Quiet Riot Special: Employment rights and employment wrongs in the world of academia

Alice Jolly taught at Oxford for 16 years ... until she had the temerity to complain about her pay. Sacked from a job she loved, she took the university to court over her employment rights and won a famous victory. But what are the broader lessons for the world of academia? In this Quiet Riot special, Naomi Smith talks with Alice, an award-winning writer and academic, about a sector that contributes £265billion to the economy yet where a deeply disturbing number of universities are running at a loss. Are neo-liberal managers destroying the heart of Britain's higher education sector by prioritising areas such as property development over teaching? ‘When it is very difficult I remind myself that we are fighting for the future of higher education ... it is the basis of our civilisation’ 'I loved Oxford University and the dream of that world’  ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Find out more about the University and College Union Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at [email protected]. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with SandStone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices