QA reviews

Culture of blame, bullying and gaslighting at the highest levels of the local management team. Surveillance and make-work used to discipline employees. Good talented professionals who stand up for themselves forced out. Lecturers made to run through a ‘hunger games’ of reapplying for jobs on consecutive short-term or zero-hours contracts, but former employees phoned up on the quiet and asked to replace those who don't survive. Heavy workload on lecturers who are treated as dispensable and replaceable. Quotes from colleagues on the workload: “ridiculous, horrendous, overwhelming, relentless”. Unclear if this is the QA ethos or the local management team’s business model. No matter if you are a good manager, the business model demands overwork be pushed on people and affect their health. No transparency for grades or salaries. Significant pay gaps between employees doing the same tasks with similar qualifications and experience. Continuous teaching load throughout the year, one term rolls into another with no break between teaching, assessment, teaching again. No holidays for teachers allowed between Easter and September. Too much administration. Favourites get promoted. Atmosphere so paranoid that some employees now reporting private conversations between their colleagues to management who then discipline these colleagues. You don’t know who you can trust. Lack of cover due to last-minute staff recruitment. High staff turnover. Visitors to the office describe “an atmosphere”. Many staff formulating their own exit strategies for fear of their own health and wellbeing. Does not bode well for business sustainability.

The workload can vary between individuals doing the same job. But that's part of managing your day.