University of Copenhagen freezes all non-essential admin hiring

With an administration reform imminent, the dark shadow looming over the University of Copenhagen’s (UCPH) staff has just got that little bit darker.

UCPH management has just announced a so-called qualified hiring freeze for all administrative positions. The hiring freeze is expected to take effect within a week, and to continue until the end of 2024.

This is according to a news release on the UCPH intranet, KUnet.

The decision comes from Rector Henrik Wegener on the basis of discussions in the General Collaboration Committee (HSU) and is to limit the number of layoffs required by the upcoming administration reform.

The hiring freeze means that all vacant technical and administrative positions need to be carefully assessed to determine whether they should be refilled. During this period, decisions on whether a job should be advertised or extended moves up one step in the organization.

In each individual case, the manager must now assess whether a technical and administrative staff position includes tasks that are business-critical grade – for example, tasks that are necessary to maintain safe operation.

No specific dates

All UCPH administrative positions are subject to the hiring freeze, and this includes administrative managerial positions, and other positions that have a primarily administrative content.

Exceptions to the hiring freeze are research and education positions like laboratory technician, animal technician or dental assistant. Also excluded are dean and department head positions as well as all types of researcher positions.

The upcoming administration reform is to cut DKK 300 million annually from the UCPH administration. The reform is divided up into five phases: preparation, analysis, design, implementation, as well as anchoring and improvement.

The reform is currently in the design phase. In December 2023, it was announced that this phase will be postponed by two and a half months so that it ends in June and not in April, which was the original plan.

There has been no announcement on how and when the major cuts will be implemented. There is also still no clarity on when we will know what layoffs the large-scale cuts will require.

You can read more about the administration reform on KUnet here.