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Reporting process for participation in strike action

10 Feb 2023

A message from Andrew Mullen, Deputy Director of People and Organisational Development

We have recently published detailed guidance confirming the reporting process for participation in strike action.

We absolutely respect every employee’s right to strike, and we would like to remind all employees that if you have participated in strike action you should report this by the following deadlines:  

  • Week 1: Wednesday, 1 February: This should be reported by Monday, 6 February
  • Week 2: Thursday, 9 and Friday, 10 February: This should be reported by Monday, 13 February
  • Week 3: Tuesday, 14, Wednesday, 15 and Thursday, 16 February: This should be reported by Monday, 20 February
  • Week 4: Tuesday, 21, Wednesday, 22 and Thursday, 23 February: This should be reported by Friday, 24 February
  • Week 5: Monday, 27, Tuesday, 28 February, Wednesday, 1 and Thursday, 2 March: This should be reported by Monday, 6 March
  • Week 6 and 7: Thursday, 16, Friday, 17, Monday, 20, Tuesday, 21 and Wednesday, 22 March: This should be reported by Friday, 24 March 

The University has developed a GDPR compliant process which makes it straightforward for an employee to self-declare ensuring that accurate payroll deductions can be made in a reasonable timescale.  

We are aware that UCU are advising employees not to complete the Strike Participation Form but without providing any reason for this.

The ACAS guidelines state as follows:

"Employees do not need to tell their employer they're going on strike in advance or on a strike day. When they return to work, they should tell their employer they’ve been on strike."

The UCU’s national guidance states: "Once you are back to work following the strike action, you should respond truthfully to any query from your employer as to whether you have taken or are taking industrial action."

Locally, UCU has not provided any justification for their statement that the online form should not be completed and the approach in their advice to staff is not in line with the ACAS guidelines or UCU national guidance.

You should regard this message as your employer’s request to provide information on whether you have taken strike action. This is a reasonable management instruction and is in line with ACAS and UCU’s national guidance. 

A failure to report as requested will be treated as a potential disciplinary matter if it emerges strike action was taken, as it amounts to a failure to follow a reasonable management instruction and receiving salary for a day on which there was no entitlement to be paid.

We would like to reiterate that we fully respect the right of employees to take part in legal industrial action, and we thank all employees who are co-operating with strike reporting processes and who are prioritising missed teaching to support the delivery of Intended Learning Outcomes for our students.

Andrew Mullen

Deputy Director of People and Organisational Development