How we operate

How we operate

The Lancet NUJ Chapel

The Lancet NUJ Chapel is the collective, democratic body of NUJ members at The Lancet Group. You have to become an NUJ member to participate in the Chapel. The Chapel represents the interests of all UK-based employees (not just NUJ members) within The Lancet Group (excluding the Lancet Leadership Team and the Executive Assistant). This is known as the Bargaining Unit. 

The NUJ Chapel Committee

The Chapel has a Committee with eight positions, which are democratically elected annually by Chapel members each September to represent them. The key role of the Committee is to gather the views of the Chapel to develop the annual pay claim. Additionally, the Committee is a voice for members throughout the year and engages the Lancet Leadership Team and Elsevier HR on issues important to the Chapel.

You can reach the Committee directly via work emails/Teams or by using the following email address: LancetNUJChapel@gmail.com

Chapel meetings

The Chapel meets regularly in the office and online to discuss all things relating to pay and working conditions at The Lancet Group. These meetings are only for NUJ members. During the annual collective bargaining period, the meetings are crucial for putting together the pay claim, sharing with members any feedback from meetings with Elsevier, and discussing any potential deals put forward.

The Bargaining Unit

The Chapel represents everyone in the Bargaining Unit, whether they are members or not.

Union members: Union members elect Committee reps, collate and present issues to their reps, vote to set negotiating priorities, and are able to ballot on and take industrial action in the event of a dispute (non-union members can choose to participate in union-initiated industrial action, if they wish).

Non-members: Non-NUJ members in the Bargaining Unit do not participate in votes on the pay claim, for reasons rooted in the regulations governing unions in the UK. A pay claim is the union's formal position, and unions, under UK law, are democratic membership organisations accountable to members.

Collective bargaining

Collective bargaining is process of consultation and negotiation between Elsevier and the Chapel (on behalf of the Bargaining Unit) on the core topics of pay, hours, and holidays. Collective bargaining is so-called because Chapel members negotiate with Elsevier as a single body, through appointed representatives from the Committee, rather than as individuals. Much of this collective bargaining occurs in the once-yearly negotiations (which take place from ~January each year) around the pay claim (see below), but it can take place outside of it.

Collective bargaining is not driven by the Committee—Chapel members define the pay claim and vote on whether to accept or reject the negotiated offers from Elsevier. 

If the members of the Lancet NUJ Chapel vote to accept a negotiated deal, that deal becomes the collective agreement, and it applies to everyone in the Bargaining Unit (NUJ members and non-members).

The annual pay claim

Each year the Chapel discusses, creates, and submits a pay claim to Elsevier—a formal request for a salary increase for everyone within the Bargaining Unit. The pay claim is influenced by many factors, including member priorities, the cost of living, inflation, industry standards, and business performance. The annual pay claim can also include requests for changes to holiday and working hours, as well as items outside of the three legal core topics. NUJ members provide input for and vote on the final pay claim to put forward to Elsevier.

Beyond the annual pay claim

The Lancet NUJ Committee represents the Bargaining Unit in all aspects of conditions for employees within the Lancet Group at all times, not just during collective bargaining for the annual pay claim. If you have an issue you would like to raise, either on an individual basis or for discussion by the Chapel, please get in touch with us.

Why don't non-members have a vote?

The NUJ is a member organisation, highly regulated by UK union law, and the terms of union recognition are between the NUJ and Elsevier. NUJ member fees provide the infrastructure for the NUJ to operate, and union members have a number of key defined roles, some explicitly legally protected:

• Provide the mandate for recognition (in our case), and collective bargaining (the internal mandate)

• Elect representatives (reps) from their ranks

• Define and vote on the pay claim to put to the employer

• Vote to accept or reject the product of collective bargaining

• Vote to initiate legal industrial action if the parties (the Employer and the Union) are in dispute - these ballots are of eligible members only but non-members can participate in any action if they wish.