The senior leadership at Heriot-Watt are using the portfolio review to push through ‘Rightsizing’ changes which threaten jobs and affect working conditions.
Up to 41 FTE roles are currently at risk in Scotland, with the final headcount likely to be higher, and we have significant concerns about the potential for reductions in research time as result of the review.
Staff in Scholar, an important education resource not just for secondary education but also for foundation courses at Heriot-Watt, are also at risk even though the results of a Scottish Government review into online education are yet to be published.
The ballot is about protecting jobs, workloads, and research capacity in response to these proposals. A strong ballot result will strengthen the position of branch negotiators and increase our leverage in pushing the University to rule out compulsory redundancies.
Timeline
The ballot will open on Monday 5 January 2026 and close on Monday 16 February 2026. The last save date for posting is therefore Thursday 12 February 2026.
Replacement ballot papers can be requested online from Monday 12 January 2026. Details will be posted in due course.
Ballot papers
Employment law mandates that a ballot for industrial action must be conducted by post. Ballots cannot be conducted online and ballot papers cannot be sent out electronically for members to print out at home or at work.
The law also states that a ballot for industrial action must be supervised by a qualified independent scrutineer, usually Civica Election Services (CES). CES is responsible for the production, posting, and processing of ballot papers. UCU cannot by law produce, post, or process ballot papers.
You will receive a ballot pack / envelope at your registered address.
The ballot pack/envelope should have the return address for Civica (Civica Election Services, CES) in the top left-hand corner. It will also carry the CES logo and UCU branding.
The ballot pack will contain the ballot paper. The ballot pack will usually contain a second-class pre-paid return envelope. Members should use the ballot paper and put the ballot paper in the pre-paid return envelope, and then post that at the nearest post box or post office.
If you have misplaced the pre-paid envelope or the pre-paid envelope is missing from your ballot pack, you can put the ballot paper(s) into a blank envelope, write this address on the envelope – Civica Election Services, 33 Clarendon Road, London N8 0NW – then affix a stamp, ideally first-class, and post it back. It is also possible to hand the ballot back in person at the above address.
What questions will appear on the ballot paper?
Your ballot paper will have two questions:
- Are you prepared to take industrial action consisting of strike action?
- Are you prepared to take industrial action consisting of action short of strike action (which for this purpose is defined to include overtime and call-out bans)?
We urge everyone to vote YES to both questions.
How should I mark my preference?
Your ballot includes two simple ‘Yes/No’ questions, mentioned above. You should write a CROSS (X) to indicate your preference on the ballot paper – for the avoidance of doubt, a CROSS (X) in a box looks like this. Using anything that is not a CROSS (X) — for example a TICK (V) — means that Civica Election Services’ scanning team will need to look at your ballot paper and make a judgment as to whether the vote is acceptable.
Why am I being asked if I have voted after?
Industrial action ballots are confidential and UCU does not know if an individual member has voted or which way that a member has voted. As part of our branches ‘get the vote out’ (GTVO) activities, we may ask you – via email, text message or door-knocking at your workplace – whether you have voted, so that we can target our GTVO with precision.
It is always an enormous help to us if you volunteer this information (on whether you have voted, not how you have voted). This means there will be no need for us to remind you again (for instance via text or phone-banking).
I have not received my ballot pack. What should I do?
If you do not receive your ballot pack by Monday 12 January 2026, you will be able to request a new ballot paper at https://yoursay.ucu.org.uk/s3/Heriot-Watt-University-UCU-replacement-ballot-request-form-January-February-2026
To request a replacement ballot request you need to use your unique UCU membership number which you can find by sending a blank email to mynumber@mercury.ucu.org.uk or email UCU’s membership department at membership@ucu.org.uk.
What happens after the ballot?
When the ballot closes and the results are announced, we will meet as a branch and discuss and vote on the next steps to take. You can get involved with this debate by attending the branch meeting, speaking to your colleagues or even proposing a motion about what next steps you think could be successful in increasing our leverage.