Leading university accused of relying on young academics employed on gig-economy terms

Oxford University has been accused of relying on academics on “Deliveroo-style” and precarious fixed-term contracts to give the majority of its tutorials, after new research revealed just a third of lessons are taught by full-time professors.

Data obtained through freedom of information requests by the University and College Union and shared exclusively with the Observer, reveals that about 61% of core tutorial teaching is done by academics on fixed-term contracts or in hourly-paid roles. The union says that pay is based mainly on contact hours with students, but once preparation, marking and supporting students is taken into account, this often falls below the minimum wage in real terms.