University of Technology Sydney fired bized academic Lucy Zhao for not meeting research publication targets. The Fair Work Commission says she keep her job

The university sacked Dr Zhao after 14 years-service for not meeting its requirement for publishing specified number of articles in top-rated journals.  Deputy President Sams of the FWC was not impressed.

For a start, he said sacking her for unsatisfactory performance was unreasonable given she was ok on teaching and service (60 per cent of her workload). “It is difficult to conceptually and rationally conclude that a 60 per cent performance rating equated to poor or unsatisfactory performance overall.”

He also found the university did not give “appropriate weight” to ten other issues shaping Dr Zhao’s performance.

And he thought the university could have been less rigid. “It is self-evident that an academic, like all of us, will have different interests, perspectives, strengths and weaknesses. A university, of all of society’s institutions, should have the flexibility to accommodate an academic’s personal and professional qualities and attributes, and maximise a particular individual’s interests and talents to enhance the best outcomes for the common good.”

VP Sams concluded that in dismissing her UTS was harsh and unreasonable. He ordered the university to reinstate her, with no break in service and with lost pay made up.

This is a judgement universities will not like, especially ones with complex and contested research publishing requirements.