Academics who decline to cover for colleagues who are boycotting marking in protest at job cuts face having their pay docked in the latest sign that universities are resorting to “extreme” measures to stop disruption to the exam season.

Amid widespread job cuts across the sector, several universities are facing the prospect of having to delay graduations because of union members refusing to grade students’ work.

Mirroring tactics seen during more widespread boycotts in 2023, the universities of Edinburgh and Nottingham – as well as Goldsmiths, University of London – have told staff that they will have 100 per cent of their pay deducted for any involvement in the action, even if academics continue to carry out other duties. 

Edinburgh’s response goes even further. Any staff member not partaking in the boycott but who refuses to take on extra marking will have their pay deducted by 100 per cent.

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Staff in the School of Literature, Languages and Culture have also been told that those who refuse to take on other forms of reallocated work outside of the marking boycott – for example, dissertation supervision – could also have pay deducted.

Sophia Woodman, Edinburgh’s UCU branch president, said: “It’s clearly an intimidation tactic. They’re wanting to discourage people from taking part in any industrial action.”

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She added “employers learn from each other” and said extending pay deductions to those who refuse to take on boycotting colleagues’ work is “outrageous”.

“People declared their position on the MAB [marking and assessment boycott] before it started but then extending that to a whole range of action-short-of-strike that has been standard practice for years I think is punitive, and we’re certainly pressuring them to stop doing this.”

An Edinburgh spokesperson confirmed that it had shared guidance with staff that managers are “legally entitled” to cover the work of staff participating in industrial action by reallocating work to appropriate staff who are not taking part in industrial action. It added that work will only be reallocated to staff if “[they] have capacity to do” so. 

“Employees must accept re-allocated marking and assessment work if it would be reasonable to do so in normal circumstances. If they refuse to cover marking and assessment work in solidarity with the UCU Edinburgh marking and assessment boycott, they must declare their participation and their pay will be withheld accordingly,” they said.

At Goldsmiths, the institution’s interim vice-chancellor recently wrote to staff criticising the union’s decision to boycott marking, warning that the action could impact students’ ability to graduate. 

Joe Newman, Goldsmith’s UCU co-chair, said the extreme responses show that “MABs work”.

“It really is a politically, morally, ethically indefensible position that reveals the effectiveness of industrial action and seeks to punish workers for taking lawful industrial action against redundancies.”

He continued: “If they weren’t so scared, they wouldn’t do the only thing they could threaten against us…we’ve launched a form of action that really terrifies them, and so they go to the most extreme thing they can.”

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Union branches at both Nottingham and Goldsmiths have responded to the threat of pay deductions by escalating their action to all-out strike.

 it expects the disruption to “impact only a minority of students”. However, some expecting to graduate this summer will not have a traditional ceremony but instead are being offered a “a celebration of [their] time at Nottingham” and will not receive their degree certificates. Students have been told to expect their certificates later in the summer but have been warned that some could face longer delays.

Lopa Leach, president of the UCU branch, said that the university response has aggravated the situation, and the union was left with “no alternative” after the university announced plans to cut 609 full-time equivalent staff.

“Management’s punitive response to withdraw all pay for partial fulfilment of work, implying the rest of our work is voluntary, has escalated the dispute further, which is why we responded with all-out strike until 31 July.”

She added: “Our position is we are not working for free, and this now affects much more than marking, namely degree shows, recruitment during the major time for it in the year, admission interviews and supporting dissertations”. 

Unions have long challenged employers’ right to deduct full pay for marking boycotts. A tribunal launched by staff at Queen Mary, University of London against their employer over pay deductions during the 2023 national boycott is set to be heard in October.

A spokesperson for Goldsmiths said the marking boycott was “deeply disappointing” because it “threatens to significantly impact our students’ ability to graduate or progress through the university”. They noted that the union has rejected a voluntary severance scheme.

“We have a statutory and moral duty to ensure our students progress, including through marking and assessment. Given the significant impact of action short of strike or strike action on our students and their progress we believe it is appropriate to make 100 per cent deductions for partial or full withdrawal of labour.”

A Nottingham spokesperson said: “While we respect our employees’ right to take industrial action, the fact this is being done to create maximum disruption for our students at an already stressful time is really disappointing.

“While many of our students will be unaffected by this action, we understand this will cause concern and want to reassure them we have clear procedures and support in place to minimise disruption.”

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juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com