‘Huge win’ for trade union as Durham University raises PhD students’ pay

University had paid some postgraduate researchers less than minimum wage

One of England's most prestigious universities has been forced to increase the pay of some of its PhD students after it was found to have paid them an annual sum that effectively meant they were getting below the national minimum wage.

Durham University's trade union branch said it was shocked to discover last September that PhD students teaching on the institution's popular law course were being paid 15,000 a year. The University and College Union (UCU) said that this would make them among the lowest paid in the sector.