Author: UCU Nottingham

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How to claim from the national and local UCU hardship funds

Email sent to members on Tuesday 30th June 2026.

Dear members

By now many of you will have started to see pay deductions for having taken part in industrial action this summer.  As a result, I would now like to share details of how to access financial support from both the national and local hardship funds.

National UCU fighting fund:  When pay is deducted in full for a day, whether as part of a MAB or through strike action, members can apply to the national UCU fighting fund for support. They can apply for support after two waiting days ie from the third day of action onwards. They can then apply for up to a maximum of 8 days at £75/day (<£30k salary) or £50/day (>£30k salary). . 

Details on how to apply to national fighting fund can be found here. 

Members should apply to the national fund first before looking to access the local solidarity fund.

Local solidarity fund: In addition to national fund, the branch can also provide further support from our local solidarity fund.  Members should only seek this support once they have already used up their entitlement from the national fund. To this end, for as long as funds are available, we will offer: £25/day up to a maximum of £1000 for the period up to the end of July 2026. 

Click here to apply to the local solidarity fund.

You will need  to upload:

    • a copy of your payslip showing pay deductions 
    • evidence of your prior application to the national fund

Members do not need to request the full amount. In fact, in order to ensure that funds remain available to those in greatest financial need, we encourage members to consider asking for less if they feel able to do so. At the same time, if any members are under significant financial pressure and need to access more than the stated amount, you can request this in the form. We will only consider enhanced support in extreme cases. All cases will be reviewed by a team from the branch committee.

To summarise:

    • days 1-2 of your industrial action: no cover
    • days 3-10: covered by national fund (£75/day or £50/day depending on salary)
    • day 11 onwards: covered by local fund (£25/day up to a max of £1000)

If you have any questions, please contact me directly. 

In solidarity

Supporting other members taking part in the MAB/strike

All members able to impact assessments should take part in the MAB. However, if you are not involved in assessments, we ask that you donate to the local solidarity fund to help support those who are taking part, and share the burden of financial responsibility. 

We recommend a donation of at least a quarter of your take home salary for each day of the MAB.  Members who wish to donate more are, of course, welcome to do so! Here are the details to  donate to the local solidarity fund by bank transfer:

UCU Nottingham LA63 Hardship Fund

Account number: 20346359

Sort code: 60-83-01

Ref: MAB 2026

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Update from member meeting and part 2 counterproposal

Email sent to members on Monday 29th June 2026. Zoom link removed for security.

Dear Members, 

Thanks so much to the more than 240 of you who came to the meeting this morning. After a great discussion 96% of you voted to reject management’s opening offer, with many of you describing it as ‘insulting’. Following from this there was more discussion around what kind of commitments would be needed to consider standing down our current action, as well as where we find ourselves in the current dispute.

Straight after the meeting Lopa emailed the vice-chancellor with these results. We also reaffirmed our desire to continue meaningful negotiations, where the key asks are entertained, to hopefully find a solution that will mean students can still graduate in time. We are meeting management first thing Wednesday morning and they know we have another member meeting at 11.30 on Wednesday (link below) where we hope to vote again on an improved offer. We will of course keep you updated.

In the meeting we also mentioned that we submitted Part 2 of our counterproposal to management last week. This covers area by area counterproposals to complement our higher level financial analysis which we have shared previously and continue to discuss with the University. Thanks to everyone who contributed to these two really impressive documents, and do please have a read of them.

Finally, we will be sending out information on the local hardship fund ASAP now that pay deductions have started to be applied.

In solidarity,

Posted on

Solidarity and next steps

Email sent to members on Monday 11th May 2026. Zoom/Teams links removed.

Dear UCU members, 

You will have heard by now about the drastic job cuts planned by our management. As the VC stated at the online and in-person staff meetings, ‘at risk of redundancy’ letters will be sent out tomorrow to more than 2500 staff members (🤬). Thank you for the killer questions you asked at the VC meetings today and for the spontaneous clapping from the audience after each one of them.

Re: The letters. Do not despair. You are not alone. It is our collective strength which will see us through this crisis. We know that these cuts are not necessary, see the UCU counterproposal. The specific counterproposals, challenging the updated business case, shown to BC last Friday, are being prepared for the June deadline. We, exec, will continue to go to all the extra JNCC meetings on this. Our fabulous Reps are fully involved in discussions and always there for us. And of course,  it is now the time to move towards our industrial action and make sure that compulsory redundancies become the most difficult option. There are always alternatives and our collective action in the forthcoming Marking and Assessment Boycott will change the course of management’s restructuring plans. Talk to colleagues in your areas, plan jointly for industrial action and let’s stay the course together.

In particular we have organised an all-staff, cross-union meeting tomorrow (12th May) at 12.30-1.30. This is a wider chance for all staff to share how they are feeling in the wake of today’s news. After that, we have also organised a UCU-specific meeting at 1pm on the 18th of May to discuss the Marking and Assessment Boycott and strike action.

Solidarity,

Posted on

Financial support and donations during the MAB

Email sent to members on Monday 11th May 2026.

Dear members

Please bookmark this email. It contains the following important information for future reference: 

  1. Details on the financial support available  from both the national and local fighting funds for taking part in industrial action, including the marking and assessment boycott (MAB)
  2. Details on how to donate to our solidarity fund for those who are unable to take part in the MAB

Financial support during the MAB

The employer is expected to deliver pay deductions for members taking part in industrial action.  However, we will be able to offer financial support to help lessen the impact of this. 

In the event of partial pay deductions for taking part in the MAB, members will be able to access the local solidarity fund. In the event of 100% pay deductions, they will be able to access both the local fund and the national UCU fighting fund.

National UCU fighting fund:  When pay is deducted in full, whether as part of a MAB or through strike action, members can apply to the national UCU fighting fund for support. They can apply for support after two waiting days ie from the third day of action onwards. They can then apply for up to a maximum of 8 days at £75/day (<£30k salary) or £50/day (>£30k salary).  The national fund cannot be used in the event of partial pay deductions. 

Details on how to apply to national fighting fund can be found here. 

Members should apply to the national fund first before looking to access the local solidarity fund.

Local solidarity fund: In addition to national support, the branch will also be able to support members taking part in the forthcoming MAB.  Thanks to previous donations from members and other branches,  we have recently been able to build up healthy financial reserves in our solidarity fund.    To this end, for as long as funds are available, we will offer:

  • Up to £500 to cover the first two months of the MAB. 
  • If the MAB is cut short before that time, we will offer £20/day up to a maximum of £500. 

Members do not need to request the full amount. In fact, in order to ensure that funds remain available to those in greatest financial need, we encourage members to consider asking for less if they feel able to do so.

We hope to be able to increase this offer provided we receive enough support from further donations (see below)

Details on how to apply to local solidarity fund will be shared in due course. Note that you will have to provide evidence of relevant salary deductions on your pay slip, in order to apply for this support in both cases. 

Members with acute financial needs can apply to the branch for an immediate loan ahead of the decision – please email the branch (uonucubranch@gmail.com) and mark your email ‘loan request’. 

Supporting other members taking part in the MAB

All members able to impact assessments should take part in the MAB. However, if you are not involved in assessments, we ask that you donate to the local solidarity fund to help support those who are taking part and share the burden of financial responsibility. 

We recommend a donation of at least a quarter of your take home salary for each day of the MAB.  Members who wish to donate more are, of course, welcome to do so! Here are the details to donate to the local solidarity fund by bank transfer:

UCU Nottingham LA63 Hardship Fund

Account number: 20346359

Sort code: 60-83-01

Ref: MAB 2026

In the event the management does not go through with pay deductions for those taking part in a MAB, we will offer to return all donations back to the donor.

If you have any questions about this, please contact me directly. 

In solidarity