South West Industrial Relations Exchange Online – Friday March 27 – Edition 02
Distribution: Officers of the South West and Extended Region
Working from Home and online teaching
We are receiving some messages from members anxious about their ability to deliver online. Please refer them to the national UCU guidance (link below) sent out from the regional office on Wednesday. Remember that your employer has a duty to support you and advise; you should not be left isolated. It might be also be a good idea to set up a WhatsApp group with colleagues delivering similar parts of the curriculum so that you can share ideas and experiences.
Staff Unable to Work from Home
Where staff are able to work from home, they should obviously be paid as normal. Where staff can’t work from home – due, for example, to the nature of their work – but are currently prevented from carrying out their work, UCU is obviously anxious that they remain in employment – and continue to be paid – during any period for which they are effectively ‘laid-off’ (we refuse to use the term ‘furloughed’). Clearer details of the Government’s Job Retention Scheme are emerging now, and all employers should have been waiting for that rather than rushing to push out communications saying that they will simply stop paying certain groups of staff where they believe that the nature of the contract allows them to.
One college decided to give all its part time AE tutors 2 weeks’ notice of dismissal …unbelievable . The UCU were all over this and the notice has been withdrawn.
If it helps the AOC has sent this to all its member colleges in regard to the staff retention scheme “Staff on the DfE helpline have already advised college finance directors that colleges will be eligible to apply for support on account of their private sector status.” This may be helpful when challenging colleges that are moving quickly to lay people off.
UCEA COVID 19 statement
You may be aware of a joint statement issued by UCEA on Tuesday and signed-up to by the four other HE unions nationally (Unison, Unite, GMB, and EIS) but not UCU.
This is a note to outline why UCU felt unable to sign-up to the joint statement. The statement as proposed was too weak, and the final version remains so, as it fails to address three areas of concern for UCU, on which UCEA were not prepared to move:
The closure of all non-essential core face to face functions (in terms of teaching this had largely been done but libraries and other non-essential face to face functions were/are still operating;
A pause to negotiate and agree with trade unions arrangements for alternative ways of working including online and home working;
Agreement to ensure all staff working for /delivering services to universities continue to be paid and retained including casualised staff and those employed by contractors, where necessary making use of the government’s Covid-19 wage subsidy offer.
Holidays
Whilst it is understandable that Institutions will try and ensure that staff do not save entitlements until later in the year it is equally unfair for them to force the front loading of holidays. Please refer to your contracts and policies and insist that they are adhered to and not arbitrarily ignored. Contact you officials if you need support re this.
Business as normal
The Swindon Colleges still insist on ploughing ahead with a merger despite our tying to halt it for the time being. Apparently, the Olympics can be postponed but not this!! Comment from member below representative of views
‘I’m sure that I am not the only one but with unprecedented crisis, caring and supporting my family which includes my wife who is a front line NHS worker working in Corvid wards. She has elderly grandparents and children at home as well as attempting to teach and support students. TUPE consultation is at the very bottom of my priorities. I think the college needs to take a reality check.’
City of Bristol College is currently refusing to pause a management restructure/redundancy process. Ploughing ahead with this in the context of the crisis is ridiculous, and the additional stress and anxiety this creates for those potentially facing redundancy is, in the union’s view not only unnecessary but also heartless.
Other employers are taking a much more humane approach though such as Bristol University who , after requests form UCU have paused their restructuring programme for Professional service staff,
Redundancy Consultations Paused
Cornwall College and South Devon have paused all redundancy consultations.
Casual and precarious staff
In the first edition of SWIROL, we shared some examples of good practice, where employers are providing assurances that, for example, hourly-paid teaching staff will continue to be paid for work that has been scheduled even if it doesn’t take place (through no fault of the lecturer). However, we still have a number of gaps in our information about what employers are doing to support casual and precariously-employed staff. Please keep feeding information to us via exeter@ucu.org.uk
Strike Pay Deductions
Exeter University have agreed to suspend all strike pay deductions until May and then deductions would be taken in May, June and July. UCU have requested that deductions are rescinded but have been told that within the Russell Group, very few were doing so. UCU will continue to press for no deductions to be made.
Prison Education Staff
Although the majority of Prison Education staff are no longer required to attend the workplace, we still have a number of issues we are trying to resolve with the employer and the Government. It is unclear whether Weston College will take advantage of the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and lay off their Agency Workers or simply lay them off, with no pay. UCU are pressing for the college to access the scheme and protect their agency staff. UCU has also produced guidance for Prison Education members if they are instructed to attend the workplace and this can be accessed here.
https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/10735/Education-provision-during-Covid-19-lockdown
Video Conferencing
Further to Morin’s piece in SWIRE online’s first edition, distributed on Wednesday, and following updated legal advice we would like to give further clarification on her piece on Video Conferencing:
Individual members should be entitled to seek that a formal internal hearing is conducted in person rather than remotely. If an employer refuses then as a Trade Union we will express concern but given the unprecedented times we all are faced employers are being given leniency in this regard.
Whether an employer’s actions are unreasonable is ultimately up to an Employment Tribunal. We should however argue that refusing a member’s request for an in-person hearing would be unreasonable particularly if the sanction is punitive. This involves a balancing exercise. For example where a case is document heavy and complex the representative could be significantly disadvantaged in putting forward the member’s case.
Additionally, If a member is disabled then there would be the additional considerations of reasonable adjustments and the member may want to request an in-person hearing, when it is safe to do so, as a reasonable adjustment.
We are now hearing of both good and bad practice but after UCU lobbying at least we are reaching agreements that allow for methodology of meetings to be taken on a case by case basis
Communicating with Members
Please remember at this time it is important for branch officers to keep in touch with their members to update them with the latest advice and to reassure them. I can see no reason why these communications cannot be shared with potential members to remind them the we are the organisation that has staff interests as our highest priority. Please encourage your members, where appropriate to share UCU’s communications with their colleagues and non-members and remind and encourage them to join before they need help.
If anyone needs help with communications please contact dotoole@ucu.org.uk
Your Regional Team
UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE UNION
TELEPHONE 01392 412525
Twitter @UCUSOUTH WEST
