From the 5th of January, UCU Derby is on ASOS.

What is Action Short of Strike (ASOS)?

While a strike means stopping work completely, Action Short of a Strike (ASOS) is normally action which affects only certain aspects of your work. Our ASOS consists of the following (and only the following): 

• Working to contract
• Not covering for absent colleagues
• Not sharing materials related to lectures or classes cancelled as a result of strike action
• Not rescheduling lectures or classes cancelled due to strike action
• Not undertaking any voluntary activities       

Please also find a link to UCU’s guide to taking ASOS that describes each category here.

ASOS can vary across our membership who are engaged in a large number of different job roles. However, the following will help you navigate ASOS:

• Keep to your contracted hours (typically 37 pro rata), taking care not to overwork if working flexibly. This is especially important if your contracted activities are unclear or you have a clause in your contract covering ‘any other activities commensurate with the role’.
• Prioritise a balanced workload. If allocated activities take longer, re-negotiate deadlines, ask your line manager or a UCU rep for support. Push back where these activities encroach on time for personal development, research, etc.
• Organise with colleagues. No one knows your work area better than you and your colleagues within it. Discuss ASOS with each other, sticking to contracted hours, and not undertaking voluntary activities. Encourage non-members to engage with this also. ASOS is about fighting against unreasonable demands that we are not compensated or rewarded for, but coerced into under the guise of ‘collegiality’, ‘good will’, and ‘student experience’.

Attached is also a draft automated mail response to adapt for those who wish to use it. 

Why are we on ASOS? 

The aim of ASOS is twofold. Firstly, we need to keep pressure on university management as they carry on with their redundancies plan. Secondly, ASOS will help us protect colleagues from workload increases and requests to reschedule/cover teaching, and in doing so will allow us to show how management’s plans for the future of the university are completely unsustainable.