We are extremely disappointed that after further talks with University and College Union (UCU) requesting them to avoid strike action due to impact to both the academic and overall student experience, the proposed strike action will continue to go ahead.
We continue to urge the trade unions and university to continue to negotiate to bring about a resolution that ensures maximum protection for the academic and student experience.
Strike action has now been confirmed, with 15 days of discontinuous action planned from Monday 29th September until Friday 17th October. Discontinuous means staff may choose to participate in one, multiple or all dates.
In addition to strike action UCU are planning, Action Short of Strike (ASOS). This will start on Monday 29 September 2025 and will be continuous until Saturday 28 February 2026 and will consist of: Not working beyond contractual hours; Not covering for absent colleagues or unfilled posts; Not rescheduling or sharing materials from strike-affected sessions; Not performing voluntary or out-of-grade duties; Not using personal devices for university work; Not participating in student recruitment activities; Not participating in graduation related activities; and No admin work related to REF, Course reviews, University rankings, Timetabling, Financial year end.
The Students’ Union wishes to alert students that staff participating in industrial action are not required to let students know that they will be on strike. However, they have been asked to do so by the local UCU committee. If your lecturer isn’t present within 10 minutes of a scheduled start and they haven’t notified you they will be running late for a lecture or teaching session, you may assume they are taking part of the strike action, and you are free to leave the lecture. Please ensure that you have signed in on the attendance monitoring system upon arrival to ensure that there is a record of your attendance.
If you have been affected by the industrial action, please fill out this feedback form
Please find the student guide to formal complaints about industrial action here
Please find the University of Leicester official communication here
*Website updated on Tuesday 23rd September 2025 at 16:00*
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As many of you may be aware, the university sector is under significant financial pressure nationally. As a result, the University is undertaking a strategic review which has identified 6 academic areas and 5 professional service areas with a plan to reduce costs.
These are:
Academic:
- Chemistry
- Education
- Film Studies
- Geography, Geology, and the Environment
- History
- Modern Languages
Professional Services:
- College Business Operations
- IT/Digital Services and Support
- Research Infrastructure and Technical Services
- Student Support and Programme Administration
- Transactional Finance
So far, the university has undergone a pre-change engagement. They have collated thoughts from academics and professional services staff from all departments and provided key feedback and summaries to all staff from affected areas.
The Students’ Union is continuing to engage with the University on the absolute need to protect the student and academic experience whilst ensuring the students enrolled on courses with us continue to receive high quality of education.
We are engaging with our course, school and college reps, and we will continue to support them in the coming weeks and months to ensure that they are equipped to advocate on behalf of their coursemates.
We have met with University and College Union (UCU) multiple times and intend to work with staff representative bodies throughout this time. We are aware that UCU members have voted in support of strike action and we will continue to engage with UCU and University to minimise any detrimental impact on Student Academic Experience.
We will continue to update this page with information when we can.
If you’d like to get in touch, feel free to email SU-EXEC@leicester.ac.uk
*Website Updated Wendesdy 3rd September 2025*