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The Association of University Teachers has accused managers at Nottingham University of "bullying and intimidating" staff into signing local contracts that could cut their earnings by thousands of pounds.

The AUT, which is stepping up its campaign against Nottingham's moves to set its own local pay and grading structures, said that the university's claims that more than 99 per cent of academic-related staff had voluntarily signed up to the deal did not tell the whole story.

The association added that Nottingham staff had been put in a "Kafkaesque" position. If they wanted to appeal against the job grade in the new system, they had to sign the new contracts - essentially agreeing to the grade decision - before they could appeal.