Sheffield Hallam University students 'asked to grass up' striking staff

Staff at Sheffield Hallam are taking part in a national dispute over pay and conditions

Students claim they are being asked to "grass up" lecturers during industrial action by university staff.

Sheffield Hallam University asked students to fill in a form showing which teaching sessions have been missed due to the strike.

Members of the University and Colleges Union (UCU) at Sheffield Hallam are taking action over pay and conditions as part of a national dispute.

The university said the form enabled them to monitor disruption to students.

The online form asked students to name the member of staff who had not appeared, along with the time, date, course and module.

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Students found out about the form before it was circulated and published it on the Hallam Students Support the Strike Twitter account.

Lauren O'Donoghue, a creative writing student, said: "We were pretty furious. At the time there was a field for the member of staff's name.

"We published this and there was an immediate backlash."

The name field was removed before the form was sent out to students.

Lauren O'Donoghue (left) says there is support for striking staff from students

A number of students posted mock-ups on Twitter of how they would respond and complained the university was asking them to "grass up" members of staff.

A Sheffield Hallam University spokesperson said it was monitoring what impact industrial action was having because staff were not obliged to say they were taking action until the strike had ended.

"The form available helps us capture sessions that have not taken place as soon as possible so we can proactively plan alternative learning opportunities and minimise disruption for students."

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said students were "rightly angry" about the issue and the university's "strong-arm tactics" had backfired.

"They have been ridiculed on social media and now stand out as something of a pariah, rather than an institution trying to deal with the problems and avoid disruption," she said.