The University and College Union (UCU) has become embroiled in a fresh row with some of its staff over plans to get them to return to the office more regularly.

The UK’s largest academic union – which has fought universities on changes to hybrid working arrangements – has this month implemented a new policy which demands workers come in to the office for “a minimum” of 60 per cent of their time, or three days a week for full-time staff, and that they will need to “request” any working from home arrangements.

Members of the Unite union at UCU have refused to come into the office at all as part of “action short of strike” being staged in response to the changes.

UCU’s senior management team has threatened to dock the wages of those not returning to the office without authorisation, with staff losing 20 per cent for every day they do not attend up to a total of 60 per cent for missing the three mandatory office days, according to an email seen by Times Higher Education.

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UCU Unite – which has staged a long-running and increasingly bitter battle with the union over “toxic” workplace allegations – said the escalation marks “a new low”, adding that UCU needs to “wake up and stop the rot”.

UCU has called the actions of Unite “damaging”, adding that it appeared “designed deliberately to severely undermine what we do as a union and how we do it”.

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It said it has approved flexible working arrangements requested by staff where they seek to work more days from home, and that the reductions will only apply where further flexible working arrangements have not been approved.

A spokesperson said: “After years of optional office attendance, staff are now expected to work in the office or meet members face-to-face three days a week, still below the contractual five…We do not take deductions lightly and hope they will not be necessary. Our decision underscores how seriously we take Unite’s repeated attempts to disrupt the running of this union.”

Earlier this month UCU celebrated��after its branch��at the��University of Liverpool��won an industrial dispute against the institution’s return-to-office mandate, which required full-time staff to be on campus for three days a week.

On that occasion members staged strikes with Unite – which represent some workers at Liverpool – to get the institution to row back on the changes, with staff now only expected to attend two days a week.

In its email to staff, UCU says its own internal three-day a week policy is “both fair and balanced” and “long overdue”, with other unions adopting similar arrangements many years ago.

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It said the plans will “deliver the best possible support to our members and branches and improve workplace cohesion”.

UCU’s general secretary, Jo Grady, has also previously criticised��Queen Mary University of London��for��docking staff’s pay for their involvement in industrial action.

A UCU Unite spokesperson said the threats were “immoral and counterproductive, and they have no place in any trade union”.

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“They must immediately withdraw their threats and sit down to negotiate a resolution to this dispute.”

However, UCU claimed that Unite members “are being dishonest” and that “a small group is driving their committee’s decisions”.��

“What they don’t mention is that a few individuals are demanding the £6,000 London weighting allowance without ever attending the London office, a misuse of members’ money we cannot accept.”

In response, a UCU staff member told��ɫ��ֱ����that London-based staff who refuse to comply with the office mandate are also at risk of losing their London weighting.

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juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com