Email from HR to staff 20 November 2019

Dear colleague

As you may know, the University and College Union (UCU) has notified the University that it is calling its members to take both strike action and action short of a strike following ballots on both pensions and pay and conditions.

What action is the UCU calling for?

The action is composed of strike action and action short of a strike:

The strike dates notified to us by the UCU are from Monday 25 November to Wednesday 4 December.

UCU has also called for continuous 'action short of a strike' from 25 November 2019, in the form of working to contract, not covering for absent colleagues, not rescheduling lectures or classes cancelled due to strike action, not sharing materials relating to lectures or classes cancelled as a result of strike action and not undertaking any voluntary activities.

How we will manage this action

In his email of 1 November, the Vice-Chancellor shared with staff how the University will continue to work with USS, UUK and UCU to address this situation. We recognise the strength of concerns over pensions and pay and conditions and that a vote for industrial action is not taken lightly.

However, our immediate priority must be to minimise disruption for our students and staff. We will follow the University's established policy on managing industrial action. We will monitor the likely impact of action being taken and work with departments and students to develop contingency plans to minimise disruption.

If you plan to take part in the industrial action

While we are entitled to ask staff if they intend to participate in industrial action, we recognise that staff are not obliged to notify us until the action commences. We would, however, be grateful if you could let us know in advance if you intend to participate in the action by completing the online form.

We need to make you aware of the consequences of taking part in industrial action. Following University policy, this means:

Strike action: we will withhold a day's pay (1/365th of salary) for each day you participate in strike action.

Action short of a strike: if your actions do not constitute a breach of contract, then your pay will not be affected. However, the University does not accept partial performance, and we expect staff who are at work to prioritise essential work and comply with the obligation to work in an efficient manner. We will monitor the nature of action being taken and, if we consider that there is a failure to undertake reasonable duties, we reserve the right to withhold pay. The exact response to any level of action, including the right to withhold pay and the amount of pay that may be withheld, will be considered when the specific detail and likely impact are known.

Pay will be withheld for strike action in the next practicable payroll. Given the early payroll deadline in December, pay will be withheld in January for this period of industrial action.

You can find more information at https://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/news/2019/11/14/ucu-industrial-action/, but if you have any questions, please contact us at hr-enquiries@york.ac.uk.

With best wishes,

Rachael Millhouse

Assistant Director of Human Resources