Strike action w/c 30 January: Information for staff

The University and College Union (UCU) has notified us of 18 days of discontinuous strike action between Wednesday 1 February and Wednesday 22 March 2023, as part of their two disputes over USS pensions and the 2022/23 pay claim. 

The first day of strike action will take place on Wednesday 1 February.

The full list of dates is: 

• Week one: Wednesday 1 February
• Week two: Thursday 9 February, Friday 10 February
• Week three: Tuesday 14 February, Wednesday 15 February, Thursday 16 February
• Week four: Tuesday 21 February, Wednesday 22 February, Thursday 23 February
• Week five: Monday 27 February, Tuesday 28 February, Wednesday 1 March, Thursday 2 March
• Week six: Thursday 16 March, Friday 17 March
• Week seven: Monday 20 March, Tuesday 21 March, Wednesday 22 March

More information about UCU strike action can be found on the HR website.

Rail strikes 

Train drivers will strike on Wednesday 1 and Friday 3 February. The strikes will affect 15 train companies and are likely to cause major disruption. Services may also be disrupted by knock-on effects on the days following the strikes. 

UCL will make every attempt to keep activities running for students, with student-facing staff asked to come in to work where possible. If you are coming into campus, please allow extra time to get to your destination. You can visit Transport for London, National Rail or the Citymapper app, which might be useful for planning alternative types of transport such as bicycle and scooter hire, walking, buses etc. If you are unable to get to work using alternative transport, you should advise your line manager as early as possible.  

If transport strikes affect your ability to come into campus, you are welcome to work from home on the affected days, if your job lends itself to home working.   

Staff unable to work from home can agree flexible solutions with managers such as using TOIL or making up lost time where possible. If alternative arrangements cannot be found, staff should arrange to take annual leave or unpaid leave, in line with our Special Leave policy on travel and weather disruption.  

Please keep following the news, and the National Rail website to find out if your services are likely to be affected. 

Teaching strikes 

The UK’s largest teaching union, the National Education Union (NEU) has announced a national strike across England and Wales on 1 February. It is expected that over 20,000 schools will be closed on this day. 

A number of regional strikes have been planned throughout February and early March, with further national dates planned for mid-March if a pay deal cannot be reached. 

If staff need to take time off work for childcare responsibilities, we ask that managers are as understanding as possible and work to agree flexible solutions such as using TOIL or making up lost time where possible. If alternative arrangements cannot be found, staff should arrange to take annual leave or unpaid leave, in line with our Special Leave policy on travel and weather disruption. 

Civil Service strikes 

Around 100,000 members of the Civil Service across 124 departments are due to go on strike on 1 February, including staff in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Home Office and Ofsted. The Border Force will also be affected, meaning that anyone travelling on this date may experience delays. 

UCL Security staff 

Some UCL security staff will be striking on 1 February. We do not anticipate that UCL’s Security services will be affected and UCL buildings will remain open. Please remember to keep your UCL ID card with you in order to gain access to buildings.