We recognise and work with three trade unions (UCU, UNISON and Unite), which represent different employee groups:
UCU represents academics and related staff within further and higher education throughout the UK and have over 120,000 members. At Southampton, UCU is the recognised union to represent:
Education, Research and Enterprise (ERE) Staff at Levels 4 and above:
Education, Research and Enterprise (ERE) Staff at Levels 4 and above:
Management, Specialist and Administrative (MSA) Staff at Levels 4 and above (including Library and iSolutions staff)
Technical and Experimental (TAE) Staff at Levels 4 and above
UCU provides support and representation to all staff employed in the above categories on either full-time, part-time and hourly paid contracts, including staff on both permanent and fixed-term contracts. This also applies to Postgraduates who are employed by the university, although all postgraduates are welcome to join UCU.
UNISON represent support staff in all areas, from clerical, administrative and secretarial to finance and computing.
Unite represent Technical staff at all levels, manual trades, security, catering and cleaning.
We work closely with the trade unions and University representatives via a joint negotiating committee (JNC), who consult and negotiate on behalf of its members on matters relating to conditions of employment such as pay, hours and holiday.
View the Trade Union time off and facilities agreement.
The Trade Union Act 2016 requires public sector employers, including HEIs to publish data on facility time.
View the current submission for 2023-24.
The Industrial Relations lead is:
Luke Kelly, Industrial Relations Business Partner - l.a.kelly@soton.ac.uk