Together with students from the Nottingham Camp for the Liberation of Palestine (NCLP), UCU has organised an open in-person event on what staff, students and wider society can do to challenge the University of Nottingham’s complicity in enabling genocide in Palestine. The event will take place on Wednesday, 29th October 2025 1-4 pm in Room B63, Law and Social Sciences Building, University Park. See below for further details. All are welcome!
Original email sent to members on Wednesday 22nd October. Please see original email for Zoom link.
Dear members,
Thank you for your continued action, support, and solidarity. We are writing with a few key updates which are below, but also wanted to mention that last week we met with Alex Norris the MP for Nottingham North and Kimberley to discuss the dispute. Alex was due to speak at an event on campus but cancelled when we approached him, and he was shocked to hear about the proposed restructuring and the loss of jobs so far – he was also saddened to hear how much things have changed since he was taught by Andreas as an undergraduate in 2003! Alex has promised to speak with the Vice Chancellor about this, and while we will continue to lobby other local MPs, please consider writing to your MP mentioning the scale of potential redundancies.
Rally with the UCU General Secretary Thursday 23rd
We are ending this round of rallies with a bang. We have a great lineup of speakers including Jo Grady, the UCU general secretary, tomorrow. She is coming to show her solidarity to us and to speak about the National dispute. As usual we will be meeting in the Trent Courtyard at 12.40 before marching to Portland Steps for the speeches. Do please come along, in your numbers and show your anger.
Submission of next block of industrial action to the VC
Notification of our next block of industrial action was served to the VC this morning by our regional officer. Following your overwhelming rejection management’s opening offer, and the clear majority support for prioritising action this term the University has been notified of strike action on the following dates:
Monday 10th November – Friday 14th November
Monday 17th November – Friday 21st November
Monday 24th November , Tuesday 25th November
Monday 1st December – Friday 5th December
Monday 8th December – Friday 12th December
On Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th of November we will have big pickets in major entrances, Rallies in the Courtyard, Invited external guests, and a media presence. These particular dates have been chosen with key council meetings on Phase 2 in mind. All of these actions gives us the capacity to exert significant pressure on management, from without and within.
Having served management the notice of the action today, we will be writing to them to discuss the implications of it for students and staff and to explore resolutions that can avoid the damage this action has the potential to create, to rethink shrinking size and shape ideology.
Members’ meeting Thursday 30th October 3-4pm
To discuss this second phase of action, including additional picket line days in November and December and to inform on any potential negotiations with management we have called a members’ meeting for next Thursday at 3pm (link in original email). It has been fantastic to hear from so many of you in recent meetings, so do please come along.
Finally, some of you will have started to receive your ballots for the national dispute. Please vote in this, and please let your rep know once you have.
Happy Diwali to all celebrating this week, and for those on leave over half term, we hope that you have a restful week. We also recognise that for many, half term means additional child care duties and thus can be a more stressful period.
Yesterday’s rally at Portland steps engendered a lot of student interest and support. Thank you to everyone who has come to listen, speak and demonstrate together.
Tomorrow at 12:40 pm we will be holding our final rally of the week, and welcoming our General Secretary Jo Grady. As with yesterday, there will be activities for children so please do bring the littles along!
Read on for the following topics:
Keep up the pressure!
Know your rights – strike deductions
APM senate elections
Branch Committee meeting summary
Workload Collective Grievance
UoN Coalition for Palestine Launch
Local and national campaigning
Joining link and further information
Keep up the pressure!
The strong, and in many areas of the University, growing action members have taken in the last two weeks is fantastic and places pressure on management to understand we will not accept compulsory redundancies. Reps are reporting programmes with multiple modules impacted by our action. As we continue the dispute it is vital we keep up the pressure. Next week we are not on strike, but ASOS continues. We should not undermine the impact of our own withdrawal of labour or that of fellow members.
Uploading lecture recordings is one way that management has found to try to undermine the impact of our industrial action. It should be noted that recordings of lectures have a distinct legal protection, and cannot simply be used without the lecturer’s consent – per the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and reinforced by UK GDPR and Data Protection law. University Policy on Recorded Online Teaching Materials is in line with these legal protections. We have seen breaches of this policy in some Schools. If you are aware of similar action being taken by your School then do let the branch know at uonucubranch@gmail.com.
Know your rights – strike deductions
As noted in the newsletter dated 8th October, the University deducted too much money for the strike day in July. After we raised this to HR, these incorrect deductions ought to be rectified for your upcoming salary payment, so please check your payslip which you should receive by Wednesday 29th October. If you do not receive a repayment, or receive an incorrect amount then please contact payroll@nottingham.ac.uk in the first instance.
We note that the email from BR-IndustrialAction (subject line Unicore payment) implies that this “additional payment” is a result of some benevolent change in University policy. This is incorrect as University policy has always been to deduct 1/365 of wages per day which is in line with a 2017 Supreme Court decision.
APM senate elections
As communicated in the last newsletter, Senate elections are upcoming to fill a number of vacant positions. On the UK campus these are 2 x APM/TS at L1-6 and 1 x APM/TS at L7.
The deadline to register to vote, and self-nominate has now been extended to 5pm Monday 24th October. Voting is only open to APM staff. If you wish to stand for any of these positions, and wish voters to be aware you are a UCU member please contact uonucubranch@gmail.com before completing the nomination form.
Branch Committee meeting summary
Your Branch Committee met today, Wednesday 22nd October and discussed
Plans for Jo Grady’s visit to tomorrow’s rally
Industrial action strategy
The national dispute and its relation to our local dispute
Secondments to Branch Committee
Access to the hardship fund
New branch banners
The Branch Committee meets weekly. If you would like Committee to discuss a particular topic please email the details to: uonucubranch@gmail.com
Workload Collective Grievance
We have now started work on collective grievances for:
Lack of workload model in Engineering
Unsustainable workloads (where there is no workload model) and workloads over 100%
We are looking for members to add to the collective action to push back at unsustainable workloads by adding their names to the grievances. Please reach out to REDACTED and REDACTED to let us know about your unsustainable workload or a lack of workload model in your school.
UoN Coalition for Palestine Launch
Join us for the in-person event on what staff, students and wider society can do to challenge the University of Nottingham’s complicity in genocide in Palestine. The event will take place on Wednesday, 29th October 2025 1-4 pm in Room B63, Law and Social Sciences Building, University Park.
You can learn more about the various campaigns of our branch’s Palestine Solidarity Working Group here.
Call on Nottinghamshire County Council to divest from apartheid We encourage all members to sign Nottingham Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s petition demanding that Nottinghamshire County Council divests from from companies and organisations complicit in the genocide in Palestine
Report anti-trans discrimination Have you been questioned, stopped or challenged using a single-sex space? Fill in this form to help TransActual advocate on this issue at a national level.
Need to talk to your Departmental Rep? Find the full list of UoN UCU reps here. If you are interested in becoming a departmental rep, get in touch!
Struggling with your mental health or wellbeing? UCU members get free access to confidential support service educationsupport.org.uk who can be called 24/7 on 0800 562 561.
Yours sincerely,
L Scott Blankenship and Will Paterson-Bassett, Branch Communications Officers, on behalf of UoN UCU Branch Committee
During this period of strike action it is more important than ever that we keep lines of communication open. Please attend the members’ meeting tomorrow, Thursday 16th October at 3pm. Zoom link here.
To build pressure against management’s devastating plans rallies are held on Thursday 16th, Tuesday 21st, and Thursday 23rd October from 12:40-1:20 pm marching from Trent Courtyard to the north side of the Portland building. Please make every effort to attend. There is also a national UCU online rally this evening at 6:30 pm to build solidarity between every union branch fighting back locally against employer attacks on the sector. Registration and more information here.
Read on for the following topics:
Dr Ting Chang
Open senate positions
Branch Committee meeting summary
Equalities conferences
Palestine Solidarity
Academic and Technical staff Promotion Framework – Consultation
Local and national campaigning
Joining link and further information
Dr Ting Chang
It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Ting Chang on Wednesday 8th October. Ting was an active UCU member and Rep for the department of Cultures, Media and Visual Studies. Her passion and dedication to quality education and working conditions were exemplary; her enthusiasm and smile at rallies and on the picket lines refreshing, and her support for staff and students outstanding. She fought for fair contracts for colleagues on casual contracts, pushed the university to take a firmer stance against racial abuse, and provided great support to other UCU reps and staff within the School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies.
It is a great loss for our union. She leaves behind fond memories to cherish and inspiration for the future.
Open senate positions
Senate elections are upcoming to fill a number of vacant positions. On the UK campus these are 2 x APM/TS at L1-6 and 1 x APM/TS at L7. We encourage all APM members to register to vote by 5pm Monday 20th October. If you wish to stand for any of these positions, and wish voters to be aware you are a UCU member please contact uonucubranch@gmail.com before completing the nomination form.
Branch Committee meeting summary
Your Branch Committee met today, Wednesday 15th October and discussed
The second annual Agnes Memorial Park Run on 8th November,
Negotiation strategy with management,
Agenda for tomorrow’s members’ meeting,
Recruiting members to Branch Committee.
The Branch Committee meets weekly. If you would like Committee to discuss a particular topic please email the details to: uonucubranch@gmail.com
Equalities conferences
Any UCU member can sign up to attend in-person or online to any self-identified Equality strand conference as appropriate (Black, Disabled, Migrants, LGBT+, Women). Branches can submit motions that have been approved by a quorate branch general members meeting. Anyone who wants to know more, check here
or contact Lisa Rüll at REDACTED (UoN co-Equality Officer).
Palestine Solidarity
On Thursday, 9th October the Palestine Solidarity Working Group held a successful Zoom workshop on the Weaponisation of Antisemitism with Lubna Speitan and Haim Bresheeth-Zabner. The recording of the event is available here.
The students from the encampment have done a wonderful research job in establishing UoN’s complicity in the genocide in Gaza. Their updated research report and a range of shorter fact sheets can be found here.
On 29th October, 1-4 pm on University Park, UCU is hosting a broader platform meeting of Palestine Solidarity groups on campus. Details to follow. Please note the date in your diary.
Academic and Technical staff Promotion Framework – Consultation
The Framework and Criteria for promotions of Academics and Technical staff is currently being revised for implementation in academic year 2026/27.
All members have been sent the draft documents and a summary of the proposed changes by email (subject line Consultation on changes to Academic and Technical Promotions). Please check your inbox and share your feedback on these changes to REDACTED by Monday 20th October so your views can be included in the union’s feedback at the next Performance and Talent JNCC meeting on 21 October.
Local and national campaigning
Call on Nottinghamshire County Council to divest from apartheid We encourage all members to sign Nottingham Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s petition demanding that Nottinghamshire County Council divests from from companies and organisations complicit in the genocide in Palestine
Report anti-trans discrimination Have you been questioned, stopped or challenged using a single-sex space? Fill in this form to help TransActual advocate on this issue at a national level.
Need to talk to your Departmental Rep? Find the full list of UoN UCU reps here. If you are interested in becoming a departmental rep, get in touch!
Struggling with your mental health or wellbeing? UCU members get free access to confidential support service educationsupport.org.uk who can be called 24/7 on 08000 562 561.
Yours sincerely,
L Scott Blankenship and Will Paterson-Bassett, Branch Communications Officers, on behalf of UoN UCU Branch Committee
After a long hiatus (and last week’s technical difficulties), the newsletter has returned, and will continue to be weekly following Branch Committee meetings. G’mar chatima tovah to all celebrating last week, and thank you to everyone who has participated in our first two weeks of strike action this semester.
There are items to highlight before the more detailed newsletter topics:
To keep track of UCU UoN events (strike dates, meetings, workshops etc.), we have created a public calendar on the branch homepage, which you can import to your Outlook or iCal. Don’t forget tomorrow’s workshop at 4:30 pm on the Weaponisation of Antisemitism.
In recent months six Branch Committee members have stepped down or temporarily stepped away for various reasons. In this period of industrial action, it is more important than ever that the committee has a high capacity. Please contact uonucubranch@gmail.com to express interest in being seconded to the committee.
Read on for the following topics:
The struggle continues
Know your rights – strike deductions
Branch Committee meeting summary
Excessive Workload Collective Grievance
Equalities Conferences
Regional UCU Training Courses
Academic and Technical staff Promotion Framework – Consultation
Local and national campaigning
Joining link and further information
The struggle continues
Lopa as Branch President wrote to members on Friday 3rd October, following the very well attended branch meeting on Thursday 2nd October which overwhelmingly voted to reject the dispute resolution offer from the Vice Chancellor and continue the dispute in opposition to compulsory redundancies.
We have strikes planned for weeks 3 and 4. During this week, as an “off” week, remember we are still on ASOS so don’t undermine our collective action. Last, if you are not in a position to impactfully strike, please donate to our local hardship fund so we can support one another.
You can claim from the national fighting fund for pay missed due to strike action. Detailed information on claiming from the local fighting fund can be found in the email from Nick Clare on 17th September with subject line Industrial Action FAQs.
Know your rights – strike deductions
Through their Department Reps members have reported being deducted too much money for the strike day in July. A single day’s strike deductions should be calculated as 1/365th of annual salary. This matches University policy, and was practiced prior to the implementation of Unicore. Some members have had deductions on the basis of working days, (~1/260th annual salary) ~40% higher than they should have been.
The Branch has raised this with HR, who have acknowledged that these deductions are incorrect and stated that anyone who was over deducted will have the difference added to their October payslip.
With this in mind, please make sure that you check your August and September payslips and make sure any deduction made is correct, then check your October payslip carefully. If you have been over-deducted but see no correction, we encourage you to query this.
In addition, if you have booked leave for part of a strike dayyou should only be deducted for the remainder of that day. For example, if you have booked half a day’s leave on a strike day and then strike for the remainder of the day, you should only be deducted 1/730 of your yearly salary. The employer may cancel leave, however they must give you a notice period of at least the number of days booked off.
Branch Committee meeting summary
Your Branch Committee met today Wednesday 1st and 8th October and discussed;
Information from council meetings and Vice Chancellor’s roadshows
Organisation of the 2nd Oct member’s meeting
The re-nomination of Lisa Rull to UCU Women Members Standing Committee
Mapping member engagement
Plans for end-of-term industrial action to submit to national UCU
Preparations for next week’s industrial action
The branch committee also heard updates from a meeting with the Student’s Union.
The Branch Committee meets weekly. If you would like Committee to discuss a particular topic please email the details to: uonucubranch@gmail.com
Excessive Workload Collective Grievance
Are you:
On over 100% workload?
Not on a workload model?
Regularly working over your contracted hours?
Please get in touch with REDACTED or REDACTED as we are putting together a collective grievance, to say ‘NO’ together to excessive workloads and workloads over 100%.
Please also consider attending our Workload drop-in session on Wednesday 16th October, 2:30-3:30 pm on Teams.
Equalities Conferences
Registration is now open to any UCU member to attend an Equalities Group Conference based on self-identification. Each conference will be hybrid, running 11am-4pm In person attendance is at UCU headquarters in London (travel can be reimbursed).
Friday 14th November – Women members
Saturday 15th November – LGBT+ members
Thursday 20th November – Disabled members
Friday 21st November – Black members
Friday 5th December – Migrant members
More information can be found on the UCU Equalities Conferences website. or get in touch with Lisa Rüll (branch co-Equality Officer) if you would like an informal chat.
Lisa Rüll has been on the Women’s Committee and is standing for re-election.
Regional UCU Training Courses
UCU run a number of excellent free training courses for members who are interested in becoming more involved in their local branch:
Introduction to casework (20th November 2025, 23rd April 2026 both online) for reps and members interested in supporting individual members.
UCU reps 1 (12th-14th May 2026, online) aimed at new reps and those who want to undertake this role in the near future looking at your rights and responsibilities; organising and recruiting.
UCU reps 2 (24th-26th Feb 2026, Birmingham) aimed at existing reps who want to move into supporting individual members with grievances; disciplinary proceedings and meeting with management.
Challenging redundancy in the workplace (10th December 2025; 7th May 2026 both online) for members who want to be involved in challenging redundancies and/or supporting members facing redundancy.
Detailed course programmes and registration are via the above links. Please let us know if you are planning to attend by emailing the branch uonucubranch@gmail.com.
Academic and Technical staff Promotion Framework – Consultation
The JNCC subgroup on Performance and Talent involves HR and all three campus unions for consultation on matters such as promotions. The Framework and Criteria for promotions of Academics and Technical staff is currently being revised for implementation in 26/27. A first draft has been shared with unions for member consultation and feedback.
An email will soon follow with the documents, any comment and feedback will then be reported to the next meeting on 21st October.
Local and national campaigning
Education, Immigration and Racism – Unite Against the Far Right We face the threat of a growing Far Right on the streets and a possible Reform UK breakthrough in upcoming elections. Refugees and the ethnic minorities have become scapegoats. University campuses are not immune from the growing tide of divisive rhetoric and hate.
Join our General Secretary Jo Grady and a panel of campaigners to discuss how we develop a strategy to combat the Far Right across our union and in every university and college, today Wednesday 8th October at 6:30pm. Register here
Call on Nottinghamshire County Council to divest from apartheid We encourage all members to sign Nottingham Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s petition demanding that Nottinghamshire County Council divests from from companies and organisations complicit in the genocide in Palestine
Report anti-trans discrimination Have you been questioned, stopped or challenged using a single-sex space? Fill in this form to help TransActual advocate on this issue at a national level.
Need to talk to your Departmental Rep? Find the full list of UoN UCU reps here. If you are interested in becoming a departmental rep, get in touch!
Struggling with your mental health or wellbeing? UCU members get free access to confidential support service educationsupport.org.uk who can be called 24/7 on 08000 562 561.
Yours sincerely,
L Scott Blankenship and Will Paterson-Bassett, Branch Communications Officers, on behalf of UoN UCU Branch Committee
