Get Involved!

The strength of any union lies in its members and the more members who volunteer to take active roles in the branch the better! At UCL, we have the largest number of members than any university in the country, and with that, we need to have the largest number of volunteers too. There are a range opportunities available to get more involved in the branch which are open to all members of the branch.

Attend Branch Meetings

We regularly hold branch meetings which are open to all UCL UCU members to attend. Branch meetings usually take place during lunchtime, frequently between 1-2pm, primarily online via zoom and sometimes hybrid. We would like to increase member participation in these meetings, so if you have not attended before, please try to join a future meeting! You can keep your camera off and be on mute, but you’ll get to vote anonymously in an online poll if any motions have been submitted.

Department Rep

If you are based in a department without a rep, please consider volunteering to become the local rep. It’s a simple process involving a short election meeting which is normally online. The branch will convene a meeting of members from your department, and circulate a short election statement from you (around 200 words). The meeting will be chaired by a member of the current Executive Committee, and a vote will be taken by those present whether or not to elect you. Once elected you will be eligible for time off work to undertake national training where you will meet new reps from across the sector and learn the basics of becoming a rep.

Department Contact

If you would like to help the branch but don’t feel able to commit to being a Departmental Rep just yet, you could consider becoming a Department Contact. Department contacts help to raise UCU’s profile by distributing leaflets and posters, relaying important messages to department members and letting the branch know about any issues of concern within the department.

Health & Safety Rep

Being a UCU health and safety rep will give you a range of legal rights to monitor health and safety at your institution. Completing a UCU training course on health and safety will give you the knowledge and skills to fulfil the role of an H&S rep effectively. Further information is available on this page, and full training with paid time off is available.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is made up of Branch Officers and Ordinary Committee Members who are elected annually for a one year term at the Annual General Meeting. Any branch member can stand for any position, as long as they are nominated by two existing branch members. Where more than one person is standing for a single position, there will need to be an election, according the branch rules. Being an Executive Committee member typically means you will play an active role in the running of the branch and contribute to committee decision-making by regularly attending meetings (which are usually at lunchtimes on a fortnightly basis, either hybrid or online). The specific Officer roles available can be found at Section 8 of our branch rules. A call for volunteers is sent to all members in advance of the AGM, usually around mid-May each year.

Branch Delegates: Congress, HESC and BDMs

Each branch sends a delegation to national meetings, such as the annual Congress and Higher Education Sector Conference (HESC). Additionally, Special Higher Education Sector conferences are convened out of cycle and, during periods of industrial action, frequent Branch Delegate Meetings (BDMs) are called. Each of these meetings requires volunteers to attend to represent the branch, and due to the size of the UCL branch we have a large entitlement of delegates. New volunteers to act as branch delegates are always welcome, so keep a look out for opportunities to represent the branch.

London Regional Committee

Meetings are held a minimum of 3 times a year open to delegates elected from each branch, and branches are entitled to elect and send 1 voting delegate per 100 members (rounding up). In London, there tends to be 4 meetings a year as a minimum. These are at the start of the academic year, before the Congress motions deadline and before the amendment deadline, with an AGM in June. If you are interested in joining the London Regional Committee let us know.