Frequently Asked Questions for staff are available, covering topics such as:

1. How and when participation in the Marking and Assessment Boycott is considered to have (i) begun and (ii) ended
2. When colleagues who are taking action need to declare their participation
3. How participation will affect pay
4. A series of examples of how pay will be deducted during the Marking and Assessment Boycott
   

Please visit the Marking and Assessment Boycott section of the to find out more.

FAQs for students

Our primary focus is to ensure that our students are not disadvantaged and that there is minimal disruption to their studies and progression. The University has established processes to manage this type of disruption. Students can find out more in the .

UCU had served notice on 5 April for industrial action with regard to both disputes, but following the outcome of their member consultation, no further industrial action will be taken at this time on the USS pension scheme.

However, UCU will proceed with further industrial action on pay, in the form of action short of a strike (ASOS), including a marking and assessment boycott (MAB) commencing today, Thursday 20 April. The MAB may cover any of the activity and processes related to setting, running and marking assessments.Ìý

UCU mandate for strike action

At the beginning of April, UCU renewed its mandate for strike action for a further 6 months ending on 30 September.

More about the Marking and Assessment Boycott

Our primary focus is to ensure that our students are not disadvantaged by this proposed action and that there is minimal disruption to their studies and progression.

The University has established processes to manage this type of disruption and will be working hard with student representatives atÌýtheÌýStudents’ Union (SUSU) and other colleagues to implement our contingency plans.

Students are advised to continue to attend and prepare for lectures, seminars, exams, assessments, and other learning activities, unless informed otherwise.

Additional information

for further details about a MAB and how participating in this action impacts pay.

(UCEA) have released following the results of UCU’s consultative ballot.

Recent SUSSED posts related to industrial action.

USS update 14 March 2023.

The statement refers to information from the USS Trustee which suggests that the forthcoming 2023 valuation is likely to reveal a high probability of being able to improve benefits and reduce contributions. We would encourage colleagues to read the .

The latest valuation will be based on a snapshot of the USS pension scheme on 31 March 2023, with the full process of valuation scheduled to run into 2024, as set out in the .

This extra day is in addition to the ongoing Action Short of a Strike (ASOS) and the remainder of UCU’s 18 days strike action which are planned for the following dates:

• Thursday 16 and Friday 17 March
• Monday 20, Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 March

The University respects the right of trade union members to take industrial action but hopes that support for our students and other University activities will be a major consideration when members are deciding whether to participate.

Students

You should continue to prepare for and attend lectures, seminars, exams, assessments and other learning activities, unless informed otherwise.

If you have any concerns or issues, please contact  The Student Hub – your first point of contact for any support and advice.   also provides free, independent, and confidential advice and information on practical matters.

Staff and students

´¡â€¯ provides up-to-date information about planned action with related advice and guidance.

Further information:

Recent posts related to industrial action.

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) has advised employers that, after further facilitated discussions through the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), pay negotiations have now concluded, and that participating Higher Education institutions – including Southampton – should proceed to implement the pay outcome.ÌýImplementation is without the agreement of the sector trades unions, with both parties stating that an impasse had been reached in respect of the pay uplift.

The pay outcome provides for increases of between 5.0% and 7.0% to the spinal points we use at Southampton.

Implementation will be staged, as follows:

• With effect 1 February 2023, the full-time equivalent values of spine points 10 to 41 will increase by £1,000, and spine points 42 and above will increase by 2.0%. This part of the uplift will be implemented in March pay, backdated to 1 February 2023.
• With effect 1 August 2023, further uplifts will apply, such that spine points 10-14 will have increased by 7.0%, spine points 15-25 will have increased by 6.0% and spine points 26 and above will have increased by 5.0% compared to their 31 January 2023 values. This part of the uplift will be implemented in August.

These increases are in addition to the investment made independently by the University to enhance our Level 1 to 6 and Level 7 pay scales with effect from 1 January 2023. Taken together, they will deliver cumulative base pay increases during 2023 that average 9.2% and range from 7.1% to 16.8% for our Level 1 to 7 employees, in addition to any contractual incremental progression due.

This sequence of pay changes is complex, and so we have produced side-by-side pay scales and a series of to demonstrate their impact.

Previous SUSSED posts on pay negotiations:

21 February: Pay negotiations update: Join statement issues: industrial action paused

30 January: ÌýUpdate on 2023-24 New JNCHES pay round

7 December: Early commencement of 2023-24 New JNCHES pay round

Following last week’s discussions, facilitated by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), UCEA and the higher education sector trade unions have now issued a joint statement.

Both parties agreed that some progress has been made on the uplift at the lower end of the pay spine and that a pay impasse, rather than an agreement, has been reached. The joint statement sets out a number of follow-up actions which will now take place.

Both sides recognised the need to allow for a period of calm during further Acas-facilitated discussions, and agreed that:

• no industrial action will take in the weeks commencing 20 February or 27 February
• HE institutions will not implement the new pay award during that period.

This means that no pay uplift will be included in February salaries, but it remains UCEA’s intention to see an uplift paid in March and backdated to February.

The joint statement is available here.

On 25 January, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) put forward an improved, final pay offer on behalf of participating employers, including Southampton.

The final offer provides for increases of between 5.0% and 7.0% to the spinal points we use at Southampton. Implementation would be staged such that uplifts of between 2.0% and 2.8% would be payable earlier than usual, with effect from 1 February 2023, with the balance payable from the normal pay settlement implementation date on 1 August 2023.

In combination with the to enhance our Level 1 to 6 and Level 7 pay scales with effect from 1 January 2023, this offer would deliver cumulative base pay increases during 2023 that average 9.2% and range from 7.1% to 16.8% for our Level 1 to 7 employees, in addition to last year’s pay settlement and any contractual incremental progression due.

The full 18 days are as follows:

• Week 1 – Wednesday 1 February
• Week 2 – Thursday 9 and Friday 10 February
• Week 3 – Tuesday 14, Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 February
• Week 4 – Tuesday 21, Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 February
• Week 5 – Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 March
• [No action week commencing Monday 6 March]
• Week 6 – Thursday 16 and Friday 17 March
• Week 7 – Monday 20, Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 March

Action Short of a Strike (ASOS) will continue as part of the UCU’s balloted mandate,Ìýuntil no later than 20 April 2023Ìý(or at a time when the dispute is considered to be resolved) but does not include a marking and assessment boycott.

The University respects the right of trade union members to take industrial action but hopes that support for our students and other University activities will be a major consideration when members are deciding whether to participate. We will continue to engage constructively with our local UCU branch, while negotiations take place at a national level to resolve this dispute.

The University is committed to protecting the experience of our students and we will be working with colleagues across the University to mitigate any disruption caused by industrial action.

Our provides FAQs from both staff and students.

Further information:

.

This will be the first of 18 days of strike action across 150 UK universities, between February and March, which were announced by UCU following their Higher Education Committee meeting on 12 January.

Action Short of a Strike (ASOS) will continue as part of the UCU’s balloted mandate, but the marking and assessment boycott, scheduled for January, will not go ahead.

The industrial action is part of an ongoing national dispute over pay, pensions and working conditions.

Ongoing pay negotiations

The 2023/24 pay negotiations have been brought forward and are currently ongoing between the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and national trade unions (including UCU, UNISON and Unite). On 11 January, UCEA put forward a pay offer as part of these negotiations. . The next negotiating meeting is scheduled for 25 January.

Participating in industrial action

The University respects the right of trade union members to take industrial action but hopes that support for our students and other University activities will be a major consideration when members are deciding whether to participate.

The University is committed to protecting the experience of our students and we will be working with colleagues across the University to mitigate any disruption caused by industrial action.

For information and frequently asked questions relevant to both staff and students, please visit our .

Negotiations normally take place annually, between March and May, with the aim of achieving settlement and implementation by August.ÌýThis latest commitment will see up to three negotiating meetings take place in December and January and – if required – an accelerated formal Dispute Resolution Process, with the aim of concluding the pay round by the end of January 2023.

Both sides agree to de-escalate the current dispute during the above-described intense period of negotiations, including the impact of and employer responses to action short of strike.

Whilst UCEA and its participating employers view the 2022-23 pay round as closed, employers also recognise that the unions do not regard the 2022-23 round as concluded and would want any settlement of 2023-24 to take account of this. The employers agreed to consider this as part of the 2023-24 pay round.