Industrial action intensified at U.K. universities as staff at Sheffield Hallam University staged fresh strikes over job losses, workload and welfare while staff at Lancaster University began working to rule in protest of proposed compulsory redundancies. The University and College Union (UCU) has framed both disputes as responses to deep cuts and sustained staffing reductions that members say have eroded service capacity and increased workloads. Sheffield Hallam officials described difficult financial decisions but said compulsory redundancies had been avoided so far; UCU counters that up to 1,000 posts have been lost in two years. At Lancaster, the union accused leadership of pursuing ‘vanity projects’ abroad while proposing 400 job cuts and £30m in savings. Both institutions say they are seeking voluntary measures and trying to minimise student impact. Why it matters: The twin actions underline sector-wide stress over finances, international recruitment shortfalls and restructuring. Administrators, governance bodies and HR teams must weigh short-term savings against operational capacity, student experience and reputational risk.