Hourly paid staff including Sessional lecturers

Birkbeck depends on hourly paid academic staff for the delivery of a significant part of its programme. Yet it is these staff who are presently bearing the brunt of the College's response to the government's attack on higher education. Customary and contractual terms and conditions for hourly paid staff are under review in the context of the National Framework Negotiations.

Your UCU negotiating team consists of:

Sarah Lamble
Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick
Pat Costall
Mike Berlin
Trevor Fenner

You can email any of us by clicking on the links above. See http://www.bbk.ac.uk/ucu/contact/Committee for our full contact details.

In addition there is an informal network of HPL activists, who meet occasionally to discuss issues of concern to all hourly-paid staff. The convernor of the HPS network is Danny Rye and you can contact him on ubsl203@mail.bbk.ac.uk or phone 07847 897629

The links below (most recent first) will give you an idea of where we have come from and what the issues are now.

(June 2012) Consultation on Management's final pay offer

(February 2012) Update on hourly paid negotiations and the 'multiplier'

(January 2012) Framework negotiations at critical stage

(September 2011) Update on Negotiations - pay rise and consultation on multipliers

(August 2011) Update on Hourly Paid ('Sessional') negotiations from your UCU representatives

(June 2011) Can’t Pay or Won’t Pay? A note on pay rates for part-time lecturers at Birkbeck

(May 2011) ‘Not a Happy One’

(Feb 2011) ‘Fram(ework)ing sessional lecturers’ or version here

(Sept 2010) Framework Negotiations for Hourly Paid Staff

You will know that base rates for hourly paid ('sessional lecturer') staff have remained unchanged since December 2007, although a number of Birkbeck departments currently pay above these rates (see June 2011 'Can't Pay or Won't Pay' above). Pending the outcome of Framework Negotiations (see July 2011 'Update on Hourly Paid Negotiations' above), Birkbeck senior management have confirmed that the 2007 rates should be an absolute bottom line. For example no postgraduate teaching should be paid at less than the MSc rate (some staff have been offered the much lower Certificate rate) and for all hourly paid staff, activities such as examining, attendance at departmental meetings &c each attract their own, additional payment. If any difficulties arise you should take these up with your School Manager preferably by email so that there is a record of the issue and if matters are not resolved, contact one of your FN2 negotiators, above.

Birkbeck UCU have now negotiated a 5% increase in hourly rates for all hourly paid lecturers paid below £38.21 per hour.

You can download a copy of the 2007 fee rates here
Revised fee rates negotiated by UCU and payable from October 2011 will be posted shortly.