Declaration of action short of a strike

The University of Leicester has sadly taken the position that staff participating in the Marking & Assessment Boycott (MAB) should lose 50% pay each day from the moment the marking becomes available until they declare the end of their participation in the action. We expect that they will seek to deduct pay on this basis—although we have challenged and will continue to challenge this position.

The position of Leicester UCU is that members:

• are not in breach of contract the moment marking becomes available.
• should only report action the day after the marking deadline has passed.
• should estimate how many days they would have ordinarily spent marking the assessments allocated to them, work back from the marking deadline that number of days, and report that date as the start of the action.
• should put the marking deadline as the date for the end of the action.

Example:

My marking deadline is 14 June 2023. I have 25 essays to mark. I estimate that these would normally take 30 minutes each. My marking would take 12.5 hours in total. With an eight-hour working day, this extends over two days. I therefore declare the start of my action as 12 June and the end my action as 13 June.

The form below generates a report as a PDF document. You should use this form, rather than the official university declaration form. (There is no legal obligation to report using the form provided by the employer.) The form also includes the response recommended by UCU nationally, that asks managers to explain the basis of reductions they have threatened.

You should report separately for each assessment you boycott, unless the dates overlap, in which case you can use a single form and calculate the total marking boycotted once the final deadline has passed.

Once you have generated the PDF, please email it to your line manager.

If you prefer, you can post the form.

Please note that the form does not automatically go to your line manager. You must email or post it.

Reporting form

NAME:

EMPLOYEE NUMBER:

This number can sometimes be found on the bottom of your ID card (not your Library Number), on a hard copy payslip, or by logging into Employee Self-Service. Please check this carefully.

DO YOU WISH TO CONTRIBUTE AS NORMAL TO YOUR PENSION SCHEME DURING ACTION SHORT OF A STRIKE Yes No

We recommend that you select “Yes” if you are part of the USS pension scheme.

START OF ACTION:

END OF ACTION:

See above for guidance.