Industrial action has been taking place at UK universities in relation to national disputes over pay, including most recently a marking and assessment boycott.
This means that, over the last few months, a small number of staff have been limiting their activity around marking and assessment procedures.
End of the marking and assessment boycott
The University and College Union (UCU), which has been asking members to participate in the boycott, have notified the University that this element of their current action has now ended, and staff will be asked to prioritise marking activity over the coming weeks alongside their normal teaching commitments.
We would like to apologise for the disruption caused as a result of this national action. We don’t underestimate how difficult this situation has been and we’d like share our thanks again for your support and patience.
Making missing marks available
Any students who are currently missing marks should expect to receive them within the Results Portal as soon as marks have been submitted and finalised by our Boards of Examiners. This can take several weeks and you will be kept up to date with progress. Please note resit marks have been released where they are available.
Further detailed information will be shared with all students who have been directly affected and additional information will be made available on our information pages in the coming days. Please take the time to read this detail carefully before contacting your school office with any further enquiries.
Dispute information and strike dates
Discussions between UCU, the other recognised trade unions Unison and Unite, and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), which is the organisation which manages national pay negotiations of behalf of UK universities, have now concluded, and UCEA submitted a final pay offer in January which has been implemented for all staff. The uplift ranged from 8% at the lowest end of the scale to 5% at the highest end of the scale.
The current UCU mandate for industrial action will conclude on 30 September, and ahead of that UCU are asking their members to take five days of strike action from Monday 25 – Friday 29 September.
The University will remain open throughout the industrial action and the vast majority of teaching and learning will proceed as usual.
Key points
- Please check your University email as well as our Industrial Action web hub and Student News site for regular updates.
- Please assume your lectures, seminars, classes and supervision will take place, unless told otherwise. Staff members do not have to inform the University in advance that they will be on strike but we hope that many will continue to keep you directly informed.
- Some areas of the University may experience higher levels of engagement in strike action than others and we have published FAQs to help you understand what this means and how we will minimise the impact on your studies, if you are in an affected area.
- Our libraries, computer rooms, and services will be available throughout to enable ongoing support for your studies.
- If you are on campus during the strike action you may see some staff picketing at the entrance to some buildings. We have provided some detail about pickets and what to expect on our dedicated FAQs page.
Welcome Week activities
Our Welcome Programme will continue as planned and all students, whether new or returning to us after the summer, are encouraged to find out about the activities on offer. It’s a great way to discover new opportunities and things you can get involved in during your time at Liverpool, and there is no better time to dig into that than during Welcome.
If your area is affected, we will continue to work to ensure you have all the details you need to continue successfully with your studies.