Information on planned industrial action at UCL, Sept 2023

The University and College Union (UCU) has notified us that 5 days of national strike action are planned on 25-29 September 2023.  

The following explains what systems are in place for those of you who participate in industrial action, what to expect for those who are not and how participating staff should log action using the online reporting tool. 

When will the industrial action take place?  

Strike action will take place on 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 September 2023, which coincides with UCL’s Welcome Week activity.  

Action Short of Strike remains continuous until the end of September 2023, but the marking and assessment boycott ended on Wednesday 6 September.  

What are the implications for staff?  

It is difficult to predict how members of staff will be affected, particularly ahead of time. UCU represents staff across a variety of academic and professional services roles, but not all staff are members. Staff who choose to strike do not have to tell UCL of their intention beforehand and they may not commit to all the days of the strike. We would, however, encourage staff with teaching commitments or leading Welcome Week activities who strike to give reasonable notice to students, particularly where this industrial action could mean that some welcome sessions, classes or lectures are cancelled at short notice. In addition, offices and other support services may not be fully staffed on strike days.  

Where applicable, your full-time or hybrid working arrangements might mean that you are working from UCL buildings on the days of the strike. You may see a picket line made up of UCU members outside some UCL buildings. Participants may be handing out information, explaining why they are on strike. 

You can ask those participating in strike action questions if you wish to, and they may ask you to consider not crossing the picket line (i.e., to join them on strike) to demonstrate your support. They are not allowed to intimidate anyone or prevent anyone from entering the building. Staff who choose not to cross a picket line or who choose not to work that day in support of the strike will need to declare this as a strike day (you do not have to be a union member to join the strike). 

If you are taking part in strike action  

If you have teaching responsibilities or are leading any Welcome Week activities, please could you let your students know as soon as possible that you are intending to strike, so for example, they don’t travel unnecessarily. Students may be anxious about the strike and the potential impact on their learning, so we ask that staff reassure their students that they will not be assessed on any material that has not been taught.  

Please use the online reporting system to declare each day you are taking part in the strike. Staff who are not members of UCU but who choose not to cross a picket line are deemed to be joining the strike and should also report their absence in this way.  

You need to enter each day of strike action separately, and within 24 hours of the day it is taken. Deductions for strike action taken in September will be actioned in the November 2023 payroll. Deductions will be made at the rate of 1/365 of your annual salary per day. The amount withheld for part-time staff will be pro-rated based on their contracted hours on strike days.  

Staff who participate in strike action but who are leaving UCL will be contacted to make arrangements for recovery of the overpayment.      

If you have any questions about these calculations, please contact hr-services@ucl.ac.uk.  

If you participate in the USS Pension Scheme and provided you maintain your individual employee pension contributions, UCL has decided it will continue to maintain employer pension contributions for this period of strike action, although it reserves the right not to do so in the future. Please inform the UCL Pensions team only if you do not wish for your employee and employer contributions to be maintained.      

If you are part of another pension scheme (e.g. NHS) it might not be possible to maintain pension contributions during a period of strike action.       

If you have questions about the impact of strike action on your pension, please contact your Trade Union or UCL Pensions on pensions@ucl.ac.uk. 

If you are taking part in action short of strike (ASoS) 

If you are taking part in ASoS which comprises not rescheduling classes and lectures cancelled due to strike action, not covering for absent colleagues, and removing uploaded materials related to, and/or not sharing materials related to, lectures or classes that will be or have been cancelled as a result of strike action, this must be recorded as ASoS on the online reporting system. We are currently not intending to withhold pay for this type of ASoS. However, we reserve the right to withhold up to 100% of pay for each day of ASoS where only partial performance of duties is carried out and will keep this under review. Any decision to withhold pay will be informed by the impact of ASoS has on our students and the level of disruption to their education.     

For each day you participate in ASoS which comprises of working to contract only there is no need to record this and UCL will not withhold pay for this.  

If you do not undertake any kind of paid work for UCL (e.g. you are an Honorary), you should not submit strike action dates.  

If you work on UCL premises but are not employed, hired or paid by UCL (e.g. Agency staff, NHS staff, contractors, sub-contractors etc) and you take part in strike action you should not submit strike action dates on this portal but should inform your employer and/or your hiring manager. 

Recording teaching impacted by strike action

We are asking Departments to keep a record of all teaching that is impacted by strike action. Guidance on this will be circulated to Heads of Operations and staff responsible for planning and delivering teaching. 

If you support teaching or Welcome activities, how can you find out whether your work will be affected?     

Your department will try to inform you about changes to the teaching schedule or welcome activities through the usual channels, i.e., email and Moodle, but please remember that staff who choose to strike do not have to tell UCL in advance. However, as a courtesy, we do encourage staff to give students as much notice as possible of cancellations.  

Throughout the period of action, you should:  

• Keep a close eye on your UCL emails and look out for Moodle page announcements.      
• Stay informed by following the links in this update and looking out for announcements in the media.  

If your work is cancelled because staff are on strike, and you are not on strike, speak to your line manager to see whether there are other duties which are part of your job that you may be able to undertake. Either way, your pay will not be withheld if you are available and willing for work. 

What have students been told about the strike?         

We have published information for students on the Student pages on Industrial Action, including some FAQs. Students’ Union UCL have also published information on their website. We will also be writing to new, incoming students to let them know what they may be able to expect during Welcome Week and what support we can provide. 

While we are disappointed that UCU members have decided to strike, we respect the right of staff to withhold labour and will continue to encourage UCEA (who represent the hundreds of employers involved in national bargaining) to work together with UCU to find long-term and sustainable solutions.  

Further FAQs can be found on the HR website.