Teaching Concordat

The Teaching Concordat aims to address the working culture, conditions and support, contractual arrangements, equity of job titles, career development and remuneration of UCL’s Teaching Fellows.

Issues of equity and fairness
Job Titles
Career Progression
Relocation Expenses
Culture, conditions and support
Scholarship & CPD
Use of open-ended, fixed term and fractional contracts
Timeline
FAQs

Teaching Fellows contribute enormously to the UCL community and our students' education and wellbeing. It is important Teaching Fellows, together with all teaching staff, feel valued and are fairly treated. In 2020, a consultation sought to better understand concerns of Teaching Fellows including excessive workload and the casualisation of contracts.

Following this consultation, a Teaching Fellow Concordat was developed and implemented with effect from 1 October 2020. The main points of the Concordat are explained in the sections below and include some FAQs.

Issues of equity and fairness

Job Titles

In order to promote equality of status and esteem for those on teaching contracts the following job titles will now be used: Associate Lecturer (Teaching) G7, Lecturer (Teaching) G8, Associate Professor (Teaching) G9, and Professor (Teaching) G10. Please note that these titles do not bring the roles under the scope of Statute 18.

In the future, all open-ended teaching roles should be at G8 and above (as is now policy on the academic (research and teaching) track). A fixed term contract may be used at G7 or above if it fulfils one of the criteria below (see section below: ‘Use of open-ended, fixed term and fractional contracts’).

Career Progression

In order to facilitate career progression and development, a new ‘change of track’ element has been introduced for staff on teaching contracts who are now eligible to apply to change to an academic (teaching and research) contract on promotion. Suitability for an academic role at the next grade will be based on an assessment against the criteria set out in the Academic Careers Framework. This will allow for promotion to Associate Professor (G9) or Professor (G10) and change of track. G10 Professorial Teaching Fellows can also apply to move tracks at their grade as part of this process.

Relocation Expenses

Relocation allowances will be offered to those on open-ended teaching contracts at G8+, on the same basis as those on academic contracts.

Culture, conditions and support

Every effort will be expended within Departments, Faculties and by VPOs to ensure parity of esteem between those on teaching and academic contracts.

Those on teaching contracts will be fully integrated into Departments, and into the wider academic life of UCL.

There will be fair workloads for those on teaching contracts, with transparent Departmental workload models that include equitable allowances for teaching, marking, preparation, and student support activities.

Scholarship & CPD

Time will be allowed within workloads for scholarship and research to underpin research-based education (normally a minimum of 10% and a maximum of 15% of workload).

Time will be allowed within workloads for continuing professional development, within Arena, elsewhere in UCL, or outside (to be included in the 10-15% of workload above).

Heads of Department will hold explicit responsibility for ensuring that those on teaching contracts are appraised and supported in their career ambitions and progression, and that opportunities for undertaking enabling and leadership roles are made available.

Vice Provosts will hold explicit responsibility for ensuring that all relevant UCL funding schemes managed from their Offices are open to those on teaching contracts.

Use of open-ended, fixed term and fractional contracts

The normal expectation will be that core teaching and student support activities will be delivered by staff on open-ended contracts. Fixed term contracts will only be used for the employment of Teaching Fellows in the following circumstances, including:

to cover staff who are on maternity/ paternity/ sick leave;
to cover staff who are bought out on research grants;
to pilot new/ risky activities;
to cover staff who are engaged in other work within UCL for a short period of time, or who are seconded outside UCL;
to provide additional teaching capacity at short notice due to increased, unexpected student demand;
where industry expertise is required.

Small fractional fixed term contracts (0.1, 0.2. 0.3 fte) will be avoided wherever possible and will primarily be used for highly specialist teaching. Careful attention will be paid to workloads within small fractional fixed term contracts.

Short fixed term contracts (of less than a year) will be avoided wherever possible, and there will be no 9 or 10 month (summer lay-off) contracts. Term-time-only contracts will only be used when positively chosen by the employee.

Rolling annual fixed term contracts, where people are repeatedly re-employed year after year, will not be used – only one renewal is permissible before a contract should be converted to open-ended.

Fixed term teaching contracts will require the approval of the Faculty Dean (who may delegate this activity), and Deans will hold responsibility for ensuring the consistent application of these principles in their Faculties.

Timeline

Teaching Concordat timeline
From 1 October 2020	Use of new job titles. All new Teaching contracts will be issued as Associate Lecturer (Teaching) G7, Lecturer (Teaching) G8, Associate Professor (Teaching) G9, and Professor (Teaching) G10.
From 1 October 2020	Fixed term contracts will be reviewed and renewed as open-ended contracts where appropriate, in line with the new rules. New working model will begin to be rolled out into departments.
October 2020 to April 2021	Review all current grade 7 Teaching Fellows roles against the criteria for promotion to grade 8. Those who meet the criteria for G8 will be regraded and backdated to 1 October 2020
October 2020 to April 2021	All existing teaching staff to be issued with a new contract of employment.
By 1 August 2021	Provisions for scholarship and CPD time to be incorporated into teaching staff’s workloads Relocation expenses will be available to newly appointed teaching staff (subject to eligibility conditions)

FAQ’s

Are Lecturer (Teaching), Associate Professor (Teaching) and Professor (Teaching) roles covered under Statute 18?: No, these roles do not fall within the scope of “Academic Staff” as defined in the University’s Charter and Statutes or by the Council. As such, these roles are not covered under Statute 18.

I want my old job title of Teaching Fellow to stay the same. Is this possible?: No, the new job titles to be used are now; Associate Lecturer (Teaching) grade 7, Lecturer (Teaching) grade 8, Associate Professor (Teaching) grade 9, Professor (Teaching) grade 10

Do I get time for scholarship/research within with my workload?: Yes, time will be allowed within workloads for scholarship and research to underpin research-based education (normally a minimum of 10% and a maximum of 15% of workload). This time will be incorporated into workloads by 1 August 2021.

Can we still use fixed term contracts?

Yes, however, they will require the approval of the Faculty Dean and should only be used in the following circumstances;

to replace staff who are on maternity/ paternity/ sick leave;
to replace staff who are bought out on research grants;
to pilot new/ risky activities;
to replace staff who are engaged in other work within UCL for a short period of time, or who are seconded outside UCL;
to provide additional teaching capacity at short notice due to increased, unexpected student demand;
where industry expertise is required.

In regard to promotions, can I change from the Teaching only track to the Teaching and Research track?: Yes. For grade 8 and above, in order to facilitate career progression and development a new ‘change of track’ element within the annual senior promotion process will be adopted, involving an application against the criteria for the next grade. This will allow for promotion to Associate Professor (G9) or Professor (G10) and change of track. In addition G10 Professor Teaching can apply to move tracks and transfer to the role of Professor.

Please note, for grade 8 and 9 this does not allow to move across track on the same grade, it must involve promotion.

I am grade 7 how can I progress to grade 8: This is considered by your Head of Department and your request should be considered against the relevant criteria in the Academic Career Framework. The application should include a brief self-assessment indicating how the Associate Lecturer (Teaching) activity matches the criteria for promotion contained within the academic career framework. This should be no longer than one side of A4; a detailed description is not required in this statement, but the Associate Lecturer (Teaching) may wish to indicate the impact of their work and their future direction. Please see Regrading process for Teaching Fellows and Appeals Procedure for unsuccessful Associate Lecturers (Teaching) for further details to application process.

If I am on a fixed term contract what is the termination process that should be used: Please see the Termination Procedure for Fixed Term Contracts and Redundancies, the process varies slightly depending on the length of your contract.

I am currently at the top of grade 7, other colleagues that are at the beginning or middle of grade 7, following promotion are now going on to the same point as me at the bottom point on Grade 8 – scp37, can I go to the top of grade 8, or at least somewhere in the middle?: On promotion from grade 7 all Lecturers (Teaching) will start at the bottom of grade 8, scp 37.

Do I qualify for a sabbatical?: No, sabbaticals apply to staff with an academic contract in the position of Lecturer, Associate Professor and Professor only.

October 2023