Branch resolution: Police presence, freedom of expression and student wellbeing on campus

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

This branch notes:

  • Three students were arrested on campus on 21st October following a peaceful protest against the inclusion of arms companies complicit in genocide at a careers fair
  • The police were ‘informed’ by SMT about the protest
  • Such a move is in line with a wider authoritarian approach currently being adopted at the University
  • A recent report on the detrimental impact of the presence of police on campus on marginalised students and staff
  • That the University of Leeds has University of Sanctuary status

This branch resolves to:

  • Write to the senior management team asking them to:
    • respect students’ right to freedom of expression, specifically in the right to express lawful views and opinions freely
    • commit to a policy of no police or armed forces on campus unless there is a meaningful, direct threat to a person(s).
    • conform with its status as a University of Sanctuary, by not allowing companies onto campus whose corporate activities are part of causing people to seek sanctuary in the first place
  • Support students in their right to freedom of expression, including peaceful protest on campus

This resolution was carried by members of the branch at the ordinary general meeting 13 November 2025. The text here is subject to approval of the minutes of that meeting. The motion was proposed by Kate Hardy and seconded by Sandy James.

Branch resolution: revitalizing our branch

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

This branch notes:

  • The HE sector faces a severe national crisis, with over 15,000 jobs lost in the past year.
  • While the University of Leeds has not initiated redundancies, management has introduced an early retirement scheme without union consultation.
  • Colleagues face growing uncertainty due to fluctuating student numbers and a turbulent international context.
  • Persistent issues around workload, casualisation, and insecurity will be worsened by the proposed scheme.
  • Following intense industrial action, branch meeting participation and local rep activity have declined.
  • A national ballot on pay, conditions, and redundancies is underway, with other campus unions balloting simultaneously.

This branch resolves to:

  • Reinvigorate committee and rep activity to boost participation and mutual support.
  • Recruit new caseworkers to manage the early retirement scheme and potential restructuring.
  • Encourage reps to hold local meetings to gather concerns and shape a renewed branch strategy.
  • Urgently request a meeting with the VC for meaningful negotiation on the scheme and future workforce plans.
  • Work closely with the other two campus unions to coordinate “get the vote out.”
  • Protect and strengthen democracy and equal voice within branch structures.

This resolution was carried by members of the branch at the ordinary general meeting 13 November 2025. The text here is subject to approval of the minutes of that meeting. The motion was proposed by Gabriella Alberti and seconded by Jane Holgate.

Branch resolution on ethical procurement and the boycott of HP

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

This Branch Notes:

  • That the university is planning a technology refresh using HP laptops.
  • That HP-branded corporations provide technology and services to the Israeli military, police, and Population and Immigration Authority, which are used to maintain a system of occupation and discrimination against Palestinians.

This Branch Believes:

  • That the university’s procurement processes should be ethically sound and not complicit in human rights violations.
  • That the use of HP products contradicts our ethical principles and established commitment to support the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).

This Branch Resolves:

  • To urgently raise these concerns with university management.
  • To demand the University reviews its procurement policy to ensure a check for complicity in Israeli apartheid is included.

This resolution was carried by members of the branch at the ordinary general meeting 13 November 2025. The text here is subject to approval of the minutes of that meeting. The original motion was proposed by Anja Komatar and seconded by Nigel Bubb. The meeting amended the motion as proposed by Shazia Mirza, seconded by Fozia Bora. The resolution above is the text as amended.

Nominations needed for branch campaigns officer

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Nominations are needed for a branch campaigns officer, as the post wasn’t filled at the annual general meeting.

You can find out more about the role at https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/about-us/standing-for-election-to-the-ucu-committee/. The campaigns officer is also part of the branch’s negotiating team.

Please send your nominations by email to ucu@leeds.ac.uk by the close of Thursday 16 October.

(Or you can email a.j.u.smith@leeds.ac.uk if you prefer not to alert current officers to your candidacy in advance of the deadline).

You don’t need to give reasons for your nomination, just please make clear what role you are nominating someone for. For example:

Dear UCU branch administrator

I wish to nominate Maria Garcia for the role of campaigns officer.

Yours faithfully

James Smith

To be eligible for election two members must nominate you and you must confirm you accept the nomination by the deadline.

Please don’t ask large numbers of colleagues to nominate you as this creates extra work for the branch administrator; only two nominations are needed and the number of nominations is not published so there is no advantage in having many nominations.

Our branch rules go into more detail about the roles of different officers, election processes etc. If you have any question about the nomination or election process email the branch administrator or the honorary secretary at ucu@leeds.ac.uk

Department rep by-election October 2025

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

The UCU branch committee is calling a set of by-elections for where there are department rep vacancies, to ensure there are reps across the university

If there is a vacancy in your area (see list below), please think about which of your colleagues might be a good UCU rep. For example, someone that colleagues have confidence in, whose judgement they trust, and who is a good listener.

The deadline for nominations is the end of Thursday 16 October. See below for how to nominate someone.

This is a by-election, which means current reps do not need to be re-elected. The term of office will be until the next full elections in May/June.

What does a UCU department rep do?

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.

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.

Most, but not all, department reps also support members with individual problems at work (but only outside of their own department).  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.

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

Department reps and remaining roles available

Professional services

Digital Education Service

Claudia Rogers, department rep

Remaining roles available:
1 health and safety rep

Human Resources including ODPL

Jenny Rivas Perez, department rep

Remaining roles available:
3 department reps
4 health and safety reps

IT

Andi Rylands, department rep

Louise Marr, department rep

Remaining roles available:
4 department reps
6 health and safety reps

Library

Emily Haikney, department rep
Nicola Barnett, department rep

Remaining roles available:
2 health and safety reps

Lifelong Learning Centre

Rachel Walls, department rep

Remaining roles available:
1 health and safety rep

Research and Innovation Service

Remaining roles available:
3 department reps
3 health and safety reps

Student Education and Experience (not otherwise listed)

(This covers all areas, unless listed separately, in Student Success and Educational Engagement, Student Curriculum and Operations, Student Experience and Support)

Simon Welsh, department rep

Alexa Athelstan, department rep

Remaining roles available:
3 department reps
5 health and safety reps

Professional services, except those listed separately

Remaining roles available:
13 department reps
13 health and safety reps

Facilities directorate

Remaining roles available:
3 department reps
3 health and safety reps

Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures

School of Design

Eirini Boukla, department rep

Lindsey Waterton Taylor, department rep

Mark Taylor, department health and safety rep

Remaining roles available:
1 department reps
2 health and safety reps

School of English

Tony Crowley, department rep

Brendon Nicholls, department health and safety rep

Remaining roles available:
1 department reps
1 health and safety reps

Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies

Gill Park, department rep (equality)

Remaining roles available:
1 health and safety rep

School of History

Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
2 health and safety reps

School of Languages, Cultures and Societies (except Language Centre)

Corinne Painter, health and safety rep

Fabio Sarranito, department rep

Ingrid Sharp, health and safety rep

Leah Wang, department rep

Ruba Khamam, department rep

Sarah Hudspith, health and safety rep

Sarah Waters, health and safety rep

Remaining roles available:
1 department rep

Language Centre

Angela Hume, department rep

Sara Montgomery, health and safety rep

Remaining roles available:
1 department rep
1 health and safety rep

School of Media and Communication

Helen Thornham, department rep

Joanne Armitage, department rep

Miriam Kent, department rep

Remaining roles available:
2 health and safety reps

School of Music

Ewan Stefani, department rep

James Mooney, health and safety rep

Remaining roles available: none

Performance and Cultural Industries

ally Walsh, health and safety rep

Matty Elliot, department rep

Remaining roles available:
1 department rep
1 health and safety rep

School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science

Simon Hewitt, department rep

Remaining roles available:
1 department reps
2 health and safety reps

Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (office / unless listed separately)

Remaining roles available:
1 department rep
1 health and safety rep

Faculty of Biological Sciences

School of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Remaining roles available:
3 department reps
3 health and safety reps

School of Biomedical Sciences

Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
2 health and safety reps

School of Biology

Chris Hassall, department rep (covering all the faculty)

Remaining roles available:
1 department reps
2 health and safety reps

Faculty of Biological Sciences (office / unless listed separately)

Remaining roles available:
1 department reps
1 health and safety reps

Faculty of Business

Faculty of Business (Leeds University Business School)

Alex Seehaus, department rep

Andreas Georgiadis, department rep

Jane Holgate, department rep

Stefan Kesting, department rep and health and safety rep

Tao Jiang, department rep

Vera Trappmann, department rep

Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
7 health and safety reps

Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

School of Chemical and Process Engineering

Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
2 health and safety reps

School of Chemistry

Lavinia Onel, department rep

Sandy James, department rep

Remaining roles available:
2 health and safety reps

School of Civil Engineering

Barbara Evans, department rep

Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
3 health and safety reps

School of Computing

Hamish Carr, department rep

Remaining roles available:
1 department rep
2 health and safety reps

School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering

Paul Steenson, department rep

Remaining roles available:
1 department rep
2 health and safety reps

School of Mathematics

Remaining roles available:
3 department reps
3 health and safety reps

School of Mechanical Engineering

Remaining roles available:
3 department reps
3 health and safety reps

School of Physics and Astronomy

Tim Moorsom, department rep

Remaining roles available:
1 department rep
2 health and safety reps

Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (office and unless listed separately)

Remaining roles available:
1 department rep
1 health and safety rep

Faculty of Environment

School of Earth and Environment

Jonathan Busch, department rep

Natalie Kopytko, department rep

Valeria Tolis, health and safety rep

Remaining roles available:
6 department reps
7 health and safety reps

School of Food Science and Nutrition

Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
2 health and safety reps

School of Geography

Asa Roast, department rep

Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
3 health and safety reps

Institute for Transport Studies

David Watling, department rep

Paul Timms, department rep

Remaining roles available:
2 health and safety reps

Faculty of Environment (office / unless listed separately)

Remaining roles available:
1 department rep
1 health and safety rep

Faculty of Medicine and Health

Leeds Institute of Medical Research (LIMR)

Remaining roles available:
4 department reps
4 health and safety reps

Institute of Clinical Trials Research (LICTR)

Duncan Wilson, department rep

Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
3 health and safety reps

Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine (LICAMM)

Remaining roles available:
4 department reps
4 health and safety reps

Leeds Institute of Health Sciences

Dan Howdon, department rep

Remaining roles available:
3 department reps
4 health and safety reps

Leeds Institute of Medical Education

Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
2 health and safety reps

Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine (LIRMM)

Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
2 health and safety reps

NIHR RDN CC

Remaining roles available:
1 department reps
1 health and safety rep

Leeds Institute for Data Analytics (LIDA)

Remaining roles available:
1 department rep
1 health and safety rep

School of Dentistry

Nigel Bubb, health and safety rep

Remaining roles available:
3 department reps
2 health and safety reps

School of Healthcare

Remaining roles available:
Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
2 health and safety reps

School of Psychology

Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
2 health and safety reps

Faculty of Medicine and Health (office and unless listed separately)

Remaining roles available:
4 department reps
4 health and safety reps

Faculty of Social Sciences

School of Law

Amanda Keeling, department rep

Carrie Bradshaw, health and safety rep

Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
2 health and safety reps

School of Politics and International Studies

Charlie Dannreuther, department rep

Lata Narayanaswamy, department rep

Remaining roles available:
2 health and safety reps

School of Education

Richard Badger, department rep

Indira Banner, department rep

Remaining roles available:
2 health and safety reps

School of Sociology and Social Policy

Claudia Raviden, department rep
Maria Rovisco, department rep

Remaining roles available:
2 department reps
2 health and safety reps

Faculty of Social Sciences (office / unless listed separately)

Remaining roles available:
1 department reps
1 health and safety reps

Department rep roles

The committee changed the roles and boundaries changed for the 2024-2026 term of office, with the aim of members electing teams of reps to work together in their area.

The list above shows who your elected reps are and where there are still vacancies. (This is a by-election, which means you do not need to re-nominate reps who are already elected for 2024-2026.)

Instead of nominating for particular department rep roles or areas of focus (anti-casualisation, postgraduate, equality) these can be agreed later between the department reps elected. (Anyone taking a particular role is also still a general department rep.) This should give reps more flexibility if someone moves mid-term.

In a large department, if a rep wants, the website could list a specific work area to help members to find them and to decide who might best understand their issue. For example, a department rep for the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies might want to be listed with “(French)” after their name, but they would still be a rep for the whole school.

The number listed for health and safety reps includes workload reps. (You can specify “workload rep” or “health and safety rep” in your nominations if you wish but a health and safety reps can change focus to being a workload rep and vice versa, subject to appointment by the health and safety officer and appropriate training.)

Nominations

To nominate a colleague (with their agreement!) please 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 James Smith for UCU department rep for the School of English

Yours faithfully

Maria García Sánchez

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.

It would be helpful if candidates could arrange to be nominated by not more than two colleagues, copying you in so you know it’s been sent, as excess nominations create unnecessary work.

Respecting religious holiday observance

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

With the start of the new academic year, we would like to draw attention to the importance of respecting important religious holidays when requested, particularly those of minoritised faiths. We have a few upcoming religious holidays during teaching intensive periods. Please do make note of these and support staff and student requests.

Different people have different approaches to practicing faith, so no one is expected to know about the needs of individuals. Together, we can try to make campus more inclusive (and in my opinion, vibrant and less tokenistic). To this end, please see below a quick list of useful resources and provisions at the university.

  • One can find general information and guidance on supporting staff and students from this landing page on Religion and Belief
  • This guidance overview relates to requests for flexibility and time off on religious grounds – please pay attention to the call to accommodate requests as the immediate response. If you have authority in this regard, please be sensitive to such requests.
  • Do download or view the collaboratively compiled Faith Calendar! Please note that some days of observance have an impact on whether members of faith can work – some of these are imminent. They can be found in the Faith Calendar.
  • Relatedly, we can also expand our knowledge and learn about the specific needs during Jewish High Holidays and Ramadan.

Some festivals may not have an impact on work, however, staff and students may take time off for religious holidays. Do try to ensure that this does not disadvantage them.

Our university calendars and days off continue to reflect a bias towards (certain) Christian holidays in a supposedly secular state, which puts members of minoritised faiths/religious minorities in the uncomfortable position of needing to request days off for events of religious significance. In recognition of this, we call on those who do not practice religion and those whose religious holidays are catered to (even if serendipitously) to be considerate towards holidays of importance to others.

I hope everyone finds these resources useful to have in one place, and the knowledge shared about different religions insightful (and if you end up nerding out about different calendars, know you are not alone).

In solidarity and with care,

Sinead (on behalf of UCU Committee)

This post if from an email to branch members, 19 September 2025, from Sinéad D’Silva, equality officer.

LeedsUCU podcast: branch news 5 September 2025

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

In today’s episode, recorded Thursday 4 September 2025 (and published late): Changes to our branch committee, career pathways, the White paper, changes to university policies.

With Jenny Rivas Perez, Rachel Walls and Alan Smith.

If you prefer your union branch news direct to your ears, search for LeedsUCU wherever you get your podcasts, and subscribe so you get notified about new episodes. 

See all the episodes and transcripts at https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/about-us/podcast/

To join UCU go to ⁠https://www.ucu.org.uk/join

Direct links to the LeedsUCU podcast 

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2Ht1Iks9WPR6qbmGXXOXfS

Amazon Podcasts https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/1f16de89-30ec-444a-83ac-54bcbe0bcac6/leedsucu-podcast

Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pacoaeqd

Also available on Apple Podcasts

Transcript

Rachel

Welcome to the LeedsUCU podcast, for members of the University of Leeds branch of the University and College Union.

Alan

In today’s branch news.

Rachel

Changes to our branch committee.

Alan

Career pathways.

Rachel

The White paper.

Alan

Changes to university policies.

Rachel

I’m Rachel Walls, one of your podcast hosts. I’m also a UCU department rep for Lifelong Learning, branch committee member and saxophone or clarinet player in our occasional picket line band the Orchestrike!

Alan

And I’m Alan Smith, co-host for this podcast, and the branch administrator and organiser. We thought it would be useful for members of the branch to have an alternative channel for getting your local news because reading long emails or website posts is not everyone’s first choice.

Rachel

So we’re here to be a friendly voice from the UCU University of Leeds branch to keep you in better touch with what is going on, such as what the elected officers are working on and what opportunities there are for you to get involved in UCU discussions, socialising, activism and decision making.

[brief music]

Rachel

For today’s podcast, which we’re recording on the on 4th of September 2025, we have Jenny Rivas to give us an update on Branch News. Hi Jenny. We’ve started the new academic year, so that means we have a new elected UCU branch committee.

Jenny

Hi Rachel. Yes. Well, it seems like it’s been a very short summer since we last did a podcast, and also a very full one. And officers have been incredibly busy over the summer, and now we’re at the start of the academic year with a brand new committee and some changes to our officers team. So we’ve got 4 new committee members and we a number of people have shuffled about on the officers team as well. So I’ll just sort of go through what’s happened with the officers, certainly because it’s been a while since we had the elections. But as usual, it all changes on 1st of September. So first of all, we’ve got a new vice president. So that’s Sandy James, who previously job shared the role of anti casualisation officer with Dan Howden. So Sandy’s vice president whilst Dan remains in the job in the in the role of officer for anti casualisation. And then also we’ve got Anya Komatar, who has moved from campaigns officer to membership officer and I should say that Anja has taken over from Emily Haikney, who is stepping down from committee after having done a fantastic job in the membership officer role over the past couple of years. And and the other thing to note is that we have 1 remaining vacancy open amongst the officers and that is for the campaigns role, and the committee will be making an announcement about an election for this soon.

Alan

So over the summer period, when there’s traditionally fewer negotiations so that people can, you know, have a holiday, there has been consultation over the proposals for career support and progression.

Jenny

Yes amongst many things. So as I said, it’s been a very busy summer for the branch and branch officers. We’ve been going through extensive consultation process all summer with the university on the career pathways proposals, which is looking at career support and progression for staff and this project has been split into two parts and over the summer there’s been a series of intense consultation meetings between HR and UCU looking at proposals for academic progression in detail. And so this has been the part of the project that’s around progression for academic staff and alongside this, there is also going to be a series of consultation meetings which begin this week looking at professional staff progression as well. And we expect that to be as detailed and as intense as it has been for academic staff and continues to be as well, there’s many issues that are being ironed out there in that consultation, still.

Rachel

Thanks Jenny, have there been any developments since our last podcast on the university White Paper, which was on finances and the shape and the size of the university?

Jenny

Well, the trade unions met with the VC at the end of July to discuss the White Paper and, there were no grand reveals of plans at that meeting. However, when we asked about the plans and how they would be implemented, we were told that the work on the academic alignment, i.e. the faculties, was more evolved in terms of planning than the work on the professional services efficiency and effectiveness part of the work. But that their plans for the realignment, even so, weren’t yet fixed and might change along the way, so these two sort of key areas, key plans, were also described as being underpinned by projects such as the career pathways which I was just talking about, the redesign of staff appraisal, and also projects around about the values and behaviours and leadership development as well. They also said that whilst there were no plans in place as yet, the university is facing a challenging financial landscape. And they couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t look at staff reductions in areas and they were pains to say in a managed way in future if necessary, and that they do not want to be in a situation where they have a widespread VLS voluntary leavers scheme. As that just means skills deficits and having to be hire more people to fill the holes that are left. So this is something that we are watching closely to see how it develops obviously.

Alan

So those aren’t the only policy changes that are being negotiated over the summer, I understand you’ve been having meetings on all sorts of different issues.

Jenny

Yeah. Well, the the meeting with the the VC was really about for information and to sort of like keep us in loop with the whole White Paper issue. But yes, there’s been lots of different meetings with management over the summer and lots of consultation meetings. We have of course had our regular bi-weekly meetings with HR and the other trade unions, which are consultation meetings. And we also had one of our regular JCUU meetings, which is the Joint Committee of the University and UCU, and this was in early July. And so that’s like the formal negotiating meetings we have about 5 a year. And at JCUU, we raised the changes to the trans policy and the lack of consultation on that – lack of consultation with the trade unions. In fact, over the summer we’ve been presented with a number of policies from the university, not just the trans policy, but also instances of changes to the policy on freedom of expression. With a consultation with the trade unions, I would be kind [in] saying that it was inadequate. So we’ve objected to this and to the way that this has been operating and the lack of consultation and it is a real problem. The imposition of the trans policy in particular is causing many ongoing issues and a lot of distress. And in response to this, the trade unions organised joint meeting about this in August, and have been working together to take forward actions from that. So we’ll keep Members updated on that because obviously August, it’s kind of difficult getting people together to, butwe’re keeping that that on the boil and there will be more coming about that soon. So more generally. However, the lack of meaningful consultation on this issue, we’re raising it every time it happens. And we’ll continue to raise it with the university until it’s fixed. It’s just really important. When consultation works well and the university listens to the feedback from the trade unions, it prevents a lot of friction in the workplace. It prevents a lot of wasted time fixing problems and it leads to productive outcomes, not just for our members. For management too. So it’s very necessary for the unions and management, that consultation is done properly. And we expect to be moving into a period of intense consultation and negotiation over quite a few other issues as well. There are a lot of HR policies that are in need of updating and are due to be updated in the coming months, starting with the family leave policies. And we know from talking to members and from our casework that there are a lot of issues with many of those policies and the levels of benefits that people receive. And we believe, going into this, that the university is amenable to increasing some of the benefits, not least because there’s a new employment rights bill going through Parliament, albeit kind of slowly at the moment. But that is likely to force some changes soon. And so the university can act before then because they’ve seen what’s gone into the bill. However, in preparation for these negotiations, I just want to flag up as well that we’d really like to hear from members about their experiences of accessing family leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave all the various different – what am I missing out there? adoption leave and also bereavement leave as well – but what have people’s experience has been so we’re going to have a meeting next Tuesday on the 9th of September from 12 to 1 and people should have had an e-mail through about that and it would be great if people could come along and tell us about their experiences of accessing family benefits, or even just, if you can’t make that meeting, you know, drop me an e-mail because that information is really, really useful as we’re going into these new negotiations as well. So please go and have a look for that e-mail if you’ve not seen it and you’d like to contribute.

Alan

And that’s an open meeting as well, isn’t it? So it’s not just for UCU members. So you know, if you work at the university and you’ve got experience of those policies the UCU committee wants to hear from you whether or not you remember. If you’re not a member, you won’t have received the e-mail, so, either ask your friend who is a member or e-mail ucu@leeds.ac.uk and we will send you the meeting link.

Rachel

OK. So other than that meeting what is coming up for UCU members?

Jenny

Well, we will have some general meetings scheduled very, very soon. So the general meetings, those are the meetings for all members and we should have the dates for those agreed by committee next week and then we’ll let branch members know, but it’s likely that the first meeting, the first general meeting, will be on Wednesday 1st of October. Which would mean that the deadline for motions to that meeting will be at 12PM on Tuesday, the 23rd of September. And it’s kind of important to take note of that, because it’s not just about motions for branch policy. What’s coming up soon is the deadline for motions to the UCU national equality conferences. And if you want to send a motion to one of the UCU equality conferences – so that’s the women’s conference, the LGBT+ conference, the Black members conference and the disabled conference in particular, or to nominate someone to stand for the national standing committees for one of those equality groups, then you need to be aiming to put a motion in by 12:00 PM on Tuesday the 23rd of September. And if you want some help turning any ideas that you have about equality issues into a motion, there’s some general advice on our website or you could ask your department rep or one of the committee members. Now, there’s also an equality conference and standing committee for migrant members and I believe that’s in December, so that’s likely that the deadline for motions to that conference will be later, but we’ll let you know for definite by e-mail once meeting dates are decided. And of course, we’ll put all of that information in an e-mail, because, you might want to go and check dates and things like that once we send out information about the general meetings for the year.

Alan

So you mentioned earlier that the committee will be making a decision on electing a campaigns officer because there’s a vacancy there. The committee is also going to be discussing where there are vacancies for department reps aren’t they?

Jenny

Yes, yes. So we are looking to hold some by-elections for those vacancies because it’s really important that we have those vacancies filled, particularly if we find ourselves getting into a situation where – you know – we’re expecting a lot of change over this year. There is the realignment of the faculties, as it’s been put, there is also the changes to professional services. We want to make sure that we have reps in place so that we know what’s going on in the ground and that members are supported on the ground as well. So these are important by-elections and if you if you don’t have a have a local rep, perhaps consider becoming a rep over the next year. It’s a great role to be. Both I and Rachel are both local reps as well and it’s really about keeping the committee in touch with members and members in touch with the committee. So consider it.

Alan

OK, that’s great. So thanks, Jenny for bringing us the branch news.

[Thank yous].

[Brief music]

Rachel

That’s all for today’s LeedsUCU podcast. Thank you for listening. Please subscribe on whatever platform you’re listening to us on so you’ll know as soon as we publish our next episode.

Alan

If you work in the University of Leeds in an academic or academic-related professional or managerial role or as a postgraduate student doing paid teaching, and if you’re not yet a member of UCU, head to ucu.org.uk/join to find out more. Wherever you work, make sure you join the union for your workplace.

Rachel

This podcast is made on behalf of the Committee of the University and College Union, University of Leeds Branch. If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail our branch officers at ucu@leeds.ac.uk. See our website leedsucu.org.uk for alternative contact details and for a transcript of this episode.

This year’s general meetings 2025-2026

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Here is the schedule of UCU University of Leeds branch general meetings for the 2025-2026 academic year.

General meetings are for all members of UCU University of Leeds branch. It is where we make most of our collective decisions. If you think there is something the union collectively should (or shouldn’t!) be doing, you can propose a motion to a general meeting.

This is the schedule of ordinary general meetings for the academic year. There are often extra-ordinary or emergency general meetings convened to discuss specific issues – they won’t usually be published on here but members of the branch will be informed by email.

Wednesday 1 October, 12.45pm – 2pm

Submit motions by 12pm Tuesday 23 September.

If you want to send a motion to one of the following UCU national equality conferences, or for the branch to nominate candidates to the respective equality standing committee, this is the general meeting to propose that to:

  • Women members’ annual conference
  • LGBT+ members’ annual conference
  • Disabled members’ annual conference
  • Black members’ annual conference

This meeting should elect the branch’s congress/conference delegates for the year.

Thursday 13 November, 12.45pm – 2pm

Submit motions by 12pm Tuesday 4 November.

If you want to send a motion to the UCU national migrant members’ annual conference, this is the latest meeting to propose the motion to.

Wednesday 21 January, 12.45pm – 2pm

Submit motions by 12pm Tuesday 13 January.

If you want to send a motion to the:

then this is the latest general meeting to propose the motion to.

Tuesday 3 March, 12.45pm – 2pm

Submit motions by 12pm Tuesday 24 February.

If you want to send a motion to UCU Congress 2026 this is the latest general meeting to propose the motion to.

Thursday 30 April, 12.45pm – 2pm

Submit motions by 12pm Tuesday 21 April.

If you want the branch to propose an amendment to another branch’s motion to UCU Congress 2026, this is the general meeting to submit that motion of amendment to.

Thursday 21 May 12.45pm – 2pm, annual general meeting (AGM)

Submit motions by 12pm Tuesday 5 May.

Deadline for nominations to the branch committee is Wednesday 20 May.

If you want the branch to give advice to branch delegates attending UCU Congress 2026, this is the latest general meeting to do that.

Monday 15 June, 12.45pm – 2pm

Submit motions by 12pm Tuesday 2 June.

The long gap between the motions deadline and the meeting may make this meeting (alongside the AGM) ideal for if you want to propose a rule change motion.

There’s some useful advice on general meetings at Making UCU branch general meetings work better

Parental leave policies and benefits – open meeting

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

UCU is holding an open meeting – for staff at the university whether or not you are a union member – on Tuesday 9 September 12-1pm to find out about parents’ experience of university benefits and support for parents (for example maternity leave, paternity/ partner leave, adoption leave, neonatal care leave, parental leave and shared parental leave).

The UCU University of Leeds branch committee wants to hear about your experience of accessing these benefits.

  • Was it easy to arrange?
  • Was the level of financial support sufficient? 
  • How was your experience of returning to work afterward?
  • Were you turned down for any of these benefits because you hadn’t been an employee for enough time to qualify?

Why are we holding this meeting?

UCU is committed to making the university a family friendly workplace and equalising the pay gaps.  The university is currently reviewing their parental leave benefits as part of a wider policy review and will consult with the trade unions on any new proposals for these benefits.  We will use what you tell us about your experience and views on these benefits to inform our response to proposals.

Who is this meeting for?

People working at the University of Leeds, especially those particularly doing academic, professional or managerial work, who have experience of the university’s parental leave policies and benefits.

How do I sign up for the meeting?

If you’re a UCU member, you’ll have a Zoom invitation in an email on 2 September from UCU University of Leeds <noreply@ucu.org.uk>

If you’re not a UCU member, email ucu@leeds.ac.uk, ideally using your university email, to request the Zoom link.

Resolved problems receiving UCU email (hotmail, outlook.com and live.com)

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

The UCU IT team has fixed the problem that some members of the branch were not receiving UCU emails, particularly if their email was hosted by hotmail, outlook.com or live.com.

The UCU IT team investigated and made changes in early August which appear to have fixed the problem.

If you have any further issues with not receiving email from UCU, please contact ucu@leeds.ac.uk.