As part of our branch building, we will be hosting an online Introduction to the USS Pension Scheme to be held on Monday 18th May 12pm. This will be an introductory session with the UCU National Pensions Official attending online, covering:

-Defined Benefit and Defined Contributions
-Early retirement
-Ill-health retirement
-Leaving the scheme
-Current UCU work including potential impact from 2026 valuation & conditional indexation
-Q&A 

We are also offering a limited number of 10 minute 121 slots after the meeting with the National Pension Official on a first come first served basis – for UCU members only. If you would like to reserve a 10 minute online slot, please email the branch administrator with a one line summary as to the nature of the query. 

Do not forget that the USS pension was set up by the employers and UCU – and UCU constitute 50% of the USS pension governance structures (plus an independent Chair): Joint Negotiating Committee / Advisory Committee

Many of the aspects that we still retain, such as a guaranteed aspect to the pension (defined benefit) are because you, as UCU members, have fought hard and made sacrifices in the past. UCU has argued over the long term as to the health and stability of the scheme – and USS is currently reporting a substantial surplus: USS publishes latest financial reports

We look forward to seeing you there!

Brunel UCU

We want to thank everyone who completed the recent BUCU survey on member perceptions and branch building – we will be reviewing results and discussing ways of moving forward.

To follow up, we would also like to organise a drop in, where members can book an individual slot to discuss further any questions, suggestions, concerns, and/or any willingness to step up into a formal or informal role within the branch (on that note: please do take a look at upcoming UCU training here: https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/4797/Courses-in-London–South-East-Regions

If you would like to organise an individual slot to discuss any themes, issues or ideas further, please do get in touch.

We look forward to hearing from you

Brunel UCU Committee

We have been informed that after two rounds of academic redundancies and two rounds of TOM restructuring, there will be a pause on further ‘large-scale’ change processes and cost cutting exercises. For the recently completed AR2, the final result was that 27.5 FTE was lost to the University (i.e. the total of VR, CR, and reductions in working hours). We strongly feel every single redundancy is one too many (and we know you are all feeling the workload implications), but we were glad to hear the University did not go ahead with the originally planned 50 FTE.

We’ve also now had confirmation from HR that academics impacted by AR1 and AR2 will be provided with their redundancy selection panel scores upon request. If you would like your redundancy selection panel scores, email your (current) Dean (with academic staffing in CC), who should get back to you inviting you to a meeting where you will be told your scores verbally (ostensibly to provide the necessary “context” and to allow the staff member to ask questions). Now I know we’ve been here before, with HR telling us we would be provided with the redundancy selection panel scores upon request, only for the University to then not follow through. This time however actual meetings appear to be scheduled with those who had previously already contacted HR and/or their Dean to request the redundancy selection panel scores, so that’s a good sign. Should your request for the scores nevertheless be refused (or ignored), please let us know and we will raise it.

We are happy to hear the University now seems to be in a more stable position, after the very tumultuous year, and hope this will be the end of redundancy exercises. In the meantime, we are keen to reconnect and rebuild within the branch – and we will be in touch further on our plans in this area soon.

Petition: Stop compulsory redundancies at Brunel University of London

https://speakout.web.ucu.org.uk/stop-brunel-redundancies/

Please sign whether you are Brunel staff, student, working in the wider sector, or concerned member of the public:

We call on Brunel senior management to:

-halt its pursuit of compulsory redundancies, and if cost savings are necessary, that the university prioritises non-pay cost savings prior to redundancies
-commit in writing to an independent investigation into the local circumstances that led to and/or contributed to the financial challenges facing Brunel University of London
-commit in writing to the spirit and text of the Recognition and Partnership Agreement and the definition of meaningful consultation contained therein.

https://speakout.web.ucu.org.uk/stop-brunel-redundancies/

Brunel PGRs Against the Cuts Open Letter

Please sign the Open Letter from Brunel University Postgraduate Researchers on Redundancies and Restructuring:

The fight to save jobs at Brunel is the fight for the future of higher education itself. Sector-wide reform that funds education properly, ensures fair recruitment, and protects the people who make it possible is urgently needed. We call on PGRs and students across Brunel – and across the UK – to make our voices heard. Our future depends on the outcome of this struggle.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfdv7T5UDcq_aFiV18nuOBJdrwUScl45ZhRze6Q8QRjZD2hTQ/viewform

For all Branch members who had pay deducted because of participating in the 2025 Marking & Assessment Boycott: strike funds are available to help those in immediate financial hardship, and anyone who took MAB action is eligible to apply to our local Brunel UCU hardship fund.

For Brunel local hardship support, please apply by 12:00 on Wednesday 20th August 2025 for your case to be considered by the branch Hardship Fund Panel.

Full details of how to apply are given in the documents here (Application Form / Terms of Reference / Guidance). Applicants should read through the guidelines very carefully. Major points to be aware of include:

· In this round, Brunel UCU will aim to match the strike payments from the national fighting fund as outlined on pages 1&2 here. Brunel UCU consider the MAB deductions as equivalent to 5 strike days (50% salary deduction for 10 days). Please note, members are encouraged to apply to the national fighting fund, in addition to our local fund:https://my.ucu.org.uk/app/answers/detail/a_id/554 . Applications for the national fund can be made here.

· If we have insufficient funds to pay all accepted claims in full, then the available local funds will be divided pro rata amongst successful claimants.

· Brunel UCU funding will prioritise low pay, insecure employment (especially members on Hourly Paid and Fixed Term contracts) and financial hardship. We encourage anyone in those categories who was affected by MAB deductions to apply.

· To be eligible for this round of local hardship funding, you must have taken official MAB action (e.g. logged on CHIME/payroll deduction) in 2025. Your application can also mention any ongoing hardship resulting from strike or MAB deductions earlier in spring-summer 2025, as context.

· We will be considering further local MAB hardship rounds if necessary depending on how deductions have been staggered by BUL payroll.

· If you have any questions about the BUCU application process, please contact: cmaxfield@ucu.org.uk

Thank you again to all members for your ongoing solidarity.

Brunel UCU

[Passed at a quorate EGM: 30.05.25]

Brunel UCU notes:

· On 15.05.2025, all staff at Brunel University London received an email from the VC announcing a “review of staffing levels”, i.e. plans for further redundancies, in academic and professional services areas that were not part of the recent academic resizing and TOM programmes.

· So far, in response to Brunel’s decision to put more than a third of staff at risk of compulsory redundancy, a total of 465 staff members have already left Brunel this academic year.

Brunel UCU believes:

· The mass-redundancies so far have already had a detrimental impact on the Health and Safety of remaining Brunel staff and the student experience. Further redundancies will compound these issues and increase the threat to the viability of the University.

· The lack of detailed financial data and forecasts, accurate data with respect to student and staff numbers, or meaningful consideration of what the plans mean for the running of the organisation and ability to achieve its vision and strategy, suggests a flawed knee-jerk response

· There has so far been insufficient exploration and willingness to consider options beyond redundancies by the University.

Brunel UCU demands:

· A commitment from the University to agree Union representation at all stages and seek agreement with the Unions to any changes in working conditions.

· A commitment from the University to avoid compulsory redundancies, and that if cost savings are necessary, that the University prioritises non-pay cost savings prior to redundancies.

· A commitment from the University to be open, transparent, and honest in their communications with the Unions, and to provide all relevant and requested data within reasonable timeframes (within 2-3 working days).

· A continued commitment from the University to ensure adequate facility time for the Unions

Brunel UCU resolves:

· Unless Brunel University withdraws the threat of compulsory redundancies, this branch instructs the branch committee to move forward to a formal dispute and to prepare for further industrial action from August onwards, which includes an indicative and statutory ballot for one or more of the following: strike action, ASOS, marking boycott.

Members of Brunel UCU are currently (as of 6th May 2025 which is the start of the May assessment period at Brunel, until the end of our mandate 11th August 2025) engaged in a Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB).

This boycott calls on our members to cease undertaking all summative marking and associated assessment activities/duties for students/learners, whether final (i.e. graduation/completion) or interim (i.e. progression). The boycott also covers assessment-related work such as exam invigilation and the processing of marks.

UCU MAB FAQs: https://www.ucu.org.uk/MAboycottFAQs

UCU FAQ on MAB for our UCU Professional Services members: https://www.ucu.org.uk/ASOS-and-ARPS

UCU FAQ on MAB and migrant workers: https://www.ucu.org.uk/heaction-migrantworkers

Brunel intentions re MAB pay deductions: https://www.staff.brunel.ac.uk/campus-news/announcement-of-industrial-action-by-ucu

Brunel staff intranet MAB FAQs: https://www.staff.brunel.ac.uk/university-information/industrial-action-by-university-and-college-union

The University and College Union (UCU) has declared an academic boycott of Brunel University London in response to the institution’s continued pursuit of mass redundancies: https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/13990/UCU-declares-academic-boycott-of-Brunel-University-over-mass-redundancies

Brunel University has already overseen significant numbers of voluntary redundancies and is now pressing ahead with plans to impose further compulsory job cuts. The union has condemned the university’s refusal to engage meaningfully with staff representatives and warned that these actions could cause irreparable damage to Brunel’s reputation.

The union’s higher education committee (HEC) has unanimously backed the boycott, also known as ‘greylisting’, which is the most serious sanction the union can impose.

The boycott will begin on Tuesday 15 April 2025, unless the university withdraws the threat of compulsory redundancies, provides transparent financial information, enters collective conciliation talks through Acas, and reinstates those already involuntarily dismissed.

From 15 April, UCU will ask members, supporters, and the international academic community to observe the boycott by:

-not applying for jobs at Brunel
-not attending or organising academic or other conferences at the university
-not giving talks or lectures at Brunel
-not accepting visiting appointments at Brunel
-not contributing to academic journals edited at or produced by the university
-not taking on roles as external examiners for Brunel’s taught courses.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘We do not take this step lightly, but Brunel’s continued threat of compulsory redundancies and refusal to engage constructively has left us with no choice. The scale of these cuts is an existential threat to whole departments and to the university’s academic standing. The academic community is mobilising, and Brunel must act now to avoid escalating reputational damage.

‘There is still time for the university to do the right thing and work with us to avoid unnecessary job losses. We urge the Vice-Chancellor and senior leadership to return to meaningful negotiations’.

Uxbridge, Greater London, February 28, 2025

John McDonnell MP joined Brunel University of London staff on their first day of an escalating strike action, which includes continuous ‘action short of strike’ (ASOS). Organised by the local branch of the University and College Union (UCU), the strike is a response to senior management’s decision to cut more than 350 jobs, representing around 20% of the workforce in the targeted areas. These job cuts are impacting a wide range of the workforce, including academic, operational, and digital services.

The majority of UCU members at Brunel University voted in favor of strike action in response to the Senior Management’s decision to proceed with their redundancy plan, including a large number of compulsory job losses. The Union members consider Brunel senior management’s refusal to consider options beyond redundancies short-sighted and damaging. Members are also frustrated by the senior management’s failure to acknowledge their responsibility in the financial mismanagement of the University. Concerns include the unjustified mass recruitment of over 367 new staff between 2022 and 2024, driven by overly unrealistic growth plans.

The University Council decided to award an 8% pay rise to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Jones, in August 2024 which has been considered outrageous by the Union. This is against the backdrop of abrupt deterioration in the University’s financial status following the government’s changes to the Student Visa policies and the increase in national insurance contributions. These factors have significantly changed the University’s financial status from a statutory surplus of £57.4m in 2023/24 to an operating deficit of £32.9m in 2024/25. In a staff briefing on 27th November 2024, the Vice-Chancellor, claimed that “We don’t have the financial resources to continue at the size that we have been in recent years”. The Brunel UCU Branch Chair stated that “Staff are being made to pay for senior management’s incompetence and lack of reasonable foresight, while they enjoy pay rises and perks”.

We call upon Brunel’s Senior Management to suspend the planned compulsory redundancy announcements and instead enter into constructive negotiations with the union to safeguard the university’s long-term sustainability and the welfare of our students.

Brunel University London is a world-class institution that offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs and is involved in training of students in a wide range of fields including Health and Life Sciences, Medicine, Computer Sciences, Law, Arts, Business, Social and Political Sciences, Engineering, Design, and Physical Sciences. The mass scale rushed redundancy program is threatening the infrastructure of the University and the training of highly specialised human resources, including training of the NHS workforce.

Contact Information: For more information, please contact the Brunel UCU Branch Administrator: cmaxfield@ucu.org.uk

The Brunel UCU Branch Notes:

• On 20 November 2024, the Brunel UCU Branch voted to formally declare a dispute with Brunel University of London over plans to put 120 academics and 79 professional services staff at risk of redundancy, with future plans expected to put hundreds of additional professional services staff at risk of redundancy
• In “consultation” meetings between the unions and Brunel senior management, Brunel senior management has not only failed to rule out compulsory redundancies, but also refused to seriously consider viable alternatives to compulsory redundancies that tackle short-term financial issues with long-term solutions that preserve jobs and build upon (rather than tear down) Brunel’s academic, technical, and administrative infrastructure. This reflects a lack of engagement by Brunel University of London in either meaningful consultation or genuine negotiation, violating sections 188 and 178 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act 1992 (TULRCA), as well as the University’s own cross-union Recognition Agreement that cites those sections of TULRCA.
• Throughout the “consultation” period and thereafter, Brunel’s approach to the planned redundancy has been characterised by repeated violations of ACAS guidance, as well as Brunel’s own Change Management Policy and Redundancy Policy. This not only makes a mockery of Brunel’s own governance processes, but also undermines the statutory purpose of consultation as a means to discuss and seek agreement with employees on ways to avoid or reduce redundancies and reduce the impact of redundancy on affected employees.

The Brunel UCU Branch Believes:

• The current redundancy plans by Brunel University of London reflect an unprecedented assault on staff that will negatively impact Brunel’s operational effectiveness, reputation, and student experience for years to come.
• Brunel senior management’s blatant disregard of the TULCRA, Brunel’s Trade Union Recognition Agreement, ACAS guidance, and their own HR policies sets a worrying precedent not just for Brunel, but for UK HE more widely.

The Brunel UCU Branch Resolves:

• To carry out an online ballot (consistent with UCU’s Censure and Academic Boycott Policy) about whether Brunel should be added to the national UCU’s list of greylisted institutions. Greylisting as a sanction would include but not be restricted to:
o not applying for any advertised jobs at Brunel
o not agreeing to speaking at or organising academic or other conferences at Brunel
o not accepting new invitations to give talks or lectures at Brunel
o not accepting new positions as visiting professors or researchers at Brunel
o not accepting invitations outside of contract to write for any academic journal which is edited at or produced by Brunel
o not accepting new contracts as external examiners for taught courses at Brunel