Members elect UCU department reps for our area of the university every two years (even years, starting in 2022), shortly after the Annual General Meeting. The committee will also arrange by-elections in the off-years where there are vacancies. Branch rules about the election of department reps

A network of department reps across the university is crucial for maintaining and increasing the strength of the union and ensuring the branch committee learns about problems in different areas.

The role of a UCU department rep

UCU department reps are a point of contact for union members in that school, department, service or area, and they alert the branch committee to issues concerning members in their area.

Department reps are not always caseworkers and are not expected to represent members in their area with individual problems (although many department reps are caseworkers, supporting members in other departments). Department reps don’t negotiate with local management on behalf of the union – all consultation and negotiation with UCU is done centrally by the negotiating team.

Department reps will try to welcome new staff and make sure they know about the union.

Roles and boundaries 2026-2028

The UCU department representative roles and boundaries for the June 2026 – May/June 2028 term of office have been decided by the branch committee as follows.

Roles

Members will be elected as a UCU department rep or a UCU department health and safety rep.

Members can be elected to two roles, both as a department rep and a department health and safety rep.

After election, reps may choose to additionally focus on the following specific areas and be listed as that on the website.

Additional areas of focus for UCU department reps

• anticasualisation rep
• equality rep
• postgraduate rep

Areas of focus for UCU department health and safety reps

• health and safety rep
• workload rep

By default, health and safety reps will cover all aspects of health and safety, but health and safety reps can choose to focus solely on workload issues and be listed as a workload rep. Workload reps normally undertake a different training programme and won’t be involved in the usual range of health and safety functions, so any movement between these roles needs to be in consultation with the branch health and safety officer.

Boundaries

Full list of boundaries / rep areas (departments, for the purpose of department rep elections) is at https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/about-us/choosing-your-ucu-department-representatives/numbers-and-boundaries-of-department-representative-roles-available-for-election/

Department rep roles / areas of focus

UCU department anti-casualisation rep

Focussing on issues affecting members who are casualised: members on fixed-term or fixed-funded contracts and members who are hourly paid.

UCU department postgraduate rep

Focussing on issues affecting postgraduate students who teach or do other paid academic or academic-related (professional and managerial) work for the university.

UCU department equality rep

Focussing on issues of inequality and discrimination affecting members in the department.

UCU department workloads rep

Workloads reps are health and safety reps with a focus on workloads.

UCU department health and safety rep

Focussing on health, safety and wellbeing issues in the department

Who would be a good UCU department rep?

Try to think who would be the best person or people to be a UCU rep for your department. Challenge any stereotype you have of what union reps are like, be conscious that white and male union members are more likely to put themselves forward, and bear in mind that while someone who is more vocal at raising problems might be a good rep it might just be that they are already in a relatively more privileged situation so feel more able to complain. A good union rep will often be someone that colleagues have confidence in, whose judgement they trust, and who is a good listener.

You can find out more about the roles of UCU reps at ucu.org.uk/rep

Standing for election as UCU department rep

The deadline for nominations for department reps will be notified to members by email. The deadline will normally be between two and four weeks after the Annual General Meeting. (Deadlines for any additional by-elections will be announced by email.)

After the request for nominations has been sent out, to nominate someone, simply email ucu@leeds.ac.uk, ideally include the word “nomination” in the email subject, saying, for example:

Dear UCU branch administrator

I wish to nominate Maria García Sánchez for UCU department rep for the School of Design

Yours faithfully

James Smith

Each candidate needs two nominations by the deadline and to have confirmed by the deadline that they are willing to stand to be eligible for election. Nominations normally have to be from UCU members in the same department, but exceptions can be made for very small departments.

If you have any questions about the department definitions or exceptions for nominations for small departments, contact the branch administrator/organiser at ucu@leeds.ac.uk.

Workload and training

University of Leeds has a historically not-great record in ensuring staff have sufficient time off for trade union work, insisting it is part of ‘citizenship’ for most union reps whose workloads are calculated that way. Discussions are ongoing to try to improve the situation so that more reps have workloaded time off (or equivalent) in addition to citizenship. If you have any questions about this please contact the branch honorary secretary or branch president.

UCU provides training for UCU reps ucu.org.uk/training, and support and mentoring from more experienced union reps.

List of department representatives

This page was last updated on 15 July 2026