Exam writers bring claim against University of Cambridge challenging employment status

The writers work for Cambridge University Press & Assessment (CUP&A), a publishing house that is part of the University of Cambridge and a global leader in academic and professional publishing. 

The Society of Authors, a trade union for professional writers, argues the terms of their members’ historic contracts meant that they should have been classed as workers.  

As a result of this miscategorisation, it is argued they have been denied a number of workplace rights, including fair holiday pay. The issues stretch back three decades in some cases.  

The SoA has instructed Leigh Day partner Ryan Bradshaw to assist in bringing a claim against the university.

In or around April 2024, the workers were sent a new contract with an indication that CUP&A would begin formally treating them as workers. They were told they would receive no further commissions from the company unless they agreed to the new terms.  

At or around this time, their entitlement to holiday pay was set at 12.07% to reflect the minimum legal entitlement, whilst the hourly rate in respect of at least some of their work was reduced, resulting in an overall loss for some workers.  

Lawyers argue that the changes made by CUP&A were unfair, because the writers had always been entitled to holiday pay and therefore, had simply received a pay cut. This was one of a number of contract changes putting the workers in a less favourable position than they had been previously.

All 12 claimants signed the new contract in May 2024. It is argued the terms of the previous agreement never matched the true nature of the relationship between the writers and their employer and that their legal rights have been breached.

Human rights solicitor Ryan Bradshaw said:

“These exam writers have been denied fundamental rights that should have been afforded to them all along. Our claim seeks to rectify the situation by ensuring that their employment status is properly recognised and that they receive the fair treatment and compensation they deserve. The adjustments made by CUP&A under the guise of belatedly complying with their legal obligations were, in reality, a thinly veiled pay cut. It is regrettable that our clients felt forced to sign these contracts under pressure of losing work which they had diligently and professionally carried out over many years.”

Sarah Burton, Deputy Chief Executive of the Society of Authors, said:

“We are disappointed that Cambridge University Press and Assessment has chosen not to resolve this matter directly with our members and the SoA and that it has been necessary to proceed with a legal claim. Our members are longstanding and committed exam writers for CUP&A, and to effectively compel them to sign new contracts which obliged them to take what amounts to a pay cut is shocking and unfair. We are confident that they have always been workers and should have been receiving employment protections, including holiday pay, stretching back decades in some cases. It is unacceptable that CUP&A treats its exam writers in this way when they are the bedrock of the company’s assessment business.”