WHAT IF THE INDUSTRIAL ACTION IMPACTS MY STUDIES?

 

The Office for Students (OfS) has published some guidance for students who have been affected by academic industrial action and would like to know what they can do. We have summarised the guidance below, but if you want more information, please visit their website here.

For further details and information on the industrial action and events that have occurred so far, please visit our UCU FAQ section.

If your studies have been affected by the industrial action, it is important to follow the right process before you make a formal complaint or seek legal action to succeed in a desirable outcome.

What to do in a nutshell?

As it is difficult to assess what the impact on your studying was during the industrial action, wait until the end of the strike or action, to proceed to a formal complaint. If your complaint is not supported correctly, it will be dismissed.

Before you complain, contact your department to discuss what they are doing to mitigate the impact. If you are not satisfied with the answer, then you can fill out a SAC form; if the issue is still not resolved, then you can form a formal complaint. If you are still unsatisfied with the result, you can contact the OIA for Higher education.

THE UNIVERSITY PROCESS IN DETAIL

Step 1: Informal mitigation [+]

If you have had or will have your studies disrupted in any way by the industrial action, then you should contact your department in the first instance to discuss whether it is possible to make up for any lost teaching and whether any other loss of services and support can be rearranged to mitigate the strike’s impact on your studies.

According to the university Policy to Mitigate the educational Impact on Students of UCU Industrial action staff will be asked to take measures that will enable students to complete the learning outcomes of the module by combining some of the above:

  • Rescheduling classes and learning activities affected by the strike.
  • Reordering module content to ensure that priority material is covered within the remaining scheduled classes.
  • Post lecture notes and/or recordings on Learn Ultra.
  • Directing students to library resources.
  • Directing students to public online material.
  • Rearranging individual supervisions.
  • Rearranging vivas;
  • Holding additional office hours, either in-person or online.
  • Any other reasonable measure.

Exam Mitigation

Where delivery of material for assessment by examination has been affected by the strike:

  • Students will be responsible for learning material covered through mitigations, but they will not be tested by examination on it.

You can read the full Policy to Mitigate the educational Impact on Students of UCU Industrial Action here.

Step 2: Serious Adverse Circumstances (SAC) [+]

Where lost teaching has impacted assessments or other work that counts towards your final grade, you may be able to submit a claim for this to be taken into account as part of the university’s SAC process. The University will only consider mitigating circumstances under this policy if students can provide evidence that they tried to mitigate those circumstances informally in the first instance. The University define serious adverse circumstances as:

““Exceptional personal circumstances, outside your control, that have prevented you from either acquiring or demonstrating the skills, knowledge or competencies required to meet the learning outcomes associated with an assessment that contributes to the qualification for which you are studying notwithstanding your best efforts, in consultation with your department/school and College, to mitigate those circumstances.””

For your serious adverse circumstances to be considered, you will need to complete a SAC Form (Serious Adverse Circumstances Form) which you can find here.

What should I include?

You need to include brief details of the circumstance that is causing/has caused an impact on your studies (i.e., it is enough to say UCU strike, industrial action, loss of teaching time etc.) and include how these circumstances are/were beyond your control. Where you need to go into detail is with the effect that this has then had on you and your studies (i.e., X number of lectures were cancelled with missed content not being made later available, additional stress and pressure, not being able to contact your lecturer at a crucial time in relation to deadlines etc.). Try to make it as specific to you and your situation as possible; the SAC form guidance recognises that each individual reacts differently to the same situation, and they need to know how you personally were impacted.

How long should it be?

You should try to be as clear and concise as possible. The SAC form has a limit of 500 words for the main section.

I don’t really understand what I need to put on the form...

Your College Support Office will be able to help you in completing a SAC form, and it will be used to support students through this process. If you do not feel comfortable going to your College for this, and feel you need more support in completing the form, you can contact the Advice Service at the Students’ Union here.

You can find more general information on the University’s mitigating circumstances policy here, and further guidance on completing the SAC form from the University is included on the form.

Step 3: Formal Complaint [+]

If you’re not happy with the university’s response to either your efforts to get mitigations, put in place informally or, to your SAC form, then you could submit a formal complaint. The University’s complaints process requires students to have evidence of trying to resolve the issue informally first, so we do recommend this as a final step in the process, as opposed to the start of the process.

Remember!

Your lecturers are likely to want to resolve any issues you feel you have directly with you, as they ultimately want you to succeed in your studies. As such, we would always recommend contacting them in the first instance to see what can be done to mitigate any lost teaching time.

To make a formal complaint, you will need to complete the University’s complaints form (Industrial action), which can be found here. You will need to fill out each section within the word limit, and attach any additional evidence you have. For more detailed guidance on the University’s complaints process, please visit our general complaints page.

What should I include?

You will first need to summarise the grounds for your complaint, describing the specific areas of dissatisfaction. This is the most important section of the complaint form so be sure to include detail. It helps to include specifics (such as names, dates etc.), as anything not included here will not be considered when seeking a resolution to your complaint. You should include the dates and titles of any lectures that were cancelled for instance. You also need to include evidence of actions you have already taken to resolve the matter informally, and why you were unsatisfied with the response. You also need to include the form of resolution or redress you are seeking.

Please note that formal complaints should be made within 28 days of the incident being complained about.

How long should it be?

There is a 500-word limit on the main part of the complaints form. If you exceed this, your complaint may not be considered so it is best to be concise.

Important Note: If the above process didn’t lead to resolution, then you can seek external help and contact the Independent Adjudicator of Higher Education. For your complaint to be considered by the OIA you need first to have followed the University.

THE OFFICE OF THE INDEPENDENT ADJUDICATOR (OIA) FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

If you are not satisfied with the University’s efforts to resolve your complaint, another option recommended by the OfS is to contact the OIA. The OIA is an ombudsman scheme which looks at whether a higher education provider has fair procedures, whether it has followed those procedures correctly, and whether the outcome for the student is reasonable.

The OIA has produced some information about their approach to complaints made by students affected by the industrial action, which you can read here. There are also some useful case summaries which can give guidance as to the kinds of cases that have been upheld in the past. There is no charge to students for lodging a complaint with the OIA.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Consumer Rights Act 2015 [+]

A OfS summary of the position of students under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides clarification about the protection that might be available to students in these circumstances. The National Union of Students has also produced a publication on this. It is general guidance and does not constitute legal advice to individual students, who are each likely to have different contractual arrangements with their universities depending on the requirements of their course, the extent of the disruption they have experienced, and their own individual circumstances. If you do wish to explore your legal options, you will need to take your own legal advice.

Compensation [+]

There have been numerous commentators in the media and in the HE sector arguing that students should be entitled to compensation for any missed teaching hours.

https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2018/feb/07/students-demand-compensation-from-universities-over-lecturer-strikes

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/10/students-demand-compensation-lecturer-strikes/

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/students-want-refunds-when-lecturers-strike-mf336qhkn

If you would like compensation, you can take legal action against the University, but we would recommend asking for one first through the internal complaints’ procedure mentioned above and following this through the OIA.

This is a fairly complex area of law, and it is not clear what the outcomes will be for students until we see some students go through the process. Universities and other higher education providers that don't meet their obligations to students may be in breach of consumer protection law – what remains unclear is what exactly will be done about it.

We have also collated resources on making complaints in relation to your rights as a consumer. You can find this this here.

The Office for Students’ regulatory powers in the event of future industrial action [+]

The OfS produced this briefing note, detailing their regulatory powers in relation to the 2021 industrial action.

Universities will need to demonstrate that in developing and implementing their policies, procedures and terms and conditions, they have given due regard to relevant guidance about their compliance with consumer protection law. The OfS will be expecting to see that Universities have taken all reasonable steps to reduce the impact of the strike action on teaching, learning and assessment, and have communicated clearly to students what the impact of any industrial action will be, particularly in relation to exams and assessments.

Page last reviewed: 01/06//2023