National industrial action has been announced by UCU and is affecting Queen Mary alongside ~150 other universities across the UK following a national aggregated re-ballot in February and March 2023 over two disputes covering the USS Pension Scheme and Pay and Conditions. Queen Mary has been notified of another round of discontinuous strike action between 18 and 29 September 2023 (previous strike action took place between 16 and 21 June 2023).

At a national level, UCEA and UUK have been negotiating with UCU on behalf of universities. UCU members have now voted to accept the proposals put forward by employers regarding the USS pension scheme. However, despite good progress being made in relation to the dispute on pay and working conditions, with agreement on terms of reference for key non-pay items in the 2023-24 pay round reached through ACAS , 56% of UCU members rejected the proposals put forward and hence universities across the country are now further facing industrial action. 

Queen Mary, alongside 150 other universities, was notified of Continuous Action Short of Strike (ASOS), which includes activities that are in breach of contract, from 20 April 2023. This includeds a marking and assessment boycott which was called off by UCU on 6 September 2023. The current mandate for industrial action ends on 30 September 2023.

A new ballot will open on 19 September 2023 and run until 3 November 2023; this ballot asks UCU members to vote on both strike action and Action Short of Strike (ASOS), including another marking and assessment boycott.

Locally, Queen Mary UCU and Queen Mary University of London reached an agreement on 31 March 2023: 

Agreement QMUCU and QMUL 31 March 2023 [PDF 88KB]

883 of our 5,400 staff are UCU members.

For more information on these issues in relation to Queen Mary, please see the following information on the USS pension scheme, and blogs on tackling gender inequality and challenging fixed-term and casual contracts.

In August 2022 we reached an agreement that included:

• An increase to London weighting to £4,000 for all staff on the Queen Mary pay spine
• To set up 3 joint working groups to collaboratively focus on the areas of contracts, workload, and pay gaps
• To proactively engage Queen Mary UCU in future employer consultations related to pensions.

The agreement resulted in the ending of a marking and assessment boycott linked to the national pay and pensions dispute at the time.

In another agreement reached in March 2023, the University confirmed it reserved its right to withhold pay for Action Short of Strike (ASOS) and Queen Mary UCU agreed to work with the University to help ensure that “students achieve a high quality academic experience that allows them to continue to progress and complete their studies in a timely manner”.

A national marking and assessment boycott was then called by UCU in April 2023. After a review of the impact of the boycott on Queen Mary students and their ability to “progress and complete their studies in a timely manner”, the University moved to withhold pay for participation in the marking and assessment boycott from 2 June 2023. The marking and assessment boycott was called off by UCU on 6 September 2023.

This latest ballot, running from 19 September to 3 November, is for a new round of industrial action, on the same issues, and is also an aggregate ballot, meaning all universities that participate in the new JNCHES process are impacted.

Our priority is to protect our students’ education. 

The current wave of action is focused on a marking and assessment boycott. Participating in the boycott constitutes partial performance which the University does not accept. This is a University-wide policy.

We are very sorry to confirm that, as a result of the boycott, graduation  has been delayed for some students studying English and Drama. The School has written to all affected students apologising for the disruption and offering ongoing support to them, including practical support such as contacting their future employers or higher education institutions.

Where colleagues are participating in the marking and assessment boycott and do not submit marks within timescales previously agreed by their Head of School or Institute, this constitutes partial performance which the University rejects. From 2 June 2023, we will withhold 100% of pay for relevant periods from staff participating in the boycott due to breach of contract. Any other work undertaken is considered voluntary and without entitlement to payment.  Schools and Institutes are working with HR Business Partners to identify individuals for whom pay will be withheld.

Pay has been withheld from staff participating in the marking and assessment boycott across the following time windows to date: 

• 2- 22 June 2023 inclusive (pay deductions made in the July payroll). This period relates to the time from the latest normal student submission deadline to the last date when Subject Examinations Boards met to consider marks.
• 23 June - 13 July 2023 inclusive (pay deductions made in the August payroll) for staff who continued to participate in the marking and assessment boycott after the date by which Subject Examination Boards are due to have met. This period for withholding pay covers the period during which decisions at Subject Exam Boards are ratified by Degree Exam Boards up to the date for publishing results to students.
• 14 July to 4 August (pay deductions made in the September payroll) for staff continuing to participate in the marking and assessment boycott. This is for the period up to the beginning of the late summer resits (from week commencing 7 August).
• 5-25 August (deductions to be made in the Octoberayroll) for staff continuing to participate in the marking and assessment boycott.

Where colleagues continue to participate in the boycott, and therefore continue to breach their contracts of employment, a fifth window of pay deductions will be applied in November 2023 payroll for the period 26^th August 2023 – 20^th September 2023.  This covers the period from the deadline for the submission of marking for late summer resits up to the late summer Under Graduate Degree Examination Board 2, and the Research Degrees Programmes and Examinations Board.

In all cases, pay is withheld at a rate of 1/365 of salary.

Pay will not be withheld for colleagues who complete all their remaining marking and assessment activities as previously defined by their Head of School or Institute. Where staff participate in the marking and assessment boycott, and are in breach of their contract, any work undertaken is considered voluntary and without entitlement to pay. 

Pay deductions related to staff participating in strike action will typically be made in the next available payroll.

The median pay across the entire Higher Education sector for academics is £52,524. (Adding 21.6% USS pension contribution makes a total of £63,869).

At Queen Mary, our pay is higher than the sector, with the median for all our academics being £69,114. Adding 21.6% USS pension employer contribution makes a total of £84,043.

The median for Queen Mary academics at each rank is as follows (as at August 2023):

• Professor: £92,352. (£112,300 with 21.6% USS pension employer contribution)
• Reader: £71,057. (£86,405 with 21.6% USS pension employer contribution)
• Senior lecturer: £67,228. (£81,749 with 21.6% USS pension employer contribution)
• Lecturer: £55,483. (£67,467 with 21.6% USS pension employer contribution)

Summer 2023 Graduation ceremonies at Queen Mary took place as planned for all subject areas except for students studying English and Drama. While this represented just 2% of our final-year graduating students, this was devastating for our English and Drama students and we continue to offer ongoing support to them. 

Queen Mary issued the following statement on our website at the time: 

Disruption to Graduation for Students in the School of English and Drama at Queen Mary University of London 

Queen Mary, similar to circa 150 other universities across the UK, is currently experiencing industrial action which is taking the form of a marking and assessment boycott. Most of our 33,000 students are completely unaffected as, similar to past industrial action, disruption to our students at Queen Mary is focused on a very small number of disciplinary areas. Staff across the University have worked very hard to mitigate the impact on our students in the affected areas and all students will graduate as planned, except in the disciplinary areas of English and Drama which continue to be significantly affected by industrial action. We are very sorry to confirm that graduation will be delayed for some students in our School of English and Drama. The School has written to all affected students apologising for the disruption and offering ongoing support to them, including practical support such as contacting their future employers or higher education institutions. 

To confirm, this issue is confined only to some students in the disciplinary areas of English and Drama; all other students in all other subject areas across the entire University will graduate as planned. The University is extremely sorry for the significant impact on the affected students in the disciplinary areas of English and Drama at Queen Mary.

The University has faced strike action in respect of both the pay and pensions disputes since February 2022. The strike action in February and March 2023, saw circa 50 members of staff participate (out of a workforce of 5,400 staff).

In relation to the marking and assessment boycott in 2022, 108 people (2% of all staff) had pay deducted in July as a result of partial performance between 1-21 June.

Our monitoring shows that a very limited number of colleagues  participated in the marking and assessment boycott called by national UCU from 20 April to 6 September 2023. 82 colleagues had pay deducted in July 2023 for participation in the most recent marking and assessment boycott.

We are very sorry to confirm that, as a result of the boycott, graduation was delayed for some students studying English and Drama. The School has written to all affected students apologising for the disruption and offering ongoing support to them, including practical support such as contacting their future employers or higher education institutions.

Our students have endured so much, with the pandemic and industrial action in four out of the past five years at Queen Mary. We must do everything possible to protect their education and experience: this is not only morally the right approach, but we also need to meet our regulatory individual degree programme requirements of providing our students with the education they were promised for each. 

Our approach to further industrial action is therefore to protect our students’ education and experience over all other activities. This is a University-wide policy.

Unfortunately, some misinformation is circulating relating to the current industrial action at Queen Mary. Much of this misinformation is being issued by the trade union UCU. See the following document for details.

Correcting misinformation factsheet September 2023 [PDF 94KB]

A motion to support industrial action was put to the Students’ Union Annual Student Meeting in both November 2021 and 2022. In 2021, the motion did not pass. In 2022, the motion passed with 77 votes in favour out of a total of 168 votes cast. Supporting industrial action is therefore now Students’ Union policy.

UCU has informed us that ASOS will consist of “working to contract; not covering for absent colleagues; 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; not rescheduling lectures or classes cancelled due to strike action; not undertaking any voluntary activities, and undertaking a marking and assessment boycott.” 

Some elements of these forms of ASOS constitute partial performance and breach of contract. An employee is not entitled to choose which of their contractual duties they will undertake. If an employee decides to undertake some of their contractual duties but refuses to undertake others, this constitutes partial performance and the employer is entitled to reject the partial performance offered. Where partial performance is rejected, the employee who offers partial performance loses the entitlement to be paid at all, regardless of any work which they do perform, as a result of their breach of contract. Please also see the FAQ "Does participating in ASOS mean I can choose the activities I do and do not undertake?"

Queen Mary respects colleagues’ right to take industrial action. However, we must protect our students’ education, and so we have requested that staff choosing to participate in industrial action prioritise all educational activities and deprioritise or stop their other work where needed. In the event a colleague fails to deliver all educational activities, we will consider that a breach of contract and partial performance, and reserve the right to withhold 100% of pay. To be clear, nobody will have their pay deducted for taking ASOS as long as all planned educational activities are carried out.

We will deduct 100% of a full day’s pay for every day of strike action undertaken. This will be the case whether strike action is for all or part of the day. Deductions will be made for participation in strike action in the next available payroll.

In respect of action short of strike, if any planned education activities were cancelled due to your participation in strike action, and you have not made up the missed education within a timescale agreed by the Head of School or Institute or their delegate, then the University considers this as partial performance and reserves the right to withhold a full day's pay until all planned education is made up within reasonable timescales directed by the Head of School or Institute or their appropriate delegate.

The calculation of a day’s pay for both strike action and ASOS (noting pay will only be withheld for ASOS if education is disrupted as above) will be based on 1/365th of pro rata annual salary. Any salary deductions for participating in strike action or ASOS will be processed as soon as possible, and in full, at the next pay date. 

No pay will be withheld for taking action short of a strike (ASOS) as long as all planned educational activities are carried out.

Pay will not be withheld for taking ASOS as long as all planned educational activities are carried out. If you are taking part in ASOS, we ask that you prioritise educational activities, and deprioritise or stop all other work (including research, conferences, sabbaticals, etc).

If planned educational activity, including marking and assessment, is not delivered because of strike action or ASOS, we reserve the right to withhold 100% of pay for each day until that education is made up within reasonable timescales agreed with the Head of School or Institute or their appropriate delegate.

This will be confirmed with relevant colleagues. Once a member of staff confirms to the Head of School or Institute or their appropriate delegate that they are ready and willing to carry out all their educational activities in full, pay will recommence and they will be expected to complete all work not carried out during participation in ASOS within agreed timescales. This position is in line with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association guidance.

In relation to a marking and assessment boycott, the University does not accept partial performance by staff of their employment contracts, and in alignment with our recent agreement with the Queen Mary branch of UCU, we have sought to  continue to work together to help ensure that students achieve a high-quality academic experience that allows them to continue to progress and complete their studies in a timely manner.

The University has monitored and assessed the impact of the marking and assessment boycott, including in relation to students’ ability to progress and complete their studies, before deciding whether to withhold pay from those taking part in the marking and assessment boycott and who are therefore in breach of their contracts of employment. 

Our monitoring shows, as at the end of May 2023, that, in a very limited number of areas, colleagues are participating in the marking and assessment boycott called by national UCU, and this has the potential to negatively impact our students. Discussions with the local UCU Branch Committee have not provided the assurance we need that the agreement will be observed in all areas.

Where colleagues are participating in the marking and assessment boycott and do not submit marks within timescales previously agreed by their Head of School or Institute, this constitutes partial performance which the University rejects.

Therefore, from 2 June 2023, we will withhold 100% of pay for relevant periods from staff participating in the boycott due to breach of contract. Any other work undertaken is considered voluntary and without entitlement to payment.  In all cases, pay is withheld at a rate of 1/365 of salary.

Pay has been withheld from staff participating in the marking and assessment boycott across four time windows to date. For details, see the FAQ “What is the university’s approach to this wave of action?”

Pay will not be withheld for colleagues who complete all their remaining marking and assessment activities as previously defined by their Head of School or Institute.

Where staff participate in the marking and assessment boycott, and are in breach of their contract, any work undertaken is considered voluntary and without entitlement to pay.

On any days where pay is deducted, you will not have paid your pension contribution for that day and Queen Mary will not pay the employer contribution.

You might wish to consider replacing the lost contribution. It is possible to pay a sum equal to the employee and employer contribution and receive full credit for the day’s absence and continue to have full cover.

Any member wishing to do this must inform Queen Mary in writing before the absence takes place. Please contact pension@qmul.ac.uk 

It is appropriate to tell your students that you are taking industrial action, and which classes are affected, but you should not use class time to discuss the issues in any detail. You may discuss why you are taking industrial action outside of time scheduled for educational activities. You should also make it clear when you are communicating in a personal capacity, rather than on behalf of your School or Institute.

You do not have to tell your line manager in advance if you intend to participate in the planned strike action. However, if you were expected to deliver some teaching on one of the strike days, if you are prepared to tell your module convenor, line manager or your students, it will help our students to have prior notice to changes to their planned educational activities especially as a significant number of students need to pay travel costs to attend classes.

Following a period of industrial action, you should inform your line manager whether you have participated when asked.

UCU advise staff members that once you are back to work following any industrial action, you should respond truthfully to any query from your employer, via line-managers, as to whether you have taken or are taking industrial action.

You should inform your line manager if asked.

During the period of ASOS called by UCU, your line manager may ask you to confirm that you will be working normally, and remain ready and willing to perform your contractual duties in full, in terms of all educational activities, before you are assigned specific work and or during a marking and assessment period. If you do not provide this confirmation, we will assume you will be participating in ASOS and reserve the right to withhold 100% of a day’s pay for each day until you confirm to your line manager that you are ready and willing to carry out your contractual duties in terms of all educational activities, and your line manager is satisfied that you are doing so. 

The University reserves the right to withhold pay regardless of whether the work which you are not prepared to carry out, due to participation in ASOS, is assigned to another employee.

You should inform your line manager of your participation in industrial action if asked.

We are working extremely hard with Heads of Schools and Institutes and Professional Services Directors to minimise the impact of this industrial action on students’ education and experience. Schools and Institutes are working hard to mitigate the impact of industrial action on the students in their areas and are communicating with them directly.

In relation to a marking and assessment boycott, participating in the boycott constitutes partial performance. The University does not accept partial performance and reserves the right to withhold 100%. Following monitoring, the University has communicated that pay will be withheld for participation in the marking and assessment boycott from 2 June 2023. The specific time periods for withholding pay are outlined in the FAQ “Will I be paid as normal if I participate in Action Short of Strike”.

The University rejects partial performance and reserves the right to withhold 100% of pay for the following forms of ASOS, on the basis that they are a breach of contract because you are not ready and willing to undertake your contractual duties. This position is in line with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association guidance. This is not an exhaustive list:

• not rescheduling and conducting lectures, classes or any education activities
• removing uploaded materials to, and or not sharing materials related to, lectures, classes or any other planned education activities that will be, or have been, cancelled
• not undertaking core activities related to student support, including academic advising
• not undertaking all marking and assessment activities, including participating in a marking and assessment boycott.
• not covering for absent colleagues if this is typical practice for you to do so.

If planned educational activity is not delivered because of strike action or ASOS, we reserve the right to withhold 100% of pay for each day until that education is made up within timescales agreed with the Head of School/Institute or their appropriate delegate.

In relation to a marking and assessment boycott, participating in the boycott constitutes partial performance. The University does not accept partial performance and reserves the right to withhold 100% of pay.

Our monitoring shows that a very limited number of colleagues are participating in the marking and assessment boycott called by national UCU. Discussions with the local UCU Branch Committee have not provided the assurance we need that the agreement will be observed in all areas. Pay will therefore be withheld for participation in the marking and assessment boycott from 2 June 2023.

The calculation of a day’s pay for ASOS will be based on 1/365th of pro rata annual salary. Any salary deductions for participating in ASOS will be processed as soon as possible, and in full, typically the next pay date.

Where staff are participating in ASOS and have chosen not to carry out all planned educational activities and or participate in a marking and assessment boycott, resulting in the withholding of 100% of their pay, any other work that is carried out will be voluntary and will be unpaid.

If you are taking part in ASOS, we ask that you prioritise educational activities, and deprioritise or stop all other work (including research, conferences, sabbaticals, etc). If you are taking part in ASOS and fulfil all your educational activities, no pay will be withheld. However, if you are taking part in ASOS and fail to undertake all your educational activities, including marking and assessment, we will consider this partial performance and a breach of contract and reserve the right to withhold 100% of pay.

If you are only participating in those forms of ASOS that don’t amount to breach of contract then no pay will be withheld. You will be directed to prioritise all planned educational activities. In these circumstances, the University is entitled to direct staff to focus on specific contractual activities including activities that prioritise education.

If you are participating in the marking and assessment boycott, from 2 June 2023, pay will be withheld due to breach of contract for which there is no entitlement to pay. Any other work undertaken is considered voluntary and without entitlement to payment.

If any of the students’ timetabled teaching time is cancelled, the School or Institute will inform the Registry office, and they will ensure that students will not be marked as out of attendance. This means that there will not be any impact on their visa status.

The information in these FAQs reflects the University's position. If you have heard different / conflicting information please contact your Strategic HR Business Partner who will be able to ensure you and others have the correct information.

Our policies are in place to ensure that all education missed due to industrial action is made up. If a student finds an educational activity cancelled, and the education not made up, they can report it on this form. 

If you are clear that you have taken part in strike action or ASOS, when asked, you are protected from suffering a detriment (e.g. from being disciplined) or being dismissed on the grounds that you took industrial action, including ASOS, as long as your actions and conduct are in line with the University’s dignity at work policy and our Values in Action.

Staff should contact their line manager in the first instance.

Students can raise and track a query through Student Enquiry Centre Online , email studentenquiry@qmul.ac.uk, or talk with their School or Institute (contact details can be found here).

Nothing in these FAQs overrides the Academic Regulations, which always take precedence.

Staff can contact their School, Institute or Department Head or lead administrator, or contact their HR Partner.

Supervisions, review meetings and vivas for research students are arranged on an individual basis. Please contact your School or Institute in the first instance if you have any concerns. Alternatively, you can contact the Research Degrees Office: researchdegrees@qmul.ac.uk 

Students should submit their work as normal unless advised differently by their School or Institute.

Where teaching has gone ahead, attendance will be monitored as it usually is.

Yes. The Advice and Counselling Service and the Disability and Dyslexia Service will be open as usual.

Yes. Students and staff are expected to attend University as normal, unless staff are taking part in the industrial action or, for students, if they have been informed that a session has been cancelled. The campus will be open as normal on strike days and staff, students and visitors will be able to go into all buildings.

When arriving on campus on strike days it is possible that you may need to pass staff taking part in the strike at the entrances to the University. Please be assured that the trade union has issued guidance that indicates that all pickets are intended to be peaceful in nature. Access to campus entrances will not be blocked and you should feel able to pass freely and easily without any confrontation. Security staff will be monitoring the picket lines and if any staff or students feel intimidated crossing the picket lines they should contact security immediately, on 020 7882 3333.

If students wish to raise a complaint, they should follow the University’s normal complaints procedure. Information about this can be found here.

If students’ teaching is cancelled because of industrial action, it will not be necessary to submit an extenuating circumstances claim as the University will be aware of the issues.

No. The policies we have in place will ensure education is made up.

We do not expect professional services, including frontline student services, to be significantly affected. The library, and student wellbeing services including advice and counselling, will be open as normal.

If you are not a member of UCU, or are a member but are choosing not to take part in the industrial action, you are expected to come to work as normal.

When arriving on campus on strike days it is possible that you may need to pass staff taking part in the strike at the entrances to the University. Please be assured that the trade union has issued guidance that indicates that all pickets are intended to be peaceful in nature. Access to campus entrances will not be blocked and you should feel able to pass freely and easily without confrontation. If you witness anyone on a picket line exhibiting unacceptable behaviours, please contact security immediately on 020 7882 3333.

You should attend work as normal. If you are working on campus and there is a picket line, University staff will work with union officials to ensure staff, students and visitors can cross it freely. Staff participating in the picketing must not, and cannot, prevent you from going to work or doing your usual work if you want to do so, even if you are a trade union member.

If you witness anyone on a picket line exhibiting any unacceptable behaviours, please contact security immediately on 020 7882 3333.

If you normally work from home on the day(s) of the strike then you should still be able to work from home, although in some cases your manager may ask you to attend the workplace. Ad hoc home working will not be allowed during strike days.

You have the right to strike and every effort will be made to accommodate the change of leave. You should discuss this with your line manager to ensure you are able to take the annual leave at another time within the current annual leave year.

If you had annual leave agreed in advance of the strike action being announced then you should still be able to take it. Annual leave requests made after the strike action has been announced may not be granted.

Staff not participating in strike action or ASOS may be asked to support the prioritising or the rescheduling of work missed due to industrial action, including lectures and any other education activities. Any requests made will be reasonable in terms of overall workload and skill set to be able to support the activity requested. If colleagues have any concerns about requests such as this, all attempts will be made to manage any concerns informally in the first instance.

No. It is up to each UCU member whether they take part.