ALMOST half of Scotland’s universities increased the number of staff they employed on zero-hours contracts over the last year.

In 2015, Scottish universities publicly committed to reducing zero-hours contracts and tackling abuses linked to them.

But an investigation by the Ferret investigative journalism platform has revealed that zero-hours contracts have increased in many universities, with junior academics often working a number of short-term contracts simultaneously.

“If I’m lucky with my four different roles, I get max £400 a month,” said one final year PhD student at Glasgow University. “You need all these jobs just to try to keep yourself afloat.”

In March 2015, the Universities and College Union called on Scottish institutions to improve their working conditions. In response, Universities Scotland wrote to the Scottish Government promising to eliminate “exploitative” zero-hours contracts.

But the number of staff employed with no guarantee of work increased in half a dozen Scottish universities over the last year, a series of Freedom of Information requests submitted by the Ferret has found.

Trade unions called on the Scottish Government to put pressure on universities to end zero-hours contracts.

In 2014/15, the number of hours worked by staff on zero-hours contracts at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow increased by almost 3,000 hours to 34,530 hours.

Last year, Napier University had 256 zero-hour lecturers working almost 35,000 hours, a slight increase on the previous year. At the University of Aberdeen, the number of staff on zero-hours contracts increased from 125 to 159 between 2013-14 and 2014-15, while at Stirling University, teaching assistants on zero-hours contracts rose from 291 to 304.

At Glasgow University, the number of staff on zero-hours contracts dropped slightly between 2014 and 2015, but more than 4,000 were still employed on these contracts last year, working more than 215,000 hours in total.

At Strathclyde University, the number of staff on zero-hours contracts increased from 768 to 790 between 2013-14 and 2014-15, but the institution stopped issuing the contracts in summer 2015 and they say they are on course to have all staff transferred to new arrangements in the coming weeks.

Zero-hours contracts have become increasingly prevalent in the university sector across the UK in recent years. Many of those employed in this way are young researchers finishing their studies or junior staff who previously would have been given full-time contracts but are now more often paid hourly lecturing rates.

Universities Scotland, the body that represents Scottish universities, has said that zero-hours contracts offer flexibility to staff. But young academics say they often feel pressurised to take insecure, short-term contracts with little or no guaranteed work.

“You are always told you need to teach to get a job once you finish your PhD, but the pay is so bad only people who don’t need the money can really afford to do it. You can’t rely on it to pay your bills,” said a Glasgow university tutor who asked not to be named.

“Everybody is on these things. It’s frustrating because you are supposed to build up teaching work, but that’s impossible if you want a regular salary. In January, I earned just £30,” she says. “I would love to know roughly what I’m going to earn a month, but I don’t.”

A 2014 report into zero-hours contracts in Scottish universities found that staff who speak out against the arrangements can find their hours withdrawn or suffer bullying and harassment. Little appears to have changed.

“Because everyone is working like this, you can’t complain about anything ever. If you complain, you don’t get any more work.”

Scottish university principals are paid as much as £334,000 a year.

In 2015, Scottish universities sent a letter to the Scottish Government that said “exploitative” zero hours contracts should end. In the letter the body said that “responsible use of “hours required” contracts will continue in higher education as they can provide both practical and mutual benefit to employer and employee.”

Responding to the Ferret investigation, a Universities Scotland spokesman said: “There are many instances where flexible employment arrangements are appropriate and benefit employees. Scotland’s higher education institutions make use of flexible contracts but are committed to avoiding exploitative practices. Staff on flexible contracts are entitled to holiday pay, sick pay and other benefits and there is no use of exclusivity clauses.”

But trade unions said universities needed to do more to end the use of zero-hours contracts. “These figures show a concerning rise in the use of zero-hours contracts at some of Scotland’s leading institutions,” said Mary Senior of UCU Scotland.

“These contracts are bad for staff and students alike, as they offer no job security and mean that staff are often not paid for time spent on lesson preparation and marking. It is time for Scotland’s universities to make a firm commitment to eradicate these precarious contracts and employ people properly.”

A 2014 Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry found that more than 100,000 Scots are employed on zero-hours contracts. The STUC is currently running a campaign called Better than Zero, targeting companies that use zero-hours contracts.

Reacting to the Ferret investigation, STUC deputy secretary general Dave Moxham called on the Scottish Government to put pressure on universities to end zero-hours contracts.

“It is shocking that institutions funded by the public purse continue to operate zero-hours contracts and that the figures seem to be on the increase, bucking the trend of a slight reduction in Scotland overall.

“We recognise the independent status of universities, but this does not preclude pressure being brought to bear by the Scottish Government for an end to these practices and it should be a key priority for the new government to do so.”

This story was produced in partnership with The Ferret

The National View: Zero hours benefit the employer more than the employee