UCU has a clear policy against the use of zero hours contracts. There are many names for these contracts but they typically involve an individual undertaking to be available for work but the employer not guaranteeing to provide any work and only paying for the hours worked. Now UCU has agreed to use Freedom of Information requests to get a clear picture of how widespread the use of zero hours contracts has become.
During the last year your UCU reps in Bath have raised a number of concerns about staff employed on a range of teaching-only contracts. These include staff with the job titles of teaching fellow, variable hours teaching fellow, part-time teaching fellow, fractional teaching fellow, casual teaching assistant, GTA. We have carried out two surveys of staff on teaching only contracts, and these have produced large responses and highlighted a number of common concerns. We have submitted a summary statement of these concerns to university managers through the formal machinery of negotiation, and we have requested a joint review of the use of teaching only contracts in the university. We await the Vice Chancellor’s response.