In this Bulletin:

Open Member Meeting Reminder

Appraisal Update

Teaching Observation, Peer Observation and Peer Dialogue Schemes

Open Member Meeting Reminder

The second Open Member Meeting of the year will take place next Wednesday, 26 November, at 1.00-2.00pm. For logistical reasons, this one will be on Teams only, at the link you have been emailed.

These are informal, no-agenda meetings for members to bring any concerns or ideas to the Branch Committee. Come and tell us what is happening in your schools/services.

Appraisal Update

In the last bulletin we advised members not to use the appraisal form that management recently tried to introduce without appropriate consultation. We have also told Management that objectives that stem from that appraisal form are not viewed by UCU as legitimate objectives. Management have confirmed that, until the situation is resolved, managers will not insist the new form is used, that there will no penalty for refusing to use the form, and that appraisal objectives can simply be recorded in a Word document. While discussions with management on this are ongoing, management should continue to carry out appraisals. The current situation with the form should not mean that appraisals are postponed. A form is not necessarily needed for an appraisal to be carried out effectively but a good form can provide a useful guide for members about what to expect. In the absence of a suitable form, here’s our advice on what you should expect in your appraisal:

1. Achieving or maintaining shared understanding about the scope, purpose and nature of your role. This should include agreeing your written workload, which should be consistent with the University’s policies (as described in the Lancashire UCU guidance). Appraisal is a year-round process, which involves not only agreeing the workload plan for the academic year before it begins but also modifying it and keeping it up to date as the academic year progresses. The workload plan should consist of time allocations that allow specified objectives to be met, and appraisal involves not only agreeing that plan but reviewing it. The feasibility of objectives must be assessed, for example in relation to their appropriateness for your role, whether adequate resources have been provided (which will include time but also potentially other things) and any other potential or actual barriers to achieving the objectives.

2. When appropriate, setting a development/progression plan and monitoring your progress with it. If you are Assistant Lecturer or Lecturer at Points 36—38, then you should have a three-year progression plan whose successful completion will allow you to progress to, respectively, Lecturer and Senior Lecturer (unless you have chosen not to undertake a progression plan). If you’re in any other Grade G teaching role or Grade H role, we suggest that you contact UCU for personalised advice. For any member who aspires to be promoted to a higher grade, a development plan that will enable you to demonstrate your ability to perform a higher-graded role can form part of the appraisal.

3. Your needs in relation to training and development should be discussed, including a discussion of what the employer can provide to support this.

4. There should be a discussion of any links between your health and well-being and your work. This could include identifying action the employer needs to take to prevent work from having a negative impact on your well-being or considering how existing health issues are affecting your experience at work or ability to carry out your work.

Teaching Observation, Peer Observation and Peer Dialogue Schemes

The UCU bulletin for October reported that Management had surreptitiously replaced the version of the Teaching Observation scheme that was negotiated and agreed with UCU by a significantly different version not discussed, negotiated or agreed with UCU. It now seems that this fate has also befallen the Peer Observation Scheme, which was negotiated and agreed with UCU, but has been surreptitiously replaced by an unnegotiated new version called Peer Dialogue Scheme. Therefore, for the time being, if you are asked to participate in Teaching Observation or in the Peer Observation/Dialogue scheme, UCU advise you to decline. If your line manager attempts to instruct you to participate then UCU advise you to seek UCU support. Once the versioning issues have been resolved and UCU are sure that only a negotiated and agreed version is in use, we will send updated advice in a branch bulletin.

Lancashire UCU Branch Committee