What the scheme is

This scheme is open to any University of Bristol registered student to claim for costs incurred as a result of industrial action by University staff in the 2022-23 Academic Year. This may include disruption caused by cancelled lectures, tutorials, practicals or research activity.

Claims for expenditure on multiple days should be submitted separately.

You’ll be asked for evidence of any costs incurred such as bus or train tickets, book receipts etc. These should be photographed and attached to the claim, instructions are included in the claim form.

All claims will be checked for validity before payment is processed.

What you can claim for

We will consider claims for travel, study materials and childcare; the details are outlined below. Other costs will be considered on a case by case basis.

1. Rail, bus or coach travel
   We will reimburse rail, bus or coach costs between your home (or the address from which you travelled on the day) and the University precinct or Langford. Rail or bus passes are not eligible for re-imbursement. Travel from or outside the UK will not be reimbursed. Unfortunately, the University is unable to reimburse the cost of first-class travel.
2. Mileage and parking
   If travelling by car, mileage for a return journey between your home postcode and the University precinct (BS8 1TH) or Langford (BS40 5DU) will be calculated using the RAC Route Planner. The distance for the recommended route will be multiplied by 15p per mile to obtain the amount to be reimbursed. We will reimburse any relevant parking costs.
3. Other travel
   These will be considered on a case by case basis.
4. Study materials
   The University will reimburse claims for any additional study materials that were required as a result of the strike action e.g. particular textbooks required because of missed dissertation supervision meeting/s or missed lectures.
5. Childcare
   The University will reimburse claims for the cost of childcare incurred due to cancelled or postponed lectures, tutorials or research activity. Acceptable childcare costs include nursery fees, breakfast, afterschool clubs or holiday clubs and charges made by a registered childminder. We are not able to compensate childcare provided by friends, neighbours or family members or any other similar ‘babysitting’ arrangement.
6. Other costs
   The University will reimburse any other reasonable costs that you may have incurred as a result of the industrial action. However, we will not reimburse costs of food or drink. Please submit your claim and we will review it and contact you with any queries.

What you can’t claim for

It is not possible to claim for the costs of food and drink, for refunds of tuition fees, or for wages you could have earned if working.

Why you can't claim a tuition fee refund

We do not plan to provide financial reimbursement for any specific missed teaching sessions due to industrial action.

Tuition fees relate to education as a whole, including other services and facilities that students receive, and not individual teaching sessions. Further information is available about the industrial action.

How you will receive payment of accepted expenses

Payment will be made by BACS. If your claim is successful, you must provide details for a UK bank account to enable us to pay you.

Instructions on how to provide your UK bank details.