14 January 2019

The University of Bristol and Bristol UCU are united in their commitment to reducing casualisation; that is, avoiding the unnecessary employment of Academic and Professional Services staff on fixed-term contracts of employment. Security of work and excellent staff experience are aims to which both the University and UCU are committed.

The University and the UCU recognise that many casualised roles are precarious ones, roles in which staff are not able to plan their future, feel vulnerable and are often under pressure because of concerns regarding loss of work.  We do not believe that it is sustainable or reasonable for our staff.

We are committed to providing secure terms and conditions of employment to University of Bristol staff, and to the fair and equitable treatment of part-time members of staff. While the use of fixed-term contracts or hourly paid contracts is appropriate in certain circumstances, we agree that staff should be offered a more secure contract if there is a clear case to do so.

The University and UCU are committed to time-limited negotiations and have formed a Special Interest Group (SIG) populated by UCU representatives and senior University managers, with a view to agreeing actions, including setting appropriate targets, to reduce the use of casual contracts at the institution and introduce greater security to staff on existing casual contracts when appropriate. The agreed outcomes will form part of a University-wide Action Plan arising from the SIG. The University of Bristol agrees to provide leadership across and within faculties and schools and to commit to resources, support and guidance to achieve this objective.

Both the University and UCU are committed to implementing the jointly agreed Action Plan, and to monitoring and reviewing that plan together regularly to ensure we achieve our shared objective of reducing the use of casual contracts at the University of Bristol.

As these negotiations are time-limited, we propose that the agreed action plan should be in place by no later than March 2019. 

Professor Judith Squires 
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost                                   

Tracey Hooper
President, UCU Bristol Branch                                       

Claire Buchanan 
Chief People Officer, Human Resources