We urge you to complete the USS Pensions Survey

We urge you to complete the USS Pensions Survey

You (USS members) should have received a survey link via email from USS. We encourage you to complete this survey to get UCU member voices heard. The survey will take around 10 minutes to complete but we feel this time will be worthwhile for the following reasons:

  • You will be asked for your views on sustainable investment. Pension funds can only legally decide to opt for a sustainable investment strategy (divestment from fossil fuels etc) if they have evidence that their members want that to happen. USS have never done an explicit survey on this, so surveys like this one are the best opportunity people have to express that view.
  • You will be asked to comment on your “overall relationship” with USS. This question’s results will be reported in the USS annual report, which will expose the feelings of its members to a wide audience.  

Further action you can take towards ethical investment

Most USS members now have a Defined Contribution (DC) pot (the bit USS calls the “investment builder”) because of the 2020-2022 cut to the Defined Benefit (DB) cap. Individuals can choose to have this pot invested normally or invested ethically by logging to the USS portal. Most people don’t know this and therefore leave it with the default (not ethical) option. USS takes this as evidence that members aren’t so bothered about climate change and therefore as a reason not to change investment strategy for the (massively larger) DB section of their investments. So, if you wish to influence USS ethical investment you can opt in to the “ethical lifestyle” investment option.

LUCU Committee

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LUCU General Meeting Report

LUCU General Meeting Report

Unfortunately, the General Meeting held on Friday 8th March was just shy of being quorate, this means no official business could be voted on. However, Mary Brewer presented the Chair’s Report of LUCU activity since our November GM, including announcement of new Department Reps in English, IRPH, Chemical Engineering and Materials, an increase in our local membership numbers, and details of recent local wins from our negotiators. David Wilson gave an update on the University’s Saudi Arabia Proposal, took questions from the floor and led a discussion on how to move forward with a campaign in opposition to the proposal.

The motions submitted will now be considered at the next branch committee meeting as per branch rules and we will update members on the outcomes in due course.

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Car Parking Issues

Car Parking Issues

Parking overcharges

We would advise all members to check their parking charges as members have reported being overcharged under the new parking system.  These issues have been resolved by the car parking company APCOA and refunds made.  Please use the tariff found here to check your charges and let the branch know if this issue has affected you by emailing ucu@lboro.ac.uk.

Insufficient parking for staff

We are aware that it has become increasingly difficult to find car parking spaces with some members reporting a 20 minute drive to find a space, followed by a 20 minute walk to be reach their destination. This issue has arisen since the public gained access to university parking.

Next steps

The branch has added ‘Car Parking’ to the next Joint Negotiating and Consultative Committee (JNCC) meeting agenda (24th April) where senior management issues raised by our members will be discussed and improvement the parking provision for staff agreed. If you have had any issues with car parking, please provide examples to the branch by emailing ucu@lboro.ac.uk.

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What makes a thriving research and innovation culture?

What makes a thriving research and innovation culture?

The University are holding three conversation-style events to identify what a thriving research and innovation culture looks like at Loughborough. The stated aim of these events is to invite your important perspectives on what ‘good’ looks like in Loughborough’s research and innovation culture.

We strongly urge you to join these sessions and use your voice to help shape the standard to which academics are likely to be held in the future.

Events and sign-up links

  • Virtual workshop, 10am-11.30am, Monday 15 April 2024, sign up here 
  • Face to face workshop on campus, 10am-11.30am, Wednesday 17 April 2024. Sign up here
  • Face to face workshop on campus, 3pm-4.30pm, Wednesday 17 April 2024. Sign up here
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Improvements to Sickness Absence Policy from UCU

Improvements to Sickness Absence Policy from UCU

UCU have negotiated improvements to the University’s Managing Sickness Absence Policy on your behalf.  The substantial changes are:

  1. If you hit the sickness triggers but your absences do not indicate any cause for concern, your manager is no longer obliged to set a stage 2 meeting and a period over which to monitor your attendance. (Part 2, section 4.1).  This reduces workload on staff and managers, and also removes the stress associated with going through an unnecessary monitoring period.  You still have the right to be accompanied by a trade union rep to any review meetings, including the first, should you want to be.
  1. Greater flexibility around dentist and GP Practice appointments.  This reflects the reality of how we all now typically make and attend these appointments, usually with little say over when they will be scheduled, and with telephone appointments now more common.  (Part 1, section 17 and 18) Where possible, these should be arranged outside of work hours, but where this is not possible staff should try and minimise disruption to work, and time off with pay is allowed.

The changes reflect the default position of trust and flexibility that managers should be showing, and we hope they will remove some of the unnecessary stress triggered by sickness, or taking care of our health.

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Planned changes to early retirement benefits in your USS Pension

Planned changes to early retirement benefits in your USS Pension

We have recently learned of changes to your USS pension related to early retirement, which USS plans to make on 1st April 2024.  It is important you understand that if you are considering early retirement, the planned changes to Scheme Factors, if they go ahead, could seriously disadvantage you.

We believe it would be prudent for members considering early retirement to urgently:

  1. Write to USS seeking the necessary financial information to inform their decision, asking for  calculations for dates before and after 1st April 2024.
  2. Make contact with HR to ensure the necessary work is completed so as not to delay any decision with USS.  This contact from staff enables HR to notify USS and provide confirmation of notice period.
  3. Seek independent financial advice to inform their decision-making. Members may wish to use the free service for UCU members provided by Quilter Financial  UCU – Financial advice from Quilter

We are reliably informed that the UCU Pensions Negotiators are fighting this change, which was not part of the recent USS negotiations outcome. Nevertheless, at this point in time the change is planned for implementation on 1st April and as the date is drawing near, we wanted to draw your attention to it.

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Making Sure You Get Your USS Back Pay – Meeting Recording

Making Sure You Get Your USS Back Pay – Meeting Recording

The branch held an open meeting on Wednesday 31st January to discuss the recent changes to the USS Pension scheme . While it is important that everyone understands what has been successfully negotiated on your behalf, it is especially important that colleagues who have opted out of USS are aware of the implications of how restoration of the lost 2020-2023 benefits will be implemented. There is a significant financial benefit to joining the scheme before 1st April 2024 that will not apply after that date. All staff on grade 6 and above are eligible to join USS.

You can view the recording of the meeting here.

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UCU Elections – LUCU Branch Committee Endorsement

UCU Elections – LUCU Branch Committee Endorsement

Like many UCU members, the LUCU Branch Committee has been disheartened by a number of decisions taken centrally at UCU in recent years.

Although we have had some national victories (as with USS), we believe that major decisions taken by the Higher Education Committee (HEC) – most notably around the nature, frequency, and timing of industrial action – have been harmful and out of sync with members’ wishes.

We believe that factionalism within the union is a major driver of this. Indeed, there have even been clear, public clashes between our current General Secretary, Jo Grady, and the HEC on these issues.

The upcoming UCU elections offer a turning point to shape our union. After comparing candidates’ platforms and considering their responses during our hustings, we have decided to endorse Jo Grady.

Whilst we may not agree with every decision that Jo Grady has taken as General Secretary, we believe that she has shown real leadership during a difficult period – especially from the start of the pandemic – and has demonstrated an ability to critically reflect on past decisions and learn from them.

We are also supportive of her plan to build UCU and raise the profile of our union, her efforts to co-ordinate with other trade unions to improve our leverage, and her intersectional approach to tackling discrimination.  

Our stance is that Jo Grady offers the most realistic path toward improved pay and working conditions, greater stability in our sector, and a trade union that inspires confidence in its members.

In solidarity,

The LUCU Branch Committee

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Winter Break – Branch Closure Details

Winter Break – Branch Closure Details

The LUCU branch office will be closed for the winter break from 4pm on Wednesday 20th December. We will re-open (and respond to enquiries) from 10am on Wednesday 3rd January 2024.

LUCU will not be monitoring the main branch email inbox during the winter break so if an urgent response is required, please email the branch secretary or relevant committee member directly. Please bear in mind they are also on their winter break so won’t be checking email daily. Their contact details can be found here: https://ucu.lboro.ac.uk/contacts/

In the meantime, should you need it, the Education Support Partnership is a free service for our members, active 24/7. They provide counselling, support, financial assistance and more.

Phone: 08000 562 561

Email: support@edsupport.org.uk

Website: https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/helping-you/

We wish you all a well-deserved break, see you in 2024!

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