4February2020
These pages provide further information for students about the University & College Union’s (UCU) participation in industrial action in 2019/20.
Please see more information on specific ballot issues here.
Information on the industrial action for University colleagues is available on the Staff Portal.
The current notified periods of action are:
Strike action:
- Thursday 20 and Friday 21 February (two days)
- Monday 24, Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 February (three days)
- Monday 2, Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 March (four days)
- Monday 9, Tuesday 10, Wednesday 11, Thursday 12 and Friday 13 March (five days).
Action short of strike (ASOS):
- commencing from 25 November 2019 and finishing no later than 29 April 2020
We understand you will be very concerned about the possible impact of this action on your studies and we take our responsibility to mitigate disruption very seriously.
Here are some key points to note:
- Not all staff will participate in the action and it is likely that impact will vary across Schools, Departments and Functions
- The majority of teaching will go ahead on strike days, so you should assume that your classes will take place if you have not been notified otherwise
- We anticipate that Support Centres, the Library, cafes and other facilities on campus will remain open and available
- your access to campus will not be prevented by picket lines and staff will respect your commitment to your studies
As members of staff are not obliged to tell us in advance if they plan to take action, mitigating the impact on our day-to-day activities is challenging. However, we are committed to taking all reasonable steps to ensure that any disruption is kept to a minimum, informed by our previous experience of similar action
If some of your teaching is cancelled
If teaching does not take place, please help us to keep track and support you by letting us know, complete this form. We have asked all Schools to make arrangements to make up for any missed teaching, which may include rescheduling, combining missed classes with other classes, or providing materials for you to review independently. Your School will inform you of what will be put in place although this may not be until after the period of strike action (please see our frequently asked questions for further information). Please keep in contact with your School, check Blackboard and your University email account regularly for updates.
If you feel your assessed coursework has been impacted
Some assessments may be impacted by the industrial action e.g. if you have an in-class test/ lab practical or presentation that does not take place, or if teaching relating to your assessment does not happen on the day scheduled. We will do all we reasonably can to ensure that your academic performance in assessments is not unfairly impacted. Your school will be working pro-actively to identify issues and take appropriate steps. This could be by re-scheduling assessments that are cancelled during the strike period, extending the deadlines, removing assessments from the module, or amending them.
However, we recognise this will be an area of concern and we have provided a means for you to notify us of instances where you feel that your performance in an assessment has been negatively impacted. This is called our Impact of Strike Action on Academic Performance process. Your School will review these notifications to ensure they are taking appropriate action and will keep you updated, this may not be until after the period of strike action.
If you feel your exams have been been impacted
Formal end of year exams are still some time away and we would anticipate that any missed teaching and learning opportunities would have been made up for by then. Schools will be taking steps to ensure that you are not unfairly disadvantaged in these and other early exams. If, however, after the exam you feel that your performance has been negatively impacted you should complete the Impact of Strike Action on Academic Performance notification. This will remain in place until after the summer examinations period. Your School will review these notifications and inform you of what adjustments will be made.
If you have questions or concerns that are not addressed above please read our detailed frequently asked questions for further advice. If you have other questions that we have not answered here, please speak to your School, Support Centre, the Henley Helpdesk, or the Graduate School Office (if you are a research student).
For all other queries you can contact our dedicated email IndActionStudent@reading.ac.uk
If you wish to make a formal complaint
If you do not feel the University has sufficiently mitigated the impact of the industrial action on your studies, we have set up a dedicated complaints process for you to use. Please do first consider speaking to your School about the arrangements they have put in place, or using the Impact of Strike Action on Academic Performance process, where appropriate. Click here to access our complaints form.