Industrial action
Email sent to all staff by Jennifer Sewel, University Secretary, on Wednesday 16 November.
Dear colleagues,
You may be aware that UCU, UNISON and Unite have notified the University that they are calling on members to take industrial action.
We do not know which employees are UCU, UNISON and Unite members, therefore we must write to all staff, to ensure eligible staff who choose to participate in the action know what we expect them to do.
The following information is only directly relevant for staff who are intending to take part in industrial action.
Strike action
- Three days of strike action have been announced by University and College Union (UCU) on Thursday 24, Friday 25 and Wednesday 30 November. Action short of strike (ASOS), by UCU, will commence on Wednesday 23 November and continue until no later than Thursday 20 April 2023.
- Seven days of strike action have been announced by UNISON on Thursday 24, Friday 25, Saturday 26, Sunday 27, Monday 28, Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 November.
- Five days of strike action have been announced by Unite on Thursday 24, Friday 25, Monday 28, Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 November.
If you are eligible to participate in the strike, you are not obliged to tell us in advance that you intend to participate, but we encourage you to let your line manager know.
If you take strike action, you are required to report your participation as soon as possible upon your return to work following the strike dates and, in any event, no later than 5pm on Thursday 8 December 2022.
If you work part time or a shift pattern, you are asked to confirm the number of hours that you were scheduled to work on the strike participation day(s).
Please report your participation via Employee Self Service (ESS) or by visiting hr.leeds.ac.uk using the Windows Virtual Desktop.
If you work in cleaning services and you do not have access to Employee Self Service, please notify your line manager of your participation and they will report this for you.
One day’s pay will be deducted for each day of participation in strike action. The calculation of one day’s pay will be 1/365th of annual salary for full time employees, and the actual hours contracted for that day for employees who work part time hours or shift patterns.
Deductions will be processed no earlier than the February pay cycle.
There may be impact where salary is deducted due to participation in industrial action, employee and employer pension contributions will not be made, and pensionable service will not accrue. Further information on this will be added to the FAQs.
For technical reasons, I need to make it clear that the withholding of pay is without prejudice to any other right or remedy of the University, including any claim for damages for breach of contract.
I regret the need to write to you in these terms but hope that you understand that it is necessary to outline the University’s position.
Information is also available on For Staff and if you need any further information please speak with your manager or head of school or service in the first instance.
Yours sincerely,
Jennifer Sewel
University Secretary