Claims relating to UK-wide industrial action should be made via my.ucu. This page is for applications to UCU Edinburgh’s local Hardship & Fighting Fund (more info HERE) for pay docked during local industrial action in our dispute with the University of Edinburgh, which have included:

• Strike day 20 June 2025

• Strike days 8-12 September 2025

• Strike days 17-19 November 2025

• Strike days 30 March-3 April 2026

• Marking and Assessment Boycott April-September 2026*

• Strike days 28 September-30 October 2026

Having your pay docked is stressful. Waiting for financial relief can compound this. We try deal with all claims in a timely manner but sometimes face unavoidable delays and we appreciate your patience. Currently, the Branch Committee does not have the capacity to notify members when claims have been accepted, so please do check your bank account before enquiring about the status of your claim.

How to apply

After reading the guidance below, apply using [this form PAGE UPDATE UNDERWAY 20.09.2026]. Take care to attach all required supporting evidence so that your claim can be processed as quickly as possible. *MAB-related claims should be made [here UPDATE UNDERWAY 20.09.2026].

One form, two claim types

There is just one claim form - select on the form which type of claim it is for:

• Hardship claim – from day 1 – cover all life’s essentials – for those who would not be able to make ends meet due to lost pay.

• Fighting fund claim – from day 3 – amounts depending on wage level (see below) - for those who can afford a small drop in pay.

Both claim types require supporting evidence of docked pay (e.g. your pay slip). Hardship claims require additional supporting evidence (e.g. childcare costs, bank statements).

Fighting Fund eligibility (tiered)

Reimbursements will be made in the sum of:

• 100% of pay lost through strike action taken by members on Guaranteed Hours contracts

• £75 for the third and subsequent days of strike action taken by members earning less than £30,000 gross per annum

• £50 for the third and subsequent days of strike action taken by members earning £30,000 gross or more per annum

Hourly-paid members - special instructions

Please apply for all the days of action you took.

We need to see two pieces of evidence:

1. Your grade and step. Please don’t send your pay slip as this takes time to work out the hourly pay from! The best thing to send is a screenshot of your People and Money record showing your grade and step or your contract of employment. We reimburse holiday pay at 18.6% automatically and know how much hourly pay with this included is, so you don’t need to work that out for us.

2. The number of hours you lost. You could send us either course timetables showing your usual weekly working pattern, an email from your course organiser to confirm you missed X hours of work, or a screenshot of your previous timesheets showing the hours you usually work.

Where possible please claim for prep time from the University for a non-strike day. For example, if Thursday and Friday in the week you are claiming for were strike days, and you have 2 hours teaching on a Friday with 2 hours’ prep time, claim the 2 hours’ prep time for Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday and claim the 2 missed teaching hours from the fund.

Examples

Fighting Fund

1.      You are on a £26,500/annum wage. You were on strike for the 20th of June, and the 8th, 9th, and 10th of September.

a.      Total days of Action – 4

b.      Third day of action is the 9th  of September

c.       We reimburse for the 9th and 10th, at a rate of £75/day = £150

2.      You are on a £66,500/annum wage. You were on strike for the 20th of June, and the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th of September.

a.      Total days of Action – 5

b.      Third day of action is the 9th  of September

c.       We reimburse for the 9th, 10th and 11th, at a rate of £50/day = £150

3.      You are a GH staff member. You went on strike on the 20th of June open day where you should have had 4 hrs work at £18.96/hr (Grade 6 - Step 1)

a.      Total lost pay = 4 x 18.96 x 1.186 = £89.95

b.      We reimburse £89.95

Hardship Fund

You are on a £30,500/annum wage. You were on strike for the 20th of June, and the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th of September.

a.      Total days of Action – 5

b.      Gross weekly wage - £586.54

c.       Net weekly wage (6.1% USS, NI, PAYE deductions) - £464.55

d.      You provide evidence that childcare costs are £390/week and you ask this to be covered, but you can cover the remaining £75 of lost net pay.

e.      We reimburse £390