2024-2025 BRANCH ELECTION

UCU Branch Elections

An election for all positions on the Branch Committee will be held on May 16th during our AGM. All UCU committee officer roles are open for election with the successful candidates serving for a period of one year. See below for:

  • call for Officer nominations
  • election timeline
  • election procedure
  • information about Union Facilities Time: all officers receive workload points
  • branch officer descriptions

Call for Officer Nominations:

The Call for Nominations for Branch Committee Officers is open from April 3rd and April 17th for the following positions:

  • The chair
  • The secretary
  • The treasurer
  • The membership /recruitment secretary
  • The equality officer
  • The RIASA officer
  • The adjunct faculty officer
  • The health and safety officer
  • The green officer
  • The staff officer

Election Timeline:

  • Call for nominations opens: 3 April
  • Nomination Deadline: 17 April (noon)
  • Online Election for Contested Officer Positions: 15 May
  • Announcement of Branch Officers: AGM 16 May

Election Procedure:

If you wish to stand for election, please provide a short candidate statement (approximately 200 words) explaining why our members should vote for you.

Please email nominations to the Returning Officer, Sue Pell (susan.pell@richmond.ac.uk) by 12pm on Thursday April 17th. As per our Constitution, all nominations must be accompanied by written consent of the nominee and supported by two members. Nominations and confirmation will be accepted via email and will forego the requirement of a signature.

Once nominations are received, any contested positions will go to a vote to be held online (anonymously via Microsoft Forms) prior to the AGM and results will be announced at our next Annual General Meeting to be held at 12:00pm on Thursday May 16th.

Information about Union Facilities Time (UFT): All Officers receive workload points

Elected officers receive union facilities time (UFT) to carry out union duties. The Branch has a full-time equivalent (FTE) of 1200 points to distribute between the committee members that we have secured in our Joint Recognition Agreement with the university. Full-time or fractional faculty serving as committee officers receive approximately 80 workload points that count towards university service; adjunct faculty receive a financial equivalent.This equates to the Chair and Secretary receiving a course relief each in Fall and Spring as they are expected to devote a day a week to union work. UCU is one of the most rewarding service roles at Richmond as we work together to improve working conditions for all.

We encourage you to consider putting yourselves forward for a position to help support your union. We would be pleased to discuss any questions you have at richmonducubranch@richmond.ac.uk

Branch Officer Information:

As per our attached branch constitution, elections will be held for the following committee positions (detailed in point 8 of the Constitution (amended 2021) pasted below):

8       OFFICERS OF THE BRANCH

8.1    Members will be elected to the following officer roles within the Branch:

The chair

The secretary

The treasurer

The membership /recruitment secretary

The equality officer

The RIASA officer

The adjunct faculty officer

The health and safety officer

The green officer

The staff officer

Members Officer

8.2       Chair

The chair will chair all general meetings and all committee meetings of the Branch and perform such other duties as are laid upon the chair by any rule or are decided by the committee.  In the absence of the chair these duties will be performed by another officer as the committee decides. In accordance with normal practice, the chair may, between meetings of the committee, take any action on behalf of the committee which is both urgent and necessary. Such Chair’s Action must be reported for approval to the next committee meeting.

8.3       Secretary

The duties of the secretary are to call general and committee meetings of the Branch; to ensure that minutes of those meetings are kept; to organise membership circulations as the committee deems necessary; to arrange notification of local election and ballot results to all members; and to perform such other duties as are laid on the secretary by any rule or are decided by the committee.  In the absence of the secretary, the secretary’s duties will be performed by another officer as the committee decides.

8.4       Treasurer

The treasurer will have custody of the funds of the Branch and authority to make payments from them in accordance with the rules as the need arises.  The treasurer’s duties will be to keep the books of the Branch; to present the accounts of the Branch for auditing as necessary; to present these audited accounts to a general meeting of the Branch, to publish them to all members of the Branch, and to submit a copy forthwith to the honorary treasurer of UCU. In the absence of the treasurer, the treasurer’s duties will be performed by another officer as the committee decides.

8.5       Membership/Recruitment Secretary

The membership/recruitment secretary will be responsible for recruitment and for keeping any membership records that are necessary at local level.  The membership secretary will provide membership information promptly to UCU in accordance with instructions from UCU Head Office or Regional Office to enable statutory and rule requirements of membership records to be met.  In the absence of the membership secretary, these duties will be performed by another officer as the committee decides.

8.6       Equality officer

The equality officer will:

  1. have knowledge of and commitment to relevant issues, and be willing to undertake training according to the needs of UCU, monitor the implementation of equality policies within the institution, and, where appropriate, encourage and support local negotiations on equality matter
  2. monitor the volume and nature of personal casework which involves equality issues to ensure that the Branch has appropriate mechanisms in place for handling such cases
  3. where appropriate, provide information, encouragement and support to members about equality issues
  4. ensure that UCU’s national annual meetings, and any other relevant events and opportunities for women, black members, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members and disabled members are publicised locally, that members from all groups are encouraged to participate, and that the Branch maximises the opportunities for recruitment and organisation amongst all group
  5. where appropriate, provide liaison between the Branch and UCU’s equality structures

In the absence of the equality officer, these duties will be performed by another officer or officers as the committee decides.

8.7       RIASA Officer

The RIASA Officer represents the particular needs and concerns of faculty located at the Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy, with the goal of ensuring equity for all, improving working conditions, and career progression, listening to, and keeping all RIASA faculty informed about UCU and RAIUL activities.

8.8       Adjunct Faculty Officer

The Adjunct Faculty Officer represents the particular needs and concerns of faculty on short-term employment contracts, with the goal of improving communications, working conditions and career progression based on permanent contracts.

8.9       Health and Safety Officer

The Health and Safety Officer will monitor policy of the university that affects the health and safety of members’ working conditions. They will also be the liaison between the central UCU Office and established network of health and safety reps and the Richmond UCU Branch on matters and initiatives related to health and safety.

8.10     Green Officer

The Green Officer will have knowledge of and commitment to relevant issues, and be willing to undertake training according to the needs of UCU, monitor the implementation of green policies within the institution, and, where appropriate, encourage and support local negotiations on green and environmental matters. Where appropriate, they will also provide information, encouragement and support to members about green issues.

8.11 Staff Officer

The Staff Officer represents the particular needs and concerns of professional staff with the goal of improving communications, working conditions and career progression, listening to, and keeping all staff informed about UCU activities.