a topic that is now openly discussed, recognised, and supported at the University of Greenwich. Their compelling storytelling shows us how the brave testimony of a colleague facing menopause sparked a wave of positive change. They offer key insights into the initiatives that have played a crucial role in the University’s determination to raise awareness and provide practical support to those experiencing menopause and perimenopause.
13 November 2024, Yesterday was just another important day, is by Raj Jethwa, Chief Executive of UCEA. Raj reflects on yesterday’s annual autumn New JNCHES meeting with sector trade unions as well as his participation in the Wonkhe Festival of HE. Raj explains the importance of such New JNCHES discussions and how there is a coming together to start work on the reform of the pay spine, and on delivering reductions in equality pay gaps, including those involving ethnicity, disability and gender, and to address workload and contract concerns. The blog explains the common thread across both events yesterday - the motivation and determination to work together in our sector to meet the unprecedented challenges we're facing. Raj also reminds us that UCEA’s EX Five-Pillar programme of work outlines why they are relevant to the joint work.
7 November 2024, It’s time to get with the ManBassador Programme at your university, is by Peter Connelly, Director of Sport at Aston University and active ‘ManBassador’. Peter explains how the ManBassador Programme is a stigma-breaking intervention for the workplace, taking a gender-specific approach to improve health and save lives. He explains the training and delivery at Aston and offers invaluable advice – the most important of which is to get involved.
31 October 2024, It is all about the experience – surely? is by Professor Ken Sloan, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer at Harper Adams University. Ken is the lead UCEA Board member for our strategic work on the Employee experience (EX). His blog outlines the importance of developing sector EX, together.
4 July 2024, Pensions: is the value of this benefit understood by staff?, is by Richard Paul, Senior Pensions Technical Adviser at UCEA. Richard explains the importance of communicating the value of the pension schemes we offer our staff. He sets out how the HE sector’s traditional DB pension schemes provide a range of benefits and options that members may not fully appreciate and that DC arrangements, which have become more common provide an affordable and flexible pension offering for groups of HE staff that compares favourably to those outside the sector.
4 June 2024, Seeking seekers in a positive sector, is by Emma Johnson, Head of Marketing at Warwick Employment Group (jobs.ac.uk). Emma explains how they are working with HE institutions while working alongside UCEA to break down some of the old and new barriers to demonstrate the value of a career in HE. They are helping HE institutions create compelling campaigns to showcase what a career in our sector means, joining a community like no other. UCEA’s objective of improving the collective narrative for the sector as employers of choice chimes with jobs.ac.uk’s ongoing aims in this area we hope to continue to draw attention to one another’s respective campaigns.
16 January 2024, What’s it really like to work at the University of Liverpool?, is by Keith Watkinson, Director of Human Resources, University of Liverpool. Keith explains how his university is now producing a compelling Employee Value Proposition. First he questioned why candidates might join Liverpool when most in our sector tend to say similar things when we hire. The university sought a more distinctive story when it came to considering working there. This involved considerable research, engaging with over 1000 colleagues. Their partnership work with SMRS is now enabling them to share their new story with the world.
6 November 2023, Breaking the cycle, is by Professor George Boyne, Chair of the UCEA Board and Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen and Raj Jethwa, Chief Executive of UCEA. George and Raj explain that while progressing pay negotiations is a necessity, it depends on finding common ground with trade unions. The blog is forward-looking, to introducing a degree of stability into HE industrial relations and focus on the important work needed to support students and staff by considering all options.
23 October 2023, Autumn doesn’t last forever, is by our Chief Executive, Raj Jethwa. Raj expresses his growing concerns surrounding the delays to progress joint work to come to a shared perspective on sector finances. While it appeared as if we had come to an amicable way forward following the positive initial meeting in September there have been frustrating delays since. Raj emphasises the urgency to use the dwindling time to complete this detailed review prior to the start of the 2024-25 New JNCHES negotiations. The blog emphasises how employers and trade unions have a responsibility to set aside recent disagreements, to engage with this essential undertaking and to help to re-set our sector’s industrial relations.
4 September 2023, Autumn – a need for new beginnings is by our Chief Executive, Raj Jethwa. Raj sets out that while MAB action has resulted in damage to UCU, employers and our sector as a whole it is the small number of our students, those in our sector who matter most, who have borne the biggest repercussions. Raj explains how it is vital that trade unions respond the detailed employers’ proposals to resolve the outstanding aspects of the 2023-24 New JNCHES negotiating round. It has been a month since UCEA made the proposals and the delayed response is unfair to our sector, especially to those students who have suffered.
20 June 2023, Agreement needs to start with a shared perspective on finances is by our Chief Executive, Raj Jethwa. Raj explains why misunderstandings relating to the sector’s finances exacerbate the potential tragedy of some students’ futures being put at risk by degree classifications delays because of UCU’s ongoing actions. He explains how his experience in previous sectors involved industrial relations focusing on finance modelling agreements needed to underpin changes to pay and contracts. Raj points out that the absence of an agreed perspective of affordability is a shortcoming of the HE bargaining process and calls for an independently facilitated shared perspective on HE sector finances. UCEA calls on trade unions to arrive at a shared perspective on sector finances.
22 May 2023, Facing facts when it comes to industrial relations is by Jerry Cope, UCEA’s Deputy Chair of Board and member of the New JNCHES negotiation committee. Jerry’s blog explains how in his 30+ years of negotiations, discussions, calculations and considerations with many trade unions and on pay review bodies there has always been one vital ingredient for any chance of progress or settlement – facts. Facts that need to be gathered, understood and agreed by all parties who may disagree on policy but are at least working from a common base.
18 April 2023, It’s time for another survey – but please don’t be dissatisfied! is by our Head of Communications and Membership, Andy Fryer. The blog launches our triennial membership satisfaction survey which runs until 12 May 2023.
10 January 2023, Focussing on the employee experience in a sector that traditionally hasn’t, is by Kate Faxen, Head of Employee Experience at UCL. It emphasises the importance for our sector to embrace an approach to enhancing the employee experience and reminding readers of the rich resources available.
5 December 2022, Total Reward Strategies and Employee Value Propositions: Please remind me…why do we need them and how do we deliver them? is by Dr Duncan Brown, Visiting Professor at the University of Greenwich and Principal Associate, IES. This is the latest contribution to emphasise the importance for our sector to embrace an approach to enhancing the employee experience.
21 November 2022, Conversation to consultation for the direction of pay bargaining, is by our Chief Executive, Raj Jethwa. This follows the introductory It’s time to listen: the future of collective pay bargaining blog, going on to explain how the launch of UCEA's consultation follows 15 months of comprehensive conversation with our member HE institutions. The aim is for the formal consultation to deliver definitive feedback on how best to move forward with collective bargaining
3 November 2022, What I talk about when I talk about Employee experience, is written by Mark Latuske, Deputy Director of People & Culture (Employee Experience), Ulster University. This succinct blog follows Mark’s case study, An organisation-wide approach to employee experience - one of the many excellent case studies included in UCEA's 'Employee experience in HE' guide, with access available to members via UCEA’s EX section of the website.
21 July 2002, The benefits of the best jobs, is written by Martin Augustus, UWE Bristol’s Head of Employee Relations. Martin's excellent contribution encourages readers to re-examine the vast range of benefits that are often overlooked when working in our sector.
19 July 2022, The many benefits of working in HE need to be better understood, is written by Roshan Israni, UCEA’s Deputy Chief Executive. Roshan emphasises how important it is for the sector to highlight how much HE benefits are valued when the public narrative of the sector often offers the opposite. The blog provides a timely reminder of how our recent report evidences the good and highly competitive HE practices by benchmarking against other sectors.
17 March 2022, Enhancing the HE employee experience, together is written by Roshan Israni, UCEA’s Deputy Chief Executive. Roshan emphasises how important it is for our sector to embrace an approach to enhancing the employee experience. The blog follows the UCEA’s recent launch event, setting out the work relating to this exciting new employee experience strategic priority.
