University of the Arts London Careers and Employment

A fast-paced, competitive yet friendly atmosphere, focused on thinking outside the box and working within the realms of self-directed learning for both teachers and students.

Team Member - Full Time in London

on 31 May 2021

Poor culture, internal power struggles and inadequate managers on ego trips.

I had a bad time here. Reporting lines were blurred. One manager kept giving me work that was outside my Job Description, Person Specification and ability, knowing I would struggle with it. Another took work from me to give to a colleague in another team, as part of a power struggle. My experience of working at UAL really damaged my confidence. It seems as if the middle managers do not have their performance or behavior managed by their managers, and it should be, as it would stop a lot of problems.

Student Ambassador and Event Staff in London

on 23 November 2020

Great pay, varied shifts, well organised and friendly team

I work as a 0-hour Event staff and Student Ambassador and I have nothing to complain about. There was a variety of shifts on a regular basis, the application process is clear and information provided is helpful. The shifts are always manageable, sometimes even easy to do, the rate of pay is amazing, and the supervisors and managers are always friendly, helpful and professional. The only inconvenience is the changing work pattern, with unreliable working hours, but I guess this is expected from a 0-hour contract.

Administrator in London, Greater London

on 11 November 2020

Creative place, terrible culture

UAL does have some kind and creative people, however the management and work culture are awful. Senior management built toxic hierarchies and a bully culture. I’m glad that I left. I couldn’t stand it anymore.I did not feel being trusted or respected by my manager, and there was no promotion at all, not even just simply ask my career ambitions etc.

Management position in London, Greater London

on 5 August 2020

Not a supportive workplace

Having interviewed at UAL for a management position, I had to negotiate my pay with a very senior person rather than HR as you normally would for a university role. I was utterly stiffed on pay - my previous salary was the basis for negotiations rather than what the current job would entail and my own skills. This is the reason gender pay gaps exist! The probation period is a whopping 12 months, during which they can let you go within a week. I was unlucky enough to sit under the worst manager I've ever had and felt like my job was on the line the entire time. I was made to feel like the smallest mistake would be the end for me and as it turned out, this is exactly what was happening. This person kept a list of any tiny thing I didn't do to their arbitrary standards (which kept changing) to use against me. Luckily I got out before any serious damage was done. The culture is incredibly uncooperative. Nobody wants to work with anyone else. Zero collaboration, even if it would actually be good for UAL as a whole. This leaves people who are reliant on others to complete their work in the impossible position of having to answer to senior staff for other people's mistakes. They market themselves as highly innovative but when presented with something that's actually new and cutting edge, everyone is entrenched in a culture of "we can't do that because this is just always how we've done things". I'll never understand how they get anything done - people are incredibly disorganised and even when they aren't, nobody wants to co-opperate to get the job done in good time.More senior roles (which are sorely underpaid) are actually 2-3 roles in one so you're left with never having enough time to do the job to any good standard. Though I think this is so endemic, nobody notices because that's how everyone operates.The abysmal results from the student satisfaction surveys will back this up.Maybe it was just where I was based (I later found out quite how toxic the culture was for everyone), but I would warn anyone against working here.

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