Dear colleague
We are currently balloting members on whether to accept or reject the new master contracts of employment. You should already have received an email with a unique voting link and you have until Tuesday 10 October at 5pm to vote on the proposals. If you have not received this email please contact Amanda at ucu@soton.ac.uk as soon as possible.
Southampton UCU has been in negotiations with University of Southampton on the new master contracts of employment for staff at Levels 4-6 since summer 2013. These negotiations have been taking place with renewed intensity in the last academic year. The stated intent of University of Southampton in re-drafting contracts of employment is, “To produce a set of modernised contract of employment templates which are legally compliant, written in ‘plain English’, to make the terms and conditions of employment simpler to understand, and, where possible, to future proof standard clauses. It is important to note that the existing terms and conditions of employment are not being changed in this revision.”
The proposed contract is for new staff joining the University, or for staff who are taking up a new post. At present this does not affect contracts for existing staff, who will for the time being remain employed on their current contracts of employment. Southampton UCU is keen to ensure consistency and equity in terms of employment at University of Southampton, therefore if our members approve the new master contracts of employment for new staff, we will in principle approve these contracts being rolled out to existing staff at a future date. During the lengthy negotiations we carefully considered the views of University of Southampton and the University considered feedback from your Southampton UCU reps. We feel that we are now able to present to our members the final version.
We encourage members to look at the new contract as well as the summary document, both of which can be found here: https://groupsite.soton.ac.uk/Administration/Master-Contracts-Project/Pages/Home.aspx
PLEASE USE YOUR VOTE.
I am not sure what 4.7 means in practise. Are all new lecturers going to be vetted by the Government to decide if they need additional security clearance?
What membership bodies is 4.6 referring to? Is it Academic Societies?
4.6 It is a condition of the Appointment that the Employee must at all times have the appropriate registration, licences or membership with [ORGANISATION / MEMBERSHIP BODY] and any successor agency or body. A lapse in registration, licensing or membership may constitute grounds for termination of this Appointment.
4.7 The Employee’s appointment is subject to their receiving an appropriate Government security clearance. If additional level checks are required then the Employee will work with the relevant sponsor to complete the relevant security clearance. Failure to obtain and maintain the relevant security clearance may constitute grounds for termination of this Appointment.