Strike Action and Action Short of Strike (ASOS) Q & A and Information
Following recent strike action, we’ve received a number of questions about what is or is not a reasonable request from a line manager and what action short of a strike (ASOS) means. In response to these queries, we have developed the following Q & A. It is a work in progress, so please check with us regularly and let us know if you have any further questions or queries.
- What does ASOS mean?
- Does ASOS imply breach of contract and, if so, what does that mean?
- What is Essex’s current position regarding ASOS Pay Deductions?
- What specifically is working to contract and what does that look like?
- What does ASOS and working to contract look like for workers on hourly paid contracts?
- How much will be deducted from my pay for strike action?
- Can I apply to a hardship fund after going on strike?
- What does this all mean on the ground?
- What do I do if I’m asked to rewrite assignments?
- What if I’m asked to re-schedule an assessment missed on account of strike action, such as a practical or a presentation?
- What if the teaching which prepared students for a particular assessment has been missed on account of strike action and I’m asked to reschedule this?
- What if I’m asked to make up contact hours?
- What will happen with marking and marking deadlines that I missed because of the strike? Do I still have to keep to the 20-day marking deadline?
- What if I’m asked to report or provide content of missed sessions (whether through an online form or email)?
- What should I do if I’m an hourly paid lecturer, like an Assistant Lecturer, and am offered extra hours?
- What should I do if requested to contact students to rearrange deadlines?
- What should I do if I receive a complaint from a student for undertaking ASOS or strike action?
Action short of a strike (ASOS) includes the following:
- 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 (e.g. partaking in additional activities, outside of normal workload).
For more information, see here.
Universities, and many other organizations operate on goodwill, rather than contractual obligation, and the point of ASOS is to draw attention to this fact. This will result in the institutions like the University of Essex running at slower pace than usual. The following tips should also be kept in mind:
- It is management’s job to be specific in terms of both the tasks you do and the order in which they are undertaken
- If you are unsure about what your priorities ought to be you should refer your query to your line manager or Head/Dean of Department/School (HoD)
In general, while engaging in ASOS, if you are asked to do a specific task, seek clarification as to why it is being asked, what it involves and what you should deprioritise instead. Based on the provided information, decide whether this counts as you having to redo work you were already docked pay for or not. If you’re ever unclear, ask for further clarification and contact us at ucu@ucumail.essex.ac.uk.
Sticking to your hours or ‘working to contract’ is not a breach of contract. However, some forms of ASOS (e.g. refusal to reschedule teaching events, or refusal to cover for absent colleagues) could be construed as a breach of contract, and in such instances, staff could in theory be subject to pay deductions for breach of contract arising from ASOS (see point 3 below). However, because ASOS is covered by a lawful industrial action ballot, you cannot be disciplined or dismissed for undertaking it.
Currently, senior managers at the University of Essex have said that they are not making deductions for ASOS, though University managers have not guaranteed that they won’t reserve the right to deduct pay for ASOS beyond working to contract (i.e. where ASOS would involve what they consider as a breach of contract). They also haven’t clarified whether refusing to rescheduling classes, for example, would be interpreted as breach of contract, and whether or not they’d deduct for a refusal to reschedule classes. At many other universities, such as Cardiff, Sussex, Southampton, Royal Holloway, Goldsmiths, Kent, VCs have provided such guarantees. Please feel free to contact our VC at vc@essex.ac.uk to tell him that you would like these guarantees provided as well. In the branch, we have followed up on this matter with People and Culture (and will continue to request that they drop the threat of ASOS deductions from all staff communications).
Working to contract means abiding strictly by the terms of your contract of employment in regard to your specified hours of work, breaks, workload, or other matters that your employment or work contract may specify. In practice, working to contract will look different for colleagues in different roles.
a. Working to contract for administrative staff
ASOS for administrative / professional services staff members is unlikely to look much different to a normal working day as ‘working to contract’ is often close to the actual working practice – especially at the grades which specify working hours. However, there may be opportunities to not attend committee meetings, departmental meetings and team meetings as these are rarely mandated as part of a contract. In particular, as with other roles, stick to your notional 36 hours (or whatever is stated in your contract) per week, and take your lunch breaks and your Health and Safety mandated breaks away from your computer.
b. Working to contract for Academic, Research only and Teaching only posts (Grade 7 or above)
Working to contract for academic employees is complicated because these contracts stipulate that there are no fixed hours of work and that ‘The normal working week is Monday to Friday although you may be expected to work outside of this pattern as required and as is reasonable by the Head of Department and following consultation with you.’
To work ‘as may be reasonably required’ whilst not working excessive hours, and maintaining flexible working, we suggest the following:
- You should not work more than the notional 36 hours in a week unless explicitly instructed by your HoD or line manager.
- Avoid checking emails or doing work on weekends or evenings, unless there is a specific reason to do so; and ensure that any work done on weekends/evenings is included in your weekly total of 36 hours.
If a line manager or HoD insists that you work over these hours, in the evenings or over weekends (e.g. to urgently mark essays or exam scripts), we advise that you ask your line manager/HoD to put the instruction in writing and you keep a record of all these instructions to work more than the notional working week. We urge members to record evidence of an excessive work culture and of specific managerial instruction to work long hours.
Moreover, in light of the University’s commitment to Athena Swan and the Race Equality Charter, there is an increasing understanding of the need for understanding management systems that allow flexible working and deadlines.
- What does ASOS and working to contract look like for workers on hourly paid contracts (e.g. for assistant lecturers)?
‘Working to contract’ will look quite different for staff, like assistant lecturers (ALs) or some fixed-term lecturers, engaged through hourly paid contracts. Where employees receive a fixed salary for their work, and the content of the specific work they do is flexible (and potentially subject to directions of their HoD), contracts already specify the content of the work undertaken (i.e. you are paid for specific tasks, and only if and when you actually deliver them), and the specific hours of work that you are contracted to do.
Working to contract in this instance means sticking strictly to the hours that you are paid for, and not doing any additional unpaid work out of goodwill. This means, for example, not exceeding the allocated preparation time for seminars/lectures; not doing any additional admin, nor providing advice and feedback, besides that undertaken in your allocated and paid hours; not spending any more time than what you are allocated for marking essays and exam scripts. If you find that you cannot fulfil your workload by sticking to your contracted hours, we advise that you refer to your line manager, HoD, or module supervisor, state that you are working to contract, and ask for instructions about how to deal with your excess workload. This includes marking. If you find that you cannot finish your marking in the allocated hours, perhaps as a result of unreasonable expectations placed upon you, we advise you to contact your line manager or HoD. Explain that you have fulfilled all your contractual hours, but that a portion of the marking remains unfinished and that you will not be carrying out any unpaid work as part of ASOS. You can also ask your line manager or HoD for alternative solutions.
If you experience any pressures from your line manager/HoD or other members of departments, let us know immediately (ucu@ucumail.essex.ac.uk).
The University will deduct 1/365th of your salary for each day that you participate in strike action.
If you are not employed on a full time or a full-year contract, a pro rata calculation will be used to apply the 1/365th deductions based on the number of calendar days in the year that you are contracted for. If you work on a part time contract or work for part of the year and are unclear what your strike deductions would be, please email indact@essex.ac.uk.
Yes, the local hardship strike fund will pay for your first and 13th day of strike action, while the national fund will pay for day 2, up to day 12, of the strike:
- in the sum of £50 for members earning £30,000 gross or more per annum;
- in the sum of up to £75 for members earning less than £30,000 gross per annum;
- in any case payments will not exceed the amount of pay lost on account of strike action.
We encourage Essex UCU members to claim for strike action from day 2 onwards from UCU’s national fighting fund here (you can also navigate to the ‘fighting fund’ tab at the top once logged in to My UCU). We will also review the extension of the local hardship strike fund for strike action taken in 2022 at a later date.
Everything that follows essentially boils down to the question of what is a ‘reasonable request’ by management and how can we deal with it collectively and within the spirit of ASOS. This is general and non-exhaustive advice and it may not cover all circumstances, so please feel free to contact us if you have any more specific queries.
It is fine to check assignments, but it should not usually be necessary to rewrite them, or to make much in the way of revision to them. If you are to get pressured into doing so, please ask for specific and detailed feedback and information on the kind of revisions that are considered necessary and why. Also, if this happens and you cannot research an easy resolution, please get in touch with us at ucu@ucumail.essex.ac.uk.
- What if I’m asked to re-schedule an assessment missed on account of strike action, such as a practical or a presentation?
If the rescheduled assessment can be completed within your normal working week of 36 hours, then it could be considered a reasonable request to reschedule such assessment. However, if this cannot be completed within your notional 36 hours, then you should ask your line manager/HoD to deprioritise some work to enable you to do this, or request that this work is partly redistributed within the department or school. If you feel pressured to work excessive hours or to solve the problem, you should remind your line manager/HoD that it is their responsibility to resolve the matter and contact us at ucu@ucumail.essex.ac.uk.
- What if the teaching which prepared students for a particular assessment has been missed on account of strike action and I’m asked to reschedule this?
In such instances, you should remind your line manager/HoD that you undertaking ASOS and cannot replace teaching missed on account of strike action. A request to provide guidance to students undertaking the assignment in this instance could be considered reasonable, but we would suggest that you ask for specific feedback from your line manager/HoD as to the kind of guidance that he/she/they would like you to produce. If you are working to capacity, we also recommend that you ask your line manager/HoD what you should deprioritise to complete this task.
While it is reasonable that staff might be in contact with students regarding essays, dissertations, or other assessed work, you should not feel that you need to make up for missed office hours. It is fine to meet with students as you would normally do either face-to-face or online (e.g. via Zoom or Teams), but don’t do so as a means to reschedule work.
- What will happen with marking and marking deadlines that I missed because of the strike? Do I still have to keep to the 20-day marking deadline?
It is reasonable that marking deadlines might be missed as a result of strike action. Essex UCU is currently seeking to relax the 20-day turnover rule in cases where there has been a significant loss of working days due to the strike. Currently, we are seeking to obtain clear reassurance from University of Essex managers that staff or workers will not be penalised for missing a marking deadline as a result of strike action.
If you receive pressure from your line manager/HoD to hand in your marking on time, we recommend the following:
a. For employees: write to your line manager asking them if they would like marking to be your priority and, if so, what they would like to be deprioritised. In case they ask you to prioritise marking, consider this to be a reasonable request. However, members are reminded that as part of working to contract under ASOS they should not be working above the notional working week of 36 hours (pro rata for fractional staff).
b. For hourly paid staff: our advice is that hourly paid staff act similarly to employees: prioritise your marking to the extent that is reasonable in relation to your additional commitments stemming from alternative roles (including PhD work or second job related activities). This is to ensure that your total weekly working hours do not exceed 36 hours. With regard to marking, we advise you to stick strictly to your contracted hours. If you find that you cannot finish your marking in these allocated hours, we advise you to contact your line manager/HoD. Explain that you have fulfilled all your contractual hours, but that a portion of the marking remains unfinished. Consequentially, inform your line manager/HoD that you will not be carrying out any unpaid work as part of ASOS. You can also ask them for alternative solutions.
If you receive pressure from your line manager/HoD or members of your department/school to commit to marking as a priority, this might, under circumstances, be seen as reasonable, but please do get in touch with the UCU, your departmental UCU rep or email ucu@ucumail.essex.ac.uk.
- What if I’m asked to report or provide content of missed sessions (whether through an online form or email)?
It is entirely reasonable for you to inform your line manager about the missed sessions (e.g. my students missed the classes in Week 7 or between Date X and Y), but you don’t need to elaborate any further.
- What should I do if I’m an hourly paid lecturer, like an assistant lecturer, and am offered extra hours?
You’re not obliged to take on additional hours, but if you want to do so, that is up to you. However, we would ask you to be mindful that what you are asked to do will not cover for activities that have been missed as a result of strike action. We also ask that you do not more work than you’re being paid for. The general rule to keep in mind is that the point of ASOS is to ensure that the disruptive effects of the strike are not covered in the aftermath. Hence, we would encourage you to only take up additional work that does not undermine the strike disruption.
UCU’s call for ASOS, for example, still suggests that voluntary activities are avoided, such as attending graduate ceremonies, or participating in open and away days, and we would suggest that it would be best if those on hourly contracts did not participate in these kinds of activities.
Contacting students to rearrange deadlines as a module supervisor/teacher may or may not be feasible while taking ASOS, and we would suggest that you consider if this is possible within your working hours. If not, you should discuss this with your line manager/HoD and consider alternative options, such as simply not contacting students and not changing deadlines or reviewing deadlines yourself and changing them accordingly if it is agreed that this is beneficial.
If the complaint simply concerns actions taken as part of industrial action, whether as a form of ASOS or strike action, you should alert your line manager/HoD:
- to the fact that you cannot be disciplined for taking industrial action;
- that a complaint concerning industrial action, if pursued against an individual staff member, is without merit.
Line managers/HoDs should actively shield all staff who participate in lawful industrial and, if complaints about the impact of industrial action are made, they should be directed to the department/school or University, but not the individual.
If you experience any problems in relation to any of the above, please contact us at ucu-casework@ucumail.essex.ac.uk.
We are accepting donations
If you able to donate to the local strike fund, we encourage you to do so by making payments to:
- Name of account: UCU Essex LA020 Strike Fund
- Account number: 20393700
- Bank sort code: 608301
Suggested email signature
Some colleagues may wish to make it known that they are working to contract or participating in ASOS. A common way to do this is to change your work email signature to include a line such as:
‘Please note that I am currently taking action short of a strike (ASOS) as part of University and College Union (UCU) industrial action to defend our right to a fair pension and decent working conditions, including fair and equal pay, a decasualised workforce, and manageable workloads. You can read about UCU’s Four Fights and USS Pensions disputes here. Response times may be slower for the duration of the dispute, especially outside of normal working hours. Please support university staff by writing to university management, or the Vice Chancellor at vc@essex.ac.uk, asking him/them to listen to staff concerns and to agree to a decent, guaranteed pension for myself and colleagues.’