Who can claim from the local fund?
Applications are welcomed from the following groups:
- UCU members on hourly-paid contracts (Hourly Paid Teachers – HPTs), and
- UCU members on fixed term or open-ended contracts who receive regular monthly salaries and are on:
- Grade J and below
- plus for strike action taken in 2020: Grade K or above, in part-time roles where they earn £30,000 per annum or less
What can be claimed from the local fund?
- Members in Group 1 (see above) can claim for all contact hours lost due to strike action
- Members in Group 2 (see above) can claim for net deductions up to £75 for your first day of action only. The national hardship fund will cover the second or third day of action onwards, dependent on how much you are paid.
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- If you took part in the first wave of action in 2019, your ‘first day of action’ will have been in 2019.
- If you are taking action for the first time, during the second wave in 2020, your ‘first day of action’ will be in 2020.
How to claim: Group 1 – HPTs
If you are required to submit your fee claim to the University before carrying out your work, then you should submit your fee claim excluding contact hours missed or due to be missed during the strike period. This is because HR have agreed to pay for all contracted HPT hours other than contact hours. You should then submit your claim to the local hardship fund for the unclaimed contact hours missed due to strike action.
Please send the following documents to ucu-office@bristol.ac.uk in order to start your claim from the local hardship fund:
- Your HPT contract
- A screenshot of your fee-claim form in ERP prior to submitting (clearly indicating where contact hours are not claimed)
- Your notification email to HR
- A previous pay-slip
- Your bank details for making payment
Group 1 – HPTs: How is my claim calculated?
We calculate HPT claims by multiplying the number of contact hours lost by the hourly rate. We then deduct tax and NI where relevant, based on the information provided in a recent payslip.
How to claim: Group 2 – Staff on Grades J and below, or those on Grade K and above earning £30,000 p/a or less
Please send the following documents to ucu-office@bristol.ac.uk in order to start your claim:
- Your notification email to HR
- A normal pay-slip
- A deducted pay-slip
- Your bank details for making payment
Group 2: How is my claim calculated?
Process A:
We calculate these claims by comparing the take home pay on a ‘normal’ payslip and a payslip showing strike deductions. We then multiply this net amount by the number of months deductions are to be spread over then divide it by the number of days of strike action declared in the HR notification email. We then reimburse 1 day of net deductions.
Process B:
When there is significant disparity between ‘normal’ and deducted payslips (e.g. due to salary changes), we process claims based on the gross deduction showing on the payslip. We multiply the gross deduction by the number of months deductions are to be spread over, then deduct tax and NI where relevant before dividing the net total by the number of days of strike action declared in the HR notification email. We then reimburse 1 day of net deductions.
When will I receive my payment
We will endeavour to make payments to staff within 10 working days.
Bristol UCU – revised February 2020
Your questions
- Why do you need to see my payslips?
In order to check your tax & national insurance status (see question 3) - Where can I find copies of my payslips?
To download a payslip you’ll need to log onto MyERP, go to My Details, then My Personal Details, then double click on the paperclip in the top right corner, then double click on the relevant payslip, then click the download button in the top right corner of the payslip screen. - Why can’t I receive the gross amount deducted from my payslip?
We cannot reimburse you for more than you would have earned if you had not been on strike. That’s why we reimburse the net deduction amount. - I am not an HPT, why do you need to see my declaration email to HR?
In order to confirm the number of days work you missed due to strike cation. - I am not an HPT, how much can I claim?
Up to £75 for the first day only. - I am not an HPT, how can I claim for pay lost on subsequent days beyond the first day?
The national Fighting Fund will cover the second or third day of action onwards, dependent on your gross annual salary. - I am an HPT and I mistakenly claimed for all the hours through ERP (including contact hours) that I missed during the strike period. Can I still submit my claim to the local fund?
Yes, but you’ll need to wait until you see HRs deductions come through on your payslip then submit that, along with the other relevant documentation, to ucu-office@bristol.ac.uk - I am an HPT and I didn’t claim for any hours (including teaching related duties) through ERP. Can I claim for all of these through the local fund?
HR have advised that all teaching related hours can be claimed through ERP. If you missed out on claiming for these in the last round, you will be able to include these in your next ERP claim. In the meantime, you can submit a claim for contact hours lost through the local fund. - I am an HPT, why do you need to see my declaration email to HR?
In order to confirm the number of contact hours you missed due to strike action - I am an HPT, should I inform HR in advance of taking industrial action?
HPTs, like others, should not inform HR in advance of taking action. - I am an HPT, why do you need to see a copy of my contract?
In order to confirm your contractual status and hourly rate - I am an HPT, why do I need to screen shot my fee-claim prior to submitting?
Because you will not be able to access this once it has been submitted and we need to see what you have and haven’t claimed for the period. - I am an HPT, how much can I claim?
There is no cap for HPT members claiming from the local fund. - I am an HPT, can I claim from the national strike fund?
As the local hardship fund is covering all of your lost contact hours across all strike days, you can only claim from either the local hardship fund or the national strike fund, but not both.