Reading University UCU

Your committee have primarily been immersed in scrutinising university finances, engaging with management, and meeting and working with the Chemistry department and with other colleagues to mobilise around management plans to close the Chemistry department and/or ‘reshape’ the university.

I now want to share with you where we are on a range of topics that we discussed at the recent Joint University UCU Committee (JUUC). There are items to report from that meeting on a range of topics, and I have tried to capture the key ones below. The minutes should be available from the University in due course.

This email is long but think it is important that colleagues have a full explanation, given the wider implications of our discussions.

Chemistry

Please note at the outset that we have not received a s188 letter formally notifying us of potential redundancies in Chemistry. [A s188 letter provides us with the details required by law, so that UCU can then effectively scrutinise the basis for any decisions around redundancies or changes to terms and conditions.]

I am somewhat relieved to share the news that the Chemistry department is not being closed “for the time being”. While this is an important step in the right direction, it is not the resolution we would have hoped for.

We remain puzzled as to the reasons why the flawed narrative of poor academic performance continues within senior management communications (see https://portal.reading.ac.uk/staff/all-news/2024/november/Chemistry-recommendations-Council-decision) , despite evidence from independent external examiners and from the Royal Society of Chemistry that shows this is a myth. While student outcomes and progression remain strong, and there is outperformance on quality of research as well as research income, it is disappointing that management continue to wrongly equate NSS scores (affected significantly by non-academic and non-departmental factors) to academic excellence. We will continue to work in the coming months to correct this misconception, as it is clearly having unjustified consequences.

The senior management decision to close the MSc Chem programme, deprives the Chemistry department of a reliable income stream that contributes to the department’s financial sustainability. Individual academics are concerned they will be deprived of the valuable contributions by students to their lab teams. Many of these students go on to do PhDs at Reading. It is worrying to find that senior management are seeking the end of such a crucial source of income on the basis of heavily disputed information at a time when they are also arguing for austerity on financial grounds. Senior management have had to admit to Council that some of the key data and analysis provided by them in support of the proposed cuts was factually incorrect. Despite this, and at a time when senior management are simultaneously pushing austerity on financial grounds, they have not yet chosen to withdraw the strategy and reconsider, which we continue to urge them to do.

Chemistry PGRs have formed an important part of the department and our community. The proposed closure of the MChem programme ends the possibility for many of our students to do PhDs and have careers in academia, because a Masters degree is a prerequisite for PhD level study in Chemistry. The postgraduate Masters loan is unfortunately insufficient to cover living costs and home fees; so a 4-year bachelors that results in an MChem, is an important access option, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Losing the MChem means that unless students can self-fund a Masters degree, Reading Chemistry graduates from working class backgrounds will not have a path to go on to careers in academia. The Chemistry department’s exceptionally diverse student body is a source of great pride, particularly with respect to inclusion in the sciences, and this regrettable decision by management will only further entrench the situation of groups that are already under-represented in academia.

Moreover, by eliminating support for research not aligned with REF UoA 3 (i.e., pharmaceutical chemistry) senior management will be denying a home to the high impact research done by our Chemistry colleagues in key areas such as energy materials, green energy and degradable plastics. Senior management are thus seriously undermining their own claims that Reading is a “green university”. We understand that colleagues have been told to expect “changes to staffing” and that colleagues not likely to be included in UoA 3 are understandably worried about the implications of such a statement.

Broader comments re Chemistry and the JUUC

In the run-up to this Council decision not to close the Chemistry department, a huge amount of support was received from students, external examiners, prominent experts and the Royal Society for Chemistry, all of whom chose to intervene without requiring prompting. Our Chemistry colleagues collectively met with RUCU committee on multiple occasions. During these meetings, we discussed various practical matters and our challenges to the rationale originally offered by UEB. These were then used as the basis for our branch negotiators’ discussions with management.

Specifically, at JUUC, I raised formally our members’ serious concerns about the information provided for the scrutiny by Senate, of the senior management proposal to close Chemistry. This Senate scrutiny step was a precursor to the UEB discussions with Council that took place on 19th and 20th of November. Your committee attends Senate in observer capacity only and was present when the Chemistry proposals were discussed. We discussed our concerns with Chemistry colleagues and members’ views were then raised the next day at the JUUC.

This was despite an attempt at JUUC by senior management to dissuade us from raising – during the RUCU president’s report – our concerns about the accuracy of the information provided by senior management to Senate, We maintained (politely and firmly of course) that waiting to highlight and address these errors, until after Council had authorised commencement of consultation for the closure of Chemistry, would just be too late. Senate and Council need to be confident that decisions of this magnitude are informed by accurate and robustly verifiable information. Senior management continued to argue that UEB would update Council with responses to the arguments put by the Chemistry department during Senate, and that the Senate representative on Council would try to capture what was discussed at Senate. We were not satisfied that this would be adequate. We also felt that this deprived Chemistry colleagues of the possibility to give a considered response to subsequent updates to UEB’s position. It would therefore result in an unbalanced narrative being heard by Council, which would be weighted in favour of the UEB position. We argued that any proposed significant changes to Chemistry (or to any other area) too are an integral and important component of scrutiny and discussion at JUUC. Despite some difficulty, we were ultimately able to bring home our arguments about the proposed closure of Chemistry and importantly ensure that these were recorded in the minutes.

One thing to note again, is that the relevant Council papers for the recent Council meeting were only made available / received on Friday/ Monday for a council meeting on Tuesday. This made proper scrutiny, reflection and comments very difficult, especially during a busy teaching term. Many of our members – even those who have exercised the right of all staff to have access to Council papers – may not have been able to provide comments or engage meaningfully. RUCU will continue to emphasise to senior management the need for colleagues to have the space and mechanisms to scrutinise decisions and raise queries. and raise queries consistent with senior management’s repeated position that staff can exercise this right.

We also ask that in addition to relevant information being circulated sufficiently in advance, it must also be accurate, complete and devoid of spin. You will recall the unfortunate redactions that I have already mentioned to you in my previous update.

RUCU continue to encourage ALL staff to request access to Council papers (https://reading.web.ucu.org.uk/resources/uor-governance/) and to keep abreast of what’s going on within the overarching decision-making structures at our University. Our engagement will allow for meaningful staff participation, remind those in governance positions including Senate and Council of our function of legitimate scrutiny, and encourage all of us to behave in a responsible, transparent and accountable manner. The engagement of all staff (including those who reside locally), with the Senate and Council papers, will also help us to engage with matters of interest to our community and to our students such as around the sale of University land, purchase of property and so on. Please share any comments about the most recent Council papers with ReadingUCU, if you have not done so already.

Temporary contracts for changes in hours

At JUUC we also requested a written update from about the use in some schools of contracts for temporary changes in hours and sought reassurance that colleagues in such categories are also given correct access to various protections e.g. during redundancies, redeployment etc.

Tanners farm

The Vice Chancellor apologised to us because senior management had failed to provide us with required information prior to the purchase of Tanners farm for around £16mn (See https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2024/University-News/New-farm-supports-plan-to-transform-the-future-of-food) which they are bound to do under an agreement that allows us to scrutinise transactions exceeding £10 mn. [See point 27 of the Memorandum of Understanding of August 2020 (https://reading.web.ucu.org.uk/files/2020/08/200813-MoU-University-of-Reading-UCU-Staff-Forum.pdf )]

He agreed to check if investment decisions are also included in the scope of the agreement, This is important because minutes of our discussions on transactions over £10m are used to inform Council’s discussion and decision-making. We expect to hear the VC’s position on this in due course. We have acknowledged the VCs apology and asked for a written update on this transaction, in the context of the financial position of the university.

Observer Status at Council

It can be difficult for us as RUCU to do a thorough scrutiny when we receive hundreds of pages of Council papers without context and/or access to the discussion; minutes provide only an attenuated view of matters discussed. As an element of good governance at the University, we continue to seek observer status at Council. Despite initial management scepticism, we have continued to press for this and have now received a decision from Chair of Council that although this was not possible (for fear that Council members would self-censor while taking positions), she and Council are considering other ways of facilitating our access. We remain in discussion, and hope that a resolution that will encourage mutual understanding and trust can be found.

Changes to GTA Scheme, issues from recent changes in early retirement factors implementation, changes to progression policies and changes to committees offering Health and Safety representation

All these topics were touched upon briefly (see minutes for details) to agree status and next steps. These will be discussed in further depth, in separate or future JUUC meetings.

Other Reminders

RUCU Social, National consultative ballot and UCU Day of Action on Palestine

Please do vote in the consultative e-ballot on the national pay and pay-related elements campaign. It is really important that we strengthen our negotiators’ positions as national victories have local consequences. Ellen has last week sent you an email reminder of the recommendations from RUCU.

We hope to hear from many of you in-person at the RUCU Social tomorrow, and online at the meeting on Wednesday 27th Nov with Dr Ghada Karmi as our contribution to UCU’s Day of Action on Palestine (details are included in an email that was sent on Thursday).

Best wishes

Deepa

(Branch President, Reading UCU)

The Vice-Chancellor recently announced that our university management would not be implementing the 2024-25 nationally negotiated pay award. Reading UCU committee in consultation with the branch do not find this deferral to be well justified. We want to explain what the pay award is and what you stand to lose over the year.

Your branch committee has created an indicative spreadsheet to show roughly how much money individual members of staff across different pay grades can expect to lose. The figures are gross figures for full-time staff before tax and NI contributions are deducted (part-time staff will need to pro-rata it). Note that in addition to loss of pay, you will also lose the extra pension contributions that would go towards your pension.

The spreadsheet shows the following

-gross annual salary and how much you lose per month by spinal point
*Stage 1 of pay award – August 2024 till February 2025 (orange columns)
*Stage 2 of pay award – March 2025 till June 2025 (blue columns)
-total pay loss for full deferral (red columns)

UCEA’s pay offer for 2024-25 is a staged approach which results in final uplifts ranging from 2.5% to 5.7%. The staged approach means there would initially be a lower pay increase in August 2024 and the full increase would not be implemented until March 2025 as follows:

– From 1 August 2024, an uplift equivalent to £900 a year will be applied to all pay points.
– From 1 March 2025, the balance will be added to spine points to complete the uplift for 2024-25. Pay point 5 receives a total 5.7% uplift and the uplift gradually tapers to 2.5% at pay point 38 and above.

The UCEA guideline states that such a deferral does not require to be back paid.

We encourage members to share this information and to reply with any further comments.

We will also be sending around a survey to collect members’ views.

Best wishes
Reading UCU

Further to our recent branch meeting, here is a recap of where we are.

University finances and recruitment update

The university has announced (during an all-staff financial update and the Q&A with responses to staff questions) that they have not achieved their over-ambitious student recruitment targets (set at 15% greater than last year). While student recruitment figures are not yet finalised, the University has informed staff of an addition to the existing deficit of somewhere around £20m.

The budget for £2024-25 had previously been set at achieving a deficit of £20m. However, this further £20m deficit due to not achieving these unrealistic student recruitment targets in the budget means that Council has now been persuaded by management to increase this year’s projected deficit to £30m. However, this still leaves additional cuts of roughly £10m to be made this year. Senior mgmt intends on achieving these savings through one or more of the following 3 routes

1 restraining our capital programme

2 using investment assets to plug cash flow gaps

3 reducing operational expenses.

Of these, RUCU’s clear emphasis is on review of options (1) and (2), particularly in the short term, in order to ensure pay, conditions and workload of all staff remain safe and secure.

Based on our scrutiny of the documentation already provided to us (and with thanks to the RUCU working party scrutinising finances and recruitment figures), we formally asked the Vice Chancellor at the recent JUUC to propose to Council that the University did not make overpayments this year on existing loans, while such cuts were on the horizon. We will communicate their response to you on this shortly.

The need for transparency and good governance

Senior management are considering a range of cuts to affect the operational expenses lever, which is beyond our preferred two options as above. One key area of saving they envisage here is from delaying the implementation of the nationally agreed pay increase which was scheduled for implementation in August 2024. Although this is termed a ‘deferral’, we want to remind members that any such decision is not really a deferral as one would normally understand the term i.e. the way this deferral works isn’t such that the money would simply be paid to us at a future date (it will not be paid to us later in the format of some kind of backpay). Instead any salary increases due to us in the intervening 11 months of the ‘deferral’ would not be paid back to staff at all. We will all essentially lose that nationally agreed increase for a period of 11 months, if this ‘deferral’ is implemented i.e., it would be a deferral of the date on which the implementation of the nationally agreed pay agreement would normally take place (see linked pdf from UCEA): https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/14596/240827-Appendix—UCEA-final-offer/pdf/240827_Appendix_-_UCEA_final_offer.pdf

University management is currently in discussions with Reading UCU and the Staff Forum to explain the rationale for this proposal and we continue to contest both the need for and the validity of staff bearing the costs for what we see as poor management decision-making and good performance despite unrealistic targets. Please note that this negotiation is affected by the fact that as part of any such deferral arrangement, the University is only required to consult with us (including opening up its books to us), but it is not required to reach agreement before any such implementation. In the interest of good industrial relations both parties are expected to engage in, and are engaging in such consultation in good faith. But we are aware that this is a lever that sr management can choose to use without our consent, given their own priorities.

In order to understand the rationale for staff bearing any of the costs, RUCU has sought information, including financial information. The Vice-Chancellor has on multiple occasions repeated publicly, his commitment to transparency and accountability including at his all-staff briefings. As part of normal scrutiny, your RUCU reps typically receive Council papers (including segments that are received by the committee under terms of confidentiality). However, the most recent Council papers (which you can also request access to) provided to us have seen redactions of two key papers.·

item 5 – financial backgrounds and mitigations for 24/25

item 6 – Loddon Garden Village

We hope you will agree that without details of the financial backgrounds and mitigations under consideration, it is difficult for your committee to properly review and then discuss options with you, our members, or to make any recommendations to you. During our recent branch meeting we took a show of hands and members overwhelmingly agreed that we should push for this information so we can make informed decisions. We continue to have discussions with the University and are engaging constructively with them.

Our members are also concerned about transparency and accountability during VC all-staff talks, as staff questions are currently being amalgamated. While members recognise that this is intended to increase efficiency, it sometimes means that the amalgamation results in a change of direction and thrust to the question or a loss of nuance. Our members are also concerned that some answers contain a significant amount of spin and need to be fuller / more factual to provide an accurate response. Members have also raised the issue of more pointed questions not being published even on the chat, during the meeting. We will reiterate our expectation that going forward all questions will be published, so we can all understand the range of concerns staff wish to raise, and so that there is greater accountability consistent with the purpose of such an all-staff briefing.

We recently had a series of helpful meetings with UoR finance team. At our most recent session and having sent in a set of questions prior to the meeting, we covered a lot of ground. But it is taking the team a while to provide responses to some of the questions and so we are still awaiting some key segments of information though we have now received some of the information. We have commenced our scrutiny of what we have already received, but as with a jigsaw puzzle, it takes the appearance of a few key segments to get a sense of the whole picture.

Working Groups

Members can contribute to our ongoing work through the working parties on Academic Probation and Personal Titles; Finances and Recruitment; and Workload. We welcome those with expertise or experience in these or allied areas and are grateful for any help . The more members from different areas across the university contribute, the stronger our understanding and therefore negotiating position will be. Please email if you have any questions.

The following motion carried at the RUCU OGM 24.10.24:

We are concerned about the limited protection against inflation that is currently offered by USS.

The previous reduction of inflation protection to a mere 2.5% has been defeated and this is a significant victory.
However, recent events, in which UK inflation exceeded 10%, have demonstrated that low inflation cannot simply be assumed and that the provision of a decent pension requires an increase in protection.

In past years pensions rose with RPI. The new arrangements, even after the recent very welcome agreements, give USS pension recipients increases only up to 5%, then only half of subsequent increases, with even this being capped at 10% (meaning that recipients would receive 7.5% only).

The current arrangements therefore threaten USS members to a slow and grinding descent into impoverishment.

We therefore propose that the UCU campaigns to raise the inflation cap on our pensions, to extend the protection that they have in the case of inflation being higher than 5%. We accept that changes in contribution rates might be necessary in order to achieve this. However, we feel that action on this front is vital if the USS is to avoid failing to discharge its responsibilities to members.

Reading UCU is working on building up a local strike hardship fund, to help support our members taking action and who are placed in financial need as a consequence of employer deductions. This local fund is intended as a ‘top up’ to the national fighting fund, especially for our most vulnerable members on lower wages, precarious contracts and/or experiencing any form of financial hardship.

National UCU guidance on local hardship funds: ucu_branch-hardship-fund-guidance.pdf

By donating you support RUCU UCU members who wish to take action but who would struggle to do so without your help. We support each other to maximise our chances of winning, and of winning as quickly as possible. We thank those able to make a donation – no matter how small – for their display of solidarity and their message of support to our members. Your contribution makes our collective position stronger.

Please get in touch if you wish to make a donation, this will help with our auditing processes, but also because we would want to thank contributors!

https://reading.web.ucu.org.uk/strike-fund/

A last chance to make the most of the Summer UCU CPD Workload schedule – we encourage as many members as possible to attend one of these two online sessions.

Challenging Excessive Workload in Education

The full aims of the interactive workshop are to:

-Identify why excessive workload is so damaging to education and staff
-Identify collective responses to tackling excessive workloads
-Develop an understanding of workload as a health and safety issue
-Make members aware of the UCU campaign on workload and how they can contribute

Wednesday 10 July 2:00pm-3:30pm click here to book

How to Say No with Confidence: Challenging Workload Culture

The full aims of the interactive workshop are to:

-Identify assertiveness techniques and strategies for saying “no” at work
-Learn to use Health and Safety legislation to push back in order to protect us against workplace stress and health risks due to excessive workloads.
-Understand the role of collective action in changing workplace culture through union campaigning.

Thursday 11 July 10:30am-12 noon click here to book

Please let us know if you have any questions and/or if you intend to attend one of these sessions –

Thank you everyone

Reading UCU

Dear RUCU members,

We are sending you this email to invite you to the Reading UCU Annual General Meeting 2024.

This is the formal announcement, required under local rules (https://reading.web.ucu.org.uk/local-rules/), of the meeting which will take place on Thursday the 13th of June 12:00. An agenda will be circulated for the meeting 14 days beforehand, by the 30th of May, as also required under local rules. We will need to have received any items for the agenda, including motions, by 12:00 on 28th of May.

If you would like to participate more in the Branch’s work, please consider standing for election as an ordinary Committee member or as one of the Branch Officers. If you would like more information, there is a description of the responsibilities of the roles currently in the Local rules of our website at www.reading.web.ucu.org.uk in section 8 (also attached), or have a chat with one of the existing Committee members (names and contact details also on the website).

Our Returning Officer, Moray McAulay (Southern UCU Regional Official), will need to receive all nominations by 12 noon Thursday the 16th of May. ​Please send your nominations to Colette Maxfield, the Branch Administrator, who will pass them on to the returning officer. The nomination form is attached and also available on the Branch website at
https://reading.web.ucu.org.uk/files/2024/04/RUCU-Nomination-form-for-Committee-and-Officers-2024-25.docx

Each self-nomination should be supported by two separate members of the Branch. Please include the two members in your email (in cc), so that they can email to confirm support for your nomination. Positions for which there is only one candidate will be elected unopposed, while any elections required will be carried out through an online ballot of members in the weeks between the close of nominations and the AGM.

Please do let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you everybody and take care

Reading UCU

New and improved statutory rights around Carer’s Leave and Flexible working come into force on 6th April 2024.

Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working: https://www.acas.org.uk/acas-code-of-practice-on-flexible-working-requests

Acas Carer’s leave Code of Practice: https://www.acas.org.uk/carers-leave

The University carers leave policy provides the right to take up to one week of leave per rolling 12 months: https://www.reading.ac.uk/human-resources/policies-and-procedures/absence-and-leave/carers-leave

If you need any further information, support or guidance/ representation, please remember that RUCU has a team of caseworkers who can support members.

Dooley Harte, UCU National Pensions Official, will visit the University of Reading to give us an in-person seminar on USS Pensions.

PLEASE FIND THE POWERPOINT OF THIS PRESENTATION HERE: University of Reading – Basic Introduction to Pensions

Thursday 21st March 13:00 – 14:00, Harry Nursten 234 Whiteknights Campus.

This open meeting is free and open to all staff, both UCU members and non-members, and relevant to everyone who is eligible to join the USS pension scheme.
Dooley will update us on the changes to the Scheme and ongoing USS negotiations. You will also be able to ask questions.

USS Pension Changes

In 2022 a range of changes were made to our pension benefits. UCU and UUK have now come to an agreement that reinstates previously-cut benefits, offers an augmentation and agrees lower costs going forward for both members and employers.

USS members will already have seen positive changes from the reduced contribution rates in this year’s payslips. As an example, for a member earning £45,000, this amounts to an extra £111 net every month in your pay slip (figures from UCU HQ approximations).

For full details of all changes see USS webpages on what’s changing and when.

Important information for non-USS members

If you are not a USS member, we recommend that you consider joining the scheme now. It offers important benefits including death-in-service cover and the reduced costs have made the Scheme even more affordable, particularly to our lowest paid and precarious eligible members.

Of particular importance is that if you join before the end of March, you will also benefit from the augmentation uplift of a further £215 per annum in pensions in retirement see USS webpages for full set of FAQs on the uplift).

USS Pension Changes Summary

1 – Restoration of benefits to pre-2022 levels to take effect from April 2024
accrual rate returned to 1/75 (had been reduced to 1/85)
DB threshold now restored to circa £70,000 (previously £60,000 before April 2022 but had been taken down to £40,000 after the cuts)
threat to inflation protection removed
2 – Augmentation / recovery of benefits (for benefits lost 2022-24): One-off pension payment of £215 (per annum paid in retirement) to all active members plus an associated £645 retirement lump sum. (Different calculations apply for pensioner members and those in other categories). Please inform USS non-members who are eligible and encourage all eligible members to join the scheme urgently before 1st April 2024
3 – DC pot: Anyone who accrued money in the DC pot due to threshold changes in 2022-24 will keep that pot untouched too.
4 – Reduced contribution rates –from January 2024. Contribution rates reduced to 6.1% for employees and 14.5% for employers

If you have any queries, please email RUCU branch administrator.

Best wishes

Reading UCU

Have your say in who becomes the next UCU General Secretary and join us at the hustings online:-

Thursday 1 February, 12.30-14.00

https://www.ucu.org.uk/elections-2023-24

You can use the form to submit a question for the hustings. Questions must be submitted by 12 noon on Wednesday 24th January 2024:-

https://yoursay.ucu.org.uk/s3/General-Secretary-hustings-question-submission-form

UCU General Secretary Candidates

We have a very strong field of candidates for UCU General Secretary and invite you to peruse the candidates’ manifestos, before deciding who you would like to vote for:-

Vicky Blake https://vickyblakeucu.uk/

Dr Jo Grady Www.grady4gs.com

Professor Ewan McGaughey https://ewanmg.uk/

Sara Weiner https://saira4gs.wordpress.com/

There has never been a better time to participate in union democracy: there has never been a better chance to improve workers rights and conditions; we wish all the UCU General Secretary candidates the best of luck for the hustings, their campaigns, for the election and for their and our collective future.

We stand together!

Reading UCU Committee.