If you are made redundant, sign off on the sick
I was having a drink with a senior HR professional this weekend who wished to remain anonymous, and he had this piece of advice for university staff who are made redundant:
Sign off on the sick for the rest of your contract.
This is a bold statement, but it’s fair enough. Redundancy is incredibly stressful. And stress is a legitimate reason to take sick leave. It’s not a loophole, it’s your right. You’re not a machine—you’re a person facing an uncertain future.
Collective action is better where we can do that and is better than an individualist strategy, but if you’re made redundant and you feel stressed, you are well within your right to get signed off.
Our conversation came off the back of various discussions I’ve been having in the previous few weeks, including with friends at Cardiff and York, with various 1:1 coaching and Sisterhood[LINK] clients, including, sadly, a good friend and amazing academic who was made redundant at the end of last year.
Nerves and emotions are running high as a quarter of top UK universities announce cuts.
Here’s what you need to know:
Your mental health matters. If redundancy is affecting your ability to function, speak to your doctor. Stress leave exists for a reason.
This isn’t about ‘gaming the system.’ It’s about not letting the system wring you dry on the way out. You are not obligated to spend your final months propping up an institution that has decided it doesn’t need you.
You are not alone. If you’re struggling, talk to your union about stress-related sick leave and close colleagues about how you are feeling. Find support in spaces that actually have your back.
This is a systemic issue, not an individual failing. Universities are making cuts all over the show. You get to decide how you show up during this, but here’s my permission slip to say you do not have to martyr yourself for them. A “fawning” nervous system reaction will not be the reason for a saved job.
If you’re in this position, I want you to know you have options, and you don’t have to go through this alone.
If you’re worried this will make life harder for those left behind, here’s the truth: saying ‘yes’ to picking up extra work is what allows this cycle to continue. Universities rely on people to absorb more and more until they hit a breaking point.
Now is the time to push back, collectively and individually:
Don’t silently take on extra duties. If work is being dumped on you, ask: “What will be deprioritised to make space for this?”
Call out the pattern. If leadership is pushing ‘team spirit’ to justify more work, remind them that this isn’t a team problem—it’s a management and government failure. Make it clear to your manager that you know they’re doing their best (if they are, that is), but you know that saying “yes” only exacerbates the problem.
Use your union. Workloads rising because of job cuts is a collective issue. Flag it, push back, and don’t carry it alone.
Every time someone refuses to be overloaded, it gets harder for universities to normalise this.
