Joining the University and College Union

About us

A trade union is an organisation of workers who have come together to maintain and improve their conditions of employment.

UCU has over 120,000 members who include academics, researchers, technicians, library and IT professionals, administrators and postgraduates.

LUCU have a large branch committee and representatives across the university. We are a friendly and approachable bunch!

What we do

We negotiate with the university on behalf of all academic staff and professional services staff grade 6 and above (regardless of whether they are members or not) on things like conditions of contract, promotion procedures, probation, early retirement, child-care provision, discretionary pay, teaching assessment and the use of part-time and fixed-term staff. We are consulted on policies being introduced or reviewed and can raise questions around suitability and appropriateness in line with staff rights.

We work together to campaign on the issues we all care about. Members share experiences and concerns, and reps and the committee keep an eye out for patterns in case there’s a bigger issue. We have regular meetings with the university where we can take these issues forward – this can lead to real change. Some of our recent campaign wins have included:

• An extra Christmas closure day for 2024 – along with the other campus unions LUCU proposed in July that the University close for the 23rd of December, rather than colleagues returning for one day between the weekend and the Christmas break, giving us a significantly longer continuous break. The university agreed to our request in October. See this article for more details.
• Ending plans for LU Campus in Saudi Arabia – LUCU members have collectively provided challenge in our union negotiating forums, in General Assemblies, in school, department and group meetings and have educated our colleagues and students on the issues. The senior leadership of the University have now decided not to pursue a teaching presence in KSA. See this article for more details.
• Payments to staff taking voluntary exit – LUCU, alongside Unite & Unison, negotiated an increase in the payments to staff taking up the recent voluntary exit scheme. The original formula had been a week’s wages for every month of service, capped at 20 years, and then uplifted by 35%. This has now been increased to 50%.

Each member has access to information, support, and advice: dedicated caseworkers can provide you with support and representation if needed. When you talk to us, it’s confidential and we’re here to help you – our role is to seek the best possible outcomes for our members. We’ll listen with empathy and support you to find the best way forward. We can help you understand your rights and the university’s policies, and we can get expert advice from our branch committee and central services too.

Why join?

Be heard – UCU is run by its members, so you will have a say in the issues we take forward, and campaigns we run, as well as activism opportunities. Joining LUCU means you can make your voice heard. That means as soon as you join, you can start contributing to the discussion. If there’s an issue, you’re really passionate about, you’ll have the chance to say your piece and we’ll all decide together whether to take it forward.

Be supported – Your UCU representatives and caseworkers are trained and ready to provide informed, confidential one-to-one support with any at-work issue, and to negotiate on behalf of our members. Joining us means you can be supported, whatever the issue and wherever you are in your career. Your UCU reps and caseworkers are trained and ready to provide you with confidential advice. If something big happens (e.g. redundancy proposal, change to our contracts) we’ll be with you every step of the way.

Be rewarded – UCU membership includes courses and training around building your career free to UCU members (academic CVs, workshops, research grant application support, assertiveness skills, classroom management courses). You’ll also have access to UCU Law Extra (legal help for you and your family, probate and estate administration, professional and medical negligence, wills, etc.).

What’s the catch?

It does cost money – Like all trade unions, UCU is funded by members’ subscriptions, monthly fees that pay for local and national campaigning, expert advice, and all those benefits to which members are eligible.  Without the actions of UCU members over many years, however, the value of our pay and pensions would be much lower than it is now.  The real question is not whether you can afford to join the union, but whether you can afford not to.

Membership cost varies depending on salary and starts from £1 a month, however PhD students who teach can have a year’s membership for free!

You can see the subscription rates/charges at: https://www.ucu.org.uk/subscriptions.

UCU members can claim tax relief on up to 67% of their total annual subscription, for more information see here.

An up-to-date FAQ on joining UCU is available on the main website. To join just fill out the form on the Join UCU page. If you have any questions, please do get in touch.

 

Please Note: the information on this page is accurate as of November 2024.