Email to staff 17 February 2022

Dear colleague,

As you will know, the University and College Union (UCU) called on its members to take strike action in relation to the USS and pay and conditions.

If you took part in strike action 

If you participated in strike action during week 1 (Monday 14 to Friday 18 February 2022) and have not already notified us, you are required to do so by completing the online form. In order for pay deductions to be made in the February payroll, we require all notifications of industrial action for week 1 to be submitted no later than 5pm on Friday 18 February. If strike participation notifications are received after this date, all deductions will be made in the March payroll.

You will be asked whether you wish to continue to make pension contributions in respect of days when you are on strike. I would also advise you to refer to the information on pension contributions and pension benefits on the staff industrial action web pages.

Further strike dates are planned as follows:

• Week 2: Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 February 2022 (2 days)
• Week 3: Monday 28 February, Tuesday 1 March and Wednesday 2 March (3 days)

The action short of strike already notified remains in place. To remind colleagues this includes:

• Only working contracted hours and duties and not volunteering to do more (from 1 December 2021).
• Not rescheduling classes and lectures cancelled due to strike action (from 21 December 2021).
• Not covering for absent colleagues (from 5 January 2022).
• Removing uploaded materials related to, and/or not sharing materials related to, lectures or classes that will be or have been cancelled as a result of strike action (from 5 January 2022).

The consequences of taking part in industrial action, as in line with University policy are:

Strike action: we will withhold a day's pay (1/365th of salary) for each day you participate in strike action. 

Action short of a strike: The University does not accept partial performance of duties, believing it to be a breach of the contract of employment. Where we view ASOS as constituting partial performance, we reserve the right to withhold pay. However, to date, our position has been not to enforce this right. We will continue to review the impact of ASOS and may, at a future point, change our position in terms of withholding pay. The exact response to any level of action, including the right to withhold pay and the amount of pay that may be withheld, will be considered when the specific detail and likely impact are known. If your actions do not constitute a breach of contract, then your pay will not be affected. 

You can find more information and FAQs on the industrial action web pages but if you have any questions, please contact us at hr-enquiries@york.ac.uk.

With best wishes, 

Sophie Thompson
Interim Head of HR Operations