A WORLD record attempt was called off last week when hundreds of students and university staff descended on the scene, writes Thea Jacobs.

People were preparing for 'the greatest simultaneous chair lift' event when protestors flocked onto the University of Reading grounds to fight back against proposed admin cuts.

Hundreds of staff are facing either redundancy or restructuring packages and some employees could see their hours cut as the University looks to tighten its outgoings.

Employees have previously spoken publicly about their disappointment with the decision, which could see Vice Chancellor Sir David Bell face a vote of no confidence.

Protestors stormed through the cordoned off area during the university's 90th birthday celebrations on Thursday March 17 chanting "no to PAS [Professional Administrative Services]" and "save our staff".

Professor Karim Lesnik-Oberstein, who has worked at the university for more than 20 years, said: "It's heartbreaking, everything I came to this university for 20 ears ago is falling apart.

"The Vice Chancellor want replaceable people with no speciality in each department."

The professor added that one employee has been forced to take sick leave owing to the stress of the cuts.

"The changes are causing chaos and the support staff are having to deal with gross mistakes being made."

The university was slammed earlier this year for spending £40m on a library revamp at the same time as many staff face redundancy.

Staff are expected to take a stand in the form of a vote of no confidence against the Vice Chancellor - who has held his post since 2012 - in the coming days.

Natasha Petrou, an English language student in her second year, said she was shocked to see the celebrations at a time of uncertainty for employees.

The 21-year-old said: "I think it is horrible that the Vice Chancellor has ignored this, it is unfair to celebrate when the admin staff are the cog in the wheels of the university.

"The student voice has been manipulated."

An admin employee, who chose not to be named, added: "I have loved my time here, none of us want to go. We love our jobs and we love our students.

"There have been times where I have been here until 7pm to look after students and there has been nobody else available.

"Under PAS there will be barely any face to face and if you want to talk to someone you will have to Skype them."

An open letter sent out by Students against PAS to the Vice Chancellor read: "We would like to apologise to you or anyone else who felt disappointed at not managing to make the world record attempt.

"We are immensely proud of our University and its proud history. However, it is the University’s future that currently causes us the most concern and compelled us to action on Thursday.

"Many of the protestors who took to the centre of the Palmer quad were members of staff, and not just from administrative services. Alongside the admin staff were senior lecturers and heads of department. Thursday’s demonstration sent a powerful message that both students and staff are united on this issue."

A university spokesman said: "We understand that these changes are unsettling for some members of staff. This has been a phased two-year programme to restructure and create stronger day-to-day services to students and staff. 

“We’ve always been clear that we will need to make tough choices and will have a lower overall headcount. We have had many months of detailed consultation with Universities & College Union and our independent Staff Forum. All our major decision-making committees, which include student and staff representation, have scrutinised these plans in detail.

“These changes will move our finances onto a solid footing, saving £15m overall a year and generating £10 million a year surplus in our operating budget by 2020 to reinvest in frontline research and teaching. We are aiming to keep compulsory redundancies to an absolute minimum.”