Next general meeting – speakers from Sheffield and Nottingham

12.45 – 2pm Monday 15 June, online.

At our next general meeting we will welcome guest speakers from two branches in dispute: Nottingham, who are currently undertaking a marking and assessment boycott and Sheffield, who are taking action short of a strike. Please come along to show solidarity and learn from their strategies and experiences in the face of redundancies. There will also be a rule change motion to vote on in this meeting. Please see the email dated 5^th June for more information. 

Nominations to Committee

Committee has decided to reopen nominations for vacant officer’s roles and the remaining ordinary committee member role for 2026/27. The deadline for nominations (and stating willingness to be nominated) for the UCU University of Leeds branch committee for the 2026-2027 academic year is mid-day Wednesday 30 June.

There is one outstanding ordinary committee member role and the following officer roles up for election 

• President
• Treasurer
• Membership officer
• Equality officer
• Campaigns officer
• Casework Officer

You can find out more about the roles and how to nominate a colleague on our Standing for election to the UCU committee webpage. 

Nominating a candidate

To nominate a candidate – a UCU University of Leeds branch member, they don’t have to work in your department – please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk, or you can email the branch administrator directly (see email version of this post for the University of Leeds email) if the candidate wishes to keep their nomination more confidential. No explanation for your nomination is needed – it is sufficient to say “I wish to nominate [name] for [role]”.

Please check first that they are willing to stand for election for that role, and whether they have already been nominated. Candidates only need two nominations; additional nominations just create unnecessary work for the returning officer (our branch administrator).

Candidates

Please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk before the deadline to state that you wish to be a candidate for election to the specific role.

Please do not seek more than two nominations; additional nominations just create unnecessary work for the returning officer (our branch administrator).

The term of office is 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027.

UCU committee elections drop-in

12-1pm Tuesday 16^th June, online.

Are you interested in applying for a committee or branch officer role, but want to know more about what it would entail? We’re holding a drop in on Tuesday 16 June from 12-1pm so you can get answers to any questions you have about the branch roles and any arrangements for getting ‘buyout’ from your university role. 

Topic: UCU committee elections drop-in

Time: Jun 16, 2026 12:00 PM London

(See email version of this post for Zoom link)

Department rep election

You will have received an email about this but in case you missed it, please note that department rep elections are also now open. 

To nominate a colleague as a department rep please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk. No explanation is needed – it is sufficient to say “I wish to nominate [name] as [department rep / department health and safety rep] for [department as listed]”.

Please check first that they are willing to stand for election for that role, and whether they have already been nominated. Candidates only need two nominations; additional nominations just create unnecessary work for the returning officer (our branch administrator).

You can find out more on our Choosing your UCU department representatives – UCU University of Leeds Branch webpage.

Know your Rights Training

1-2pm Monday 22^nd June 2025 Quaker Meeting Hall, Woodhouse Lane

This ‘Know Your Rights’ workshop is supported with materials from Green and Black Cross, and is a shorter version of their 2 hour workshops. These workshops aim to give participants the knowledge on police tactics commonly used against protesters. Police officers often rely on the lack of legal understanding of those participating in protest. This interactive session will give you the tools to take action more confidently.

We will cover:

• The Five Key Messages
• What to take with you on a protest, and how to communicate safely
• What to do if you witness an arrest, and what to expect if you are arrested
• Laws commonly used against protesters

Workload survey

Have you completed UCU’s workload survey yet? This is for members and non-members working across post-16 education. Jo Grady wrote in an email to all members: “We look forward to sharing the results in due course (including branch-level data where there are enough responses)”. Please click here to start the UCU workload survey. Since we know workload is a problem for many of you, it would be great to get enough responses at Leeds to see branch level data.

Durham Miners’ Gala, Saturday July 11^th – free coach

UNISON have paid for a coach for Durham Miners’ Gala again this year. They have kindly extended the invite to travel on this coach to Leeds UCU members.

“We have booked a coach for Durham Miners’ Gala again this year. If you would like to come along, please email us at unison@leeds.ac.uk to book your place. The coach will leave Parkinson steps at 8:30am and leave Durham at 5pm. Last year, the coach had to park at the Park-and-Ride, so there may be a cost of bus fare to and from this location for you to attend the march”.

Professor James Dickens Emeritus Professor Privileges Restored

On 1 June 2026 the university settled with Professor James Dickins on the first day of an employment tribunal hearing, restoring his emeritus professor privileges and withdrawing a written warning. Professor Dickins has been fighting the removal of his privileges since 2024 and took legal action challenging the University on the grounds of discrimination because of pro-Palestinian beliefs. You can read more about the legal case in this article.

This page was last updated on 9 June 2026