Covid-19

Information for UCU members on national talks and action over the employers’ responses to Covid-19, as well as updated details for contacting UCU head and regional offices, is at ucu.org.uk/coronavirus

Locally, the branch committee is in regular meetings with senior HR managers about the university’s response to Covid-19. The university is regularly updating its guidance for staff as things develop and in response to some of the issues UCU reps raise on behalf of members. You can see the latest university guidance at coronavirus.leeds.ac.uk, particularly the pages from ‘staff advice’ and ‘FAQs’.

You can see the latest updates for members of this branch below.

This page was last updated on 29 January 2021

Policy decision: emergency motion, 25 January 2022

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

This emergency motion was agreed by the branch at a general meeting 25 January 2022

We note that the University has complied with Government guidelines during the COVID-19 epidemic, including, for instance, encouraging staff and students to wear masks.

There is compelling evidence that wearing medical-grade respirators such as N95 / FFP2s in crowded and indoor settings, ensuring adequate ventilation of indoor spaces and social distancing reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne infection.

We note the UK Government has lifted all COVID-19 restrictions. Yet, COVID-19 remains a significant public health concern, particularly but not exclusively for shielding groups.

This branch believes that:

The University must continue to adopt best public health practice.

This branch therefore demands of the employers:

  • The provision of FFP2 respirators for all staff and students.
  • An expectation that all staff and students will wear respirators in crowded places unless exempt.
  • The continued monitoring of workspaces to ensure they are ventilated.
  • Appropriate management of teaching and other spaces to facilitate social distancing.
  • Continued opportunities for staff and students to work at home, particularly for staff and students who need to shield.

Proposed by Nick Emmel. Moved by Nick Emmel, seconded by Ipek Demir. The motion was carried.

Members may wish to refer to UCU national guidance at https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/12277/Health–safety-guidance-for-UCU-reps-Jan-2022/pdf/H_S_guidance_omicron_Jan22.pdf

This page was last updated on 31 March 2022

Health and safety in semester two

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

This is a relatively brief update on health and safety following the government’s, and then the university’s, announcements in relation to relaxing restrictions and mitigations.

We are pleased that the university continues to take a cautious approach and is not dropping all mitigations in the way that the government seems to want. We do however, have some specific concerns. 

Notably, as I told you in a recent email, we had asked management to look into providing masks of FFP2 quality to staff. They have now told us they will not do so. The logic behind this is that they believe that the combination of ventilation (which is generally good) and continued distancing means that activities should be safe to be held in-person and if they are not they should not be held in person.

As a result, we advise as follows:

Firstly, if you are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 you should speak to your line manager and insist on an individual risk assessment before being prepared to work on campus, particularly in crowded areas or teaching spaces. If you meet any resistance with this, please contact us for support via ucu@leeds.ac.uk 

Second, if you are concerned that mitigations in place are not being followed – e.g. the stated capacity of a room is exceeded or people are not maintaining appropriate social distancing, you should remove yourself from the situation, speak to your line manager and let us know. 

You will have noted that we are returning to the previous position on face coverings, where staff and students are expected to wear facecoverings in crowded spaces and teaching spaces when asked to do so. We know that compliance with this was patchy and continue to emphasise the importance of clear communication about the benefits of wearing face coverings. If you are aware of breaches of this rule, either because of people not wearing face coverings in a crowded space, or because of students not wearing face coverings when asked to do so, please report to your manager. If you are a manager, please escalate these issues to the Health and Safety teams if necessary. I would particularly ask securely employed staff, and staff in management positions, to do everything you can to communicate with students and try to build a culture of respect – junior staff, and particularly precariously employed and hourly paid staff, tell us that they do not feel empowered to insist on face coverings if students do not comply.

Finally, we understand that managers have been asked to continue to be flexible about working from home, particularly for staff who are vulnerable or who live with people who are vulnerable. We also understand that, on the ground, there are cases where that flexibility is not in fact happening. Please let us know if you are having issues and we can support you in challenging the situation. 

This post is from an email sent to branch members 25 January 2022 by branch president Chloe Wallace.

This page was last updated on 25 January 2022

Omicron variant and health and safety

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

We are continuing to engage with management in relation to the current fast moving public health situation. At the moment, we expect that most staff are working from home and the University position is that staff should only be working from campus when it is necessary. If you are being asked to work on campus when it is not necessary please let us know. The University has also tightened up the rules in relation to the wearing of face coverings – we have emphasised the importance of clear and firm communication of these new rules to both students and staff, whilst recognising, of course, that some people are exempt from wearing face coverings. We have asked management to look into providing masks of FFP2 quality to staff. We can confirm that at the moment all ventilated rooms are ventilated to a standard that exceed UCU requirements but please continue to report to us any concerns you have about spaces being used over capacity.  

We are also continuing to emphasise the importance of protecting staff with medical conditions who are vulnerable to COVID-19, or those who live with those people – whilst the public discourse is that Omicron is less serious, the fact remains that this virus can seriously harm and kill people and some are at more risk than others. Please let us know if you need our support on this.  

Finally, we have been listening to concerns from PGR members who teach about the lack of entitlement to paid sick leave. This forms part of our anticasualisation claim to the University, which has now been ignored by management for 3 years. In the current context, we emphasise that paid sick leave for all is a vital measure to enable people to take the necessary steps to stop the virus spreading. We will be discussing this with senior management very shortly and will keep you posted.

This post is from an email to members from branch president Chloe Wallace sent on 11 January 2021

This page was last updated on 11 January 2022

Working from home and health and safety

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Following the announcement of a new recommendation to work from home due to the rise of the Omicron variant, you will have received an email this afternoon outlining the University approach, which is informed by government guidance. Before the Christmas closure we expect that managers will work on the basis of necessity: i.e. that you should only be required to come in to work if it is necessary to perform particular activities. There is also an understanding that a return to home working may not be appropriate for some people at this point. This is a fast moving situation and any decisions taken now about after Christmas may need to be reviewed- but there is scenario planning in terms of all activities, including student education activity. For the moment, the government guidance appears to require planned in person teaching to continue, but that may change as the situation develops. We will, naturally, be continuing to engage with management in the interests of staff. For now, if you are asked to work in a way which you are not happy with (e.g. required to come in when it doesn’t seem necessary, or required to work from home where to do so would harm your mental health), please speak to your line manager and if you don’t get anywhere email ucu@leeds.ac.uk.

This post is from an email to members from branch president Chloe Wallace on 10 December 2021

This page was last updated on 5 January 2022

Dismissed at Leeds for not doing enough research?

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Message sent to Leeds UCU members 30th November 2021

This coming week, for the first time in the history of our University, one of us is going to be dismissed on the basis of not doing enough research. Read that again. This colleague is not being dismissed for not doing any research, no, they are being dismissed for not doing enough research, and for publishing but for not publishing enough, and for applying for grants and getting grants but not getting enough. Our dismissed colleague, at grade 8, is currently a Co-I on a £1.4M Fellowship. His research has an h-index of 18 (with over 1390 citations of peer-reviewed papers) and he has had 37 International patents. He was deemed to not satisfy the metrics set for him to retain his employment. 

One person set the benchmarks for our colleague, benchmarks that only applied to him, and then that same single person decided that he did not meet those benchmarks. Even the Director of Research in that School was not made aware of these benchmarks, so could not directly support our colleague. What is more, the evidence from Symplectic was clear – this colleague was by no means exceptional in terms of their output over the last five years, many in his school did not meet those ad-hoc benchmarks. Looking further outside that one School, we can prove easily that there has not been equality of treatment. If the University management were truly concerned about equality they too could have found this evidence, but undertook no such research. What is more, our dismissed colleague’s output was closer to his own personal, bespoke benchmarks than some colleagues a grade or even two grades above him. Shamefully, there is also a dimension of ethnicity in those comparisons. The UCU’s National Black Members’ Standing Committee has expressed their concern and support in this case.

Looking at the detail of his contract of employment, our colleague meets the requirements – he has done to the letter everything it says in that contract. He did research, he published research, he applied for and gained grants, and so on. If the University wants to set other benchmarks to complement our contracts as terms and conditions for employment, they are obliged to agree them with the recognised union first. They did not in this case. This illegitimate behaviour now exposes all of us on teaching and research contracts. This has never happened before at Leeds.

It gets worse. This colleague was told that they had to travel to and enter campus during a pandemic to continue their research, and were even given a letter to show to the police to facilitate that dangerous journey. It was a case of ‘put your and your family’s health at risk or lose your job’. In the appeal hearing, remarkably, a representative of the University doubled-down on that and indicated that it was reasonable to demand that he came on campus and go to work in his lab. An Occupational Health report had indicated clearly that he was at greater risk on the basis of his ethnicity and age.

There’s more. When he was first told he was dismissed, it was with immediate effect, which is reserved usually for atrocious behaviour. The University even got legal advice that there was no contractual mechanism to do what they had done, and so they were demonstrably in breach of contract. Such a breach, a failure of procedure, should automatically mean an impending appeal might win, not to mention the potentially illegal behaviour over insisting that someone enters a place they believe to be unsafe, not to mention the strong evidence that there might have been unequal treatment. 

A University that makes high claims about its values and how it treats its staff might want to hesitate over such an appeal against dismissal instead of supporting the decision of just one manager over ad-hoc benchmarks that had not been formally agreed with the union. When the evidence is so stacked against the University for an Employment Tribunal, you might think that they would look closely at the processes that would not only lead to such an outcome, but would even strengthen that evidence within an appeals process.

The University still has time to make an appropriate procedural adjustment to this outcome, one that chimes finally with its public statements of values and principles.

This page was last updated on 30 November 2021

Pickets, Resources and COVID-19 guidance

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

From all-members email 25 November 2021

Hi everyone

This email is about pickets, what we are doing and how people can join in.

(and then some other pre-strike stuff)

We will be maintaining our usual practice of picketing as many entrances as possible of the campus next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. For those who are new or unfamiliar with this, a picket is a group of strikers who stand at the entrance of the workplace to make people aware of the strike and persuade (peacefully!) people to not cross the line. Picketing is legal and our pickets are friendly and fun – please come along whether you are long standing picketter or this is your first time. Pickets are a fantastic opportunity to build solidarity and meet others. We picket from 7.30am – 11.30am. We understand that many people cannot arrive until later in that period, but if you are able to come from 7:30 or 8am please do so so we can be there when people arrive in the morning. 

If you want to picket in person please sign up – this is extra important this time because of contact tracing. The link is here https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=x7sla-g7S0KySQb82NdiaNICVYU2x7RDvUK_2a_SumpUOTRWOTlEOUJCWFo0WjQyUUFKRUozV0ZNUS4u

It’s fine to sign up and then not come if something comes up unexpectedly – if you decide to come in at the last minute, please sign up. Please also sign in on the day at the Pink Gazebo at the Woodhouse Lane entrance to campus.

We are hoping to resurrect our famous Running Picket – where pickets run around the perimeter of campus – please let me know if you want to be part of organising that.

Many members, perhaps more than usual, due to COVID-19 will not be able to join us in person and I want to ensure that they feel the solidarity just as much. Committee are putting together different ways in which we can raise awareness and join in together – including maybe a Virtual Running Picket. Any other ideas welcome. And please let us know if you have any accessibility needs. There is quiet space and toilets in the Chaplaincy Centre and we are getting a room in the Quaker meeting house for people to use to rest and have some quiet as well. We have some seating as well. 

In order to be as inclusive as we can, we are changing slightly the way that we do rallies. We will on Friday have a big end of strike rally at 11:30 on Parkinson Steps – it will be socially distanced but we hope to have speakers, noise and possibly a bit of singing. On Wednesday and Thursday we will gather and talk at the end but not have a big rally. Instead, on those days we will have Zoom rallies for all those who couldn’t join us in person – we will share details nearer the time. We will also have a informal branch meeting on Friday afternoon about working to contract. There will also be some briefings in relation to the hardship fund.

On Wednesday, our comrades from  Unison will be bringing along hot sandwiches and solidarity which is always welcome. We also expect a BBC film crew so please do turn up colourful and cheerful. We will of course have placards – but the best placards are home made ones so have a go and bring them along. (you can find invaluable advice on doing this and much much more in this guide from 2020 http://jbsumner.com/StrikeHandbook.pdf) 

Finally, we have an Action Group which meets to discuss and plan these kinds of actions during strike time – to find out about meetings and activities, join this list by emailing anything  to ucu-actioncomm-join@lists.leeds.ac.uk.  To leave the action group mailing list email anything to ucu-actioncomm-leave@lists.leeds.ac.uk

Resources, including out of office messages and email signatures

·      Leeds Uni UCU Strike page: https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/

·      Leeds UCU slides for students: https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/slides-for-students-about-the-industrial-action/

·      Tik Tok clips: https://t.co/vhKOZewGOy?amp=1

·      National UCU Resources:  https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/9144/BTU-branch-resources

·      Out of Office message for strike days – feel free to modify:  I am on strike today in support of my trade union’s (UCU) disputes with our employers over cuts of 35% to guaranteed pensions, pay cuts, casualisation, equality pay gaps and unsafe workloads.

·      Email Signature – feel free to modify: I support the UCU industrial action over cuts of 35% to guaranteed pensions, pay cuts, casualisation, equality pay gaps and unsafe workloads.

·       Join the picket Whatsapp group (mainly used on strike days)

Covid Guidance

Stay at home if you have symptoms of COVID-19. These include any of the following:

  • a high temperature
  • a new, continuous cough
  • a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should also take a PCR test. Anyone who has had a recent positive PCR test should stay at home and self-isolate for 10 days from the first day that their symptoms started.

We ask that all colleagues take a rapid lateral flow test every day before attending picketing or rallies. If any lateral flow test is positive, please do not attend any of the picketing or rallies, and take a PCR test.

Colleagues picketing and attending rallies should carry and use hand sanitiser often. We expect most colleagues will have their own supply of hand sanitiser which they should bring with them, but supplies of hand sanitiser will be available from the Leeds UCU picket HQ near the university main entrance.

The use of face coverings when picketing outside and during outdoor rallies is optional, provided that social distancing is maintained. Where social distancing cannot be maintained, please wear a face covering. For any indoor activity such as getting refreshments or comfort breaks, please wear a face covering unless you are exempt or it is not practical to do so (such as consuming food or drink). We expect that many colleagues will already have face coverings and if so, please bring these with you. However supplies of cloth face coverings will be available from the Leeds UCU picket HQ near the university main entrance.

More details, timings etc will be sent out soon

In solidarity

Chloe

Dr Chloe Wallace
Associate Professor in Law
School of Law
University of Leeds

Co-Director, Centre for Innovation and Research in Legal Education
Programme Leader, School of Law 4 year programmes

President, Leeds University UCU

@chloew1970

This page was last updated on 30 November 2021

UCU Update

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Email from Leeds UCU Branch President to members 11th October 2021

I hope that this (somewhat exhausting) term is treating you well. In this email I wanted to briefly give you an account of what union officers have been doing on your behalf in relation to some of the issues on which we are currently campaigning.

  1. Anti-casualisation campaign. In January 2022  it will be three years since we put in our local anti-casualisation claim to the university – you can find the text of the claim here. Since that time, we have taken strike action in support of our national claim. We have heard occasional warm words from management, but across the university staff on fixed term contracts have continued to be made redundant, or made to apply for what are effectively their own jobs. Worryingly, over the summer, a new form of contract, known as an ongoing annualised contract, was introduced (without trade union consultation) which manages to make already precarious employees even more precarious, by requiring them to commit to an ongoing contract with a tiny number of guaranteed of hours, no clear progression or and, it seems, no access to the redeployment register. Officers have spent many hours in discussion with HR, leading to a situation where a major project on ‘contract types’ has been defined which is likely to take many months. Management have explicitly refused to commit to using this process to reduce the use of precarious contracts within our University. Caseworkers have supported staff in seeking permanent or extended contracts, an often distressing process exacerbated by the stress which job insecurity creates: casualisation, we are regularly reminded, is a health and safety issue. Whatever words we might hear from management, as we approach a ballot on a dispute in which our national anti-casualisation will take centre stage, we need action now to support staff currently casualised, as well as strategic planning for the future and and we are not seeing it.
  2. Workload. Reps and members are reporting unprecedented levels of workload and associated stress and ill health. Again, we have taken national strike action on this matter and thought it could not get worse – but it did. What was required of us all during the pandemic was excessive and in many cases unreasonable. And yet there was more to come. Chronic failure properly to staff services such as IT and the Student Education Service, which campus trades unions have been protesting for years, is harming staff in those services and having a knock on effect elsewhere, particularly in areas impacted by massive over recruitment of undergraduates. The causes of that over recruitment were  not within the control of the University: the fact that the Schools and Services on the frontline of this crisis are already exhausted, have been unable to take sufficient annual leave and are in many cases understaffed, could have been avoided. Also within the control of management is the introduction of new systems and process, and requirement to engage in major strategic developments on top of already excessive workloads. Our management have failed to take responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their staff, and we need to see urgent action now. We are currently seeking discussions with management on this matter.
  3. Response to the COVID-19 situation. As most of us are now aware, the change of policy on face coverings was introduced too late, poorly communicated and compliance is too low. We were promised a series of FAQs for staff around how to approach and enforce this policy, which, by the end of week 2, has still not materialised. Many universities in England are doing better that this to protect their staff and students – government guidance is clearly not the barrier. I note again that the people suffering most from this are those who have, or live with people who have, clinical vulnerabilities, who are telling us that they feel now they have to choose between protecting themselves from COVID-19 and the benefits of some renewed in-person contact with colleagues and students, which is making a huge difference for some of us in mental health terms. This is not what an inclusive University looks like. 

All of these issues are causing stress and distress right now to staff across the University. The answer to this should not be individualised: it is a sign of a broken institution and a broken sector, and the answer is to fix what is broken. I do want to acknowledge the incredibly important work done to support staff by colleagues in Staff Counselling and Occupational Health. Both services accept self referrals and are available if you just want a one-off informal conversation, as well as more sustained support, so please do make use of them if you need to.

Many thanks to all those who attended our General Meeting on Thursday 7th October – we set some important policy as well as changing some of our rules. You will see from those motions particular concerns about wholesale and anti-democratic changes to our University governance structures, and serious concern about the University’s willingness to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to the Climate Crisis. We will be in touch with you with more details and information about what you can do to fight back.

One thing that you can do, of course, is to prepare yourself to vote in the industrial action ballots, due to start on 18th October. I emailed you with more information about this on 23rd September. We will be holding some non-motion focused members meetings to discuss and answer your questions, including one for migrant members, and one for fixed term and hourly paid staff. Please watch out for more information on this. If you haven’t already, ensure that your address and phone number are up to date on MyUCU, prepare yourself to vote – and to let us know when you have voted, so that the branch can do everything we can to get the 50% turnout required by anti-union legislation and show management that we mean business.

In solidarity

Chloe
Dr Chloe Wallace
President, Leeds University UCU
Associate Professor in Law
School of Law
University of Leeds
Co-Director, Centre for Innovation and Research in Legal Education
Programme Leader, School of Law 4 year programmes
@chloew1970

This page was last updated on 11 October 2021

USS and Four Fights disputes (and a bit on facecoverings)

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

UCU is balloting over strike action on USS pensions and on pay, casualisation, workloads and equality (‘four fights’). Branch president Chloe Wallace is asking members to check your account details ready for a postal ballot at home, and to prepare to vote. Chloe’s email to members, copied below, also mentions initial responses the university’s improved guidance on face coverings.

Dear members 

I hope everyone is staying safe and well. This is an email primarily about the announcement received a couple of days ago about national ballots on the Four Fights and Pensions. I want to try briefly to pre-empt some of your questions and say something about what we will be doing here at Leeds. I will, however, add a paragraph at the end about the University position on face coverings as I have had a number of emails on that. That will make this a long email – I’d be grateful, however, if you could take the time to read it as it may help clarify what is going on. 

The Union nationally has now established trade disputes with all relevant HE employers in the UK, including, of course, the University of Leeds. This is following decisions taken at a Special Higher Education Sector Conference, attended by branch delegates from across the country.  You can find a copy of the letter sent to Universities on USS here  and on the Four Fights here  

I strongly recommend having a look at those letters, because they set out in clear terms what UCU’s demands are. I know that understanding the specificity of what we are seeking is important to you and that, perhaps particularly in relation to the pensions dispute, this can seem unclear. However, it is clearly spelt out in these letters what the employers need to do to resolve these disputes and avoid the massive disruption of industrial action. If you would like more detail on the claims in the Four Fights dispute, on workload, casualization, equality and pay, you can find that it in the formal claim document here

Our next step is to ballot for industrial action. The ballot will open on 18th October and run for just over 2 weeks. Under the 2016 Trade Union Act – a piece of Tory legislation explicitly designed to weaken trade unions by limiting our industrial power – a number of legal restrictions exist on this ballot. It must be conducted by post, not online; to be valid, 50% or more of eligible members must vote; and 50% of those voting must vote Yes to proposed action. You will be asked to vote separately on each dispute (USS, and Four Fights) and to vote on willingness to strike and to take action short of a strike. The ballot paper will need to state the range of actions short of a strike which may be proposed (e.g. marking boycott, work to contract, refusal to do voluntary work) but will not specify precisely which ones will be used and when, and will not specify strike days or how many days of action will initially be called. The decision as to when and for how long we strike and what action short of a strike we take will be taken after the ballot results are known by the Unions national Higher Education Committee. Once the ballot closes, 2 weeks notice of industrial action needs to be given to employers – this means that the earliest we can take action is the latter half of November. The ballot mandate remains in place for 6 months. 

These rules are tough, but UCU has defied them time and time again, both for national and local disputes. Many branches have achieved a successful ballot outcome over the last 18 months, so remote or hybrid working is not an obstacle – it just means we have to do things a bit differently. Leeds University is one of the strongest, most engaged and active branches in the country and I have no doubt we can do it. But every vote counts- there are numerous examples of branches missing the turnout threshold by single figures of votes. So I am asking all members to take the following actions now: 

1. Check your details on MyUCU and in particular ensure your postal address is right. We have been recommending for a while that you make sure your recorded postal address is your home address and we believe most of you have done this but double check anyway, particularly if you have recently moved home.

2. Commit to voting now. We are a democratic trade union and industrial action ballots are a key expression of that. Not voting prevents the union from acting and effectively silences the voices of those who do vote. A strong turnout helps us both nationally and locally – officers and negotiators need your power behind us. 

3. Inform yourself to decide how to vote. There will be a lot of emails, both nationally and locally, and I know all too well how hard that is to manage, but informed choice is at the heart of democracy. There will be national events going on. At Leeds we will be holding non-motion focused meetings on the different issues in the dispute for you to hear what the issues are, ask questions, and learn how industrial action will help us win. There will also be local meetings called by local reps, to allow you to meet other members in your area and build solidarity.  

Above all, please prepare to fight. No-one wants this, and it remains open to our employers across the UK to take the very simple steps needed to stop this from happening.  But if they won’t, we need to fight to win, to protect our working conditions, pay and pensions, to stamp out casualization and inequality, and to save our sector, and the health and wellbeing of all within it. Vote, and vote yes.  

 Face coverings 

As promised, due to the number of emails I have had about the new university position on face coverings, a few responses. What I am hearing is that it is better but not good enough and I agree. A number of people have asked about the wording that “No-one will be denied access to a teaching event for not wearing a face covering” This reflects what is stated in the latest government guidance for England, which is frankly incoherent. However, a number of universities have gone further and mandated facecoverings, including in teaching spaces, and we do not see why Leeds cannot do the same. If you are wondering what is happening around the country, a member at Sussex UCU, Andrew Chitty, is keeping a running account here   We are awaiting further clarity in the form of FAQs about, for example, what to do if a student refuses. And we note that all of this change is  happening far too late.  We will be discussing next steps at our General Meeting on 7th October – please come along and make your voice heard.  

In solidarity

Dr Chloe Wallace

Associate Professor in Law
School of Law
University of Leeds

Co-Director, Centre for Innovation and Research in Legal Education
Programme Leader, School of Law 4 year programmes

President, Leeds University UCU

@chloew1970

This page was last updated on 24 September 2021

Start of term and return to campus

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by
UCU reps have been pushing for a better university policy on face coverings and clearer support for staff who don’t feel safe returning to campus. Branch president Chloe Wallace emailed UCU members 21 September:
Face covering with UCU logo

Dear members

I am writing this email, for the first time in 18 months, from my office in the Liberty Building on campus. Like a lot of us,  I was anxious about returning to campus but also joyful about seeing colleagues and students again and being back in the place I have worked for 22 years. I am grateful to be here, but increasingly worried that rising case rates and reducing mitigations across society will mean that our return will be short-lived and we will be required to work from home again.

I want in this email to address two things which relate to return to campus and start of term

Facecoverings

UCU have been repeatedly raising with management your concerns about the University’s policy on face coverings and in particularly worrying about whether you can ask or require students to wear face coverings in class. As a result, we are expecting an improvement on university policy this week.  This is rather late, given the importance of setting the tone with students right from the beginning, but we are glad that your concerns are being listened to. In the meantime, please follow all health and safety guidance around campus and let us, and the health and safety team, know if you have any concerns.

Vulnerable staff

We have also heard, and raised with management, many concerns from staff about being pressurised to return to campus, even when you may have medical reasons to continue to work from home. We have been assured that nobody should be pressurised to come onto campus and particularly that if you are vulnerable to COVID-19, or live with someone who is, you should be enabled to work from home. This is also the case for disabled staff for whom working from home is a reasonable adjustment for reasons not related to COVID-19. We have emphasised the importance of making this clearer in University communication to empower staff to ask for what they need. If you are feeling pressurised to return to campus and your line manager is being unhelpful, please contact us via ucu@leeds.ac.uk and we will arrange a caseworker to support you. 

Our next General Meeting is on Thursday 7th October at 1pm, and we will be discussing these issues and many more. Please watch out for an email from Alan Smith with the agenda and details of the meeting and please do attend if you are able – our General Meetings will continue to be held online until further notice.

I am planning to be on campus two days a week for the time being, unless instructions change. If  you see me around, please do say hello – 18 months at home alone have taught me how much I value in person connection with others, however, brief – even if you can’t see my smile under my mask!

In solidarity

Chloe Wallace

Dr Chloe Wallace
Associate Professor in Law
School of Law
University of Leeds.

Co-Director, Centre for Innovation and Research in Legal Education
Programme Leader, School of Law 4 year programmes

President, Leeds University UCU

@chloew1970

This page was last updated on 21 September 2021

Return to more in-person activity

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

You will have seen that the University has issued further guidance in relation to returning to campus over the next month, including some in-person teaching and other activity. Much of this guidance has not been subject to trade union consultation, and I know that many of us as staff members have concerns, particularly given rising covid-19 case, hospitalisation and death rates, which, despite the vaccine roll-out, are higher than they were this time last year. 

UCU officers have again pressed HR for the university to give assurances to staff who are vulnerable to covid-19, or live with people who are, and therefore feel particularly vulnerable to and/or anxious about returning to in-person activity. HR say that the university will take into account people’s individual circumstances and they are keen to get the message across that anyone in this position should approach your head of school or line manager to discuss your situation and what can be done to support you. This applies to anyone who is concerned – you do not have to have a medical diagnosis or long term condition. If you do not wish to speak to your head of school, you can speak to your local HR manager instead. If these conversations do not go well and you are not meeting a sympathetic approach, please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk – the branch will take on cases individually and collectively to support members.  

We have heard concerns from UCU members about face coverings and in particular about students not being required to wear them in teaching space. It has to be said that the government’s positioning is not helping the University – it is difficult to enforce mask wearing when it is not compulsory elsewhere, and we recognise this. Officers are, however, continuing to raise this with the University: given the current case rate, we would like to see the position changed. 

There has been a lot of work going on around campus involving health and safety staff and trade union representatives around the kinds of mitigations that are needed to limit the spread of covid-19, recognising that nowhere can be 100% covid-safe. Rooms, including teaching spaces, will have a reduced capacity – this should be made clear in every room, as should necessary distance markings etc, and we urge everyone to respect those. You can find information about what is being done about things like cleaning and ventilation here  – this also includes information as to where to report any issues – please keep us in the loop if you have concerns.

This page was last updated on 8 September 2021