Government guidance
We are expected to undertake the majority of our teaching, research and support activities online until 15 February at the earliest. There are some exceptions to this and the government are providing guidance on this. We are continuing to work through the information and will keep you updated, we are working with teams to ensure we minimise the face to face teaching as much as possible.
Also see:
- https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
- National lockdown guidance
- Students returning to, and starting higher education, in spring term 2021: Guidance for higher education providers
Working from home
The health, safety and wellbeing of our staff and students remains our priority. The government guidance is clear and where staff can work from home, they should. If you have not previously done so, please take some time to familiarise yourself with information on working from home, including the relevant DSE guidance. There is also a useful article on the government website about working from home and tax relief. We recognise that there may be some instances where staff require additional equipment from the office to assist with home working. Further information will follow from your Faculty/Directorate outlining how this can be arranged.
There are limited exceptions which include delivery of subjects related to medicine, health related courses, education (teaching) and social work, where some practical face-to-face teaching delivery is expected. Our research facilities remain open, but will operate strictly within the COVID-safe framework agreed previously in the summer i.e. approved risk assessments, rotas to minimise on-campus presence, social distancing etc. Only those activities that cannot be conducted from home should be carried out on campus.
For professional services staff we anticipate some requirement for campus attendance for a very limited number of roles where a continuation of support on site is essential. Senior managers within the Faculties and Directorates will be liaising with relevant teams to identify this need and will communicate accordingly at a local level.
We will make any adjustments required in order to ensure our classrooms and teaching spaces are Covid-Safe. As before, being on campus will be subject to careful management and appropriate risk assessments. However, we now also have the additional resource of Covid-testing sites on each of our campuses so that any member of staff, and any student, who is on campus, for any reason, can get tested and receive their results quickly.
For those staff who may be asked to attend campus in some capacity, letters will be provided to enable you to travel to and from campus with the university’s permission. Faculty Operating Officers and Professional Services Directors will contact you if this is appropriate and provide you with the required document.
Supporting our students
Our focus must continue to be on supporting our students both with their studies and their wellbeing, this Student News article covers the information provided by email to students.
Supporting you
If you have any concerns regarding your working patterns, please speak with your manager in the first instance or contact your HR Manager.
Staff with childcare responsibilities
We appreciate that working from home is not always easy. For those with child care responsibilities there is now the additional issue of home-schooling to be taken into consideration. You have asked if the government’s "critical workers" list for the purpose of their children being able to access school/education list includes "support and teaching staff". In November 2020, the DfE confirmed that that definition did include HE staff in England, see: Guidance on critical workers and vulnerable children who can access schools or educational settings.
However, there is an expectation from DfE that this will only be used by a few individuals within the HE sector and mainly by those staff who must come onto campus on a regular basis.
If you have any concerns regarding your working patterns and the impact of home schooling please talk with your manager in the first instance or contact your HR Manager.
Health and wellbeing
It is important that we all look after ourselves. There is a wealth of information available on the portal, including:
- the wellbeing hub
- the building personal resilience toolkit providing advice on undertaking remote working while supporting your wellbeing.
If you need support in any way please speak to your manager, connect with your colleagues and look out for the activities your local Mental Health and Wellbeing Champions arranges or signposts, use the Employee Assistance Programme and/or try out some of the ‘hints and tips’ available to find out what works for you.
Shielding
If you are in receipt of a letter from either your local GP or the NHS advising you must shield during this lockdown period, please advise your manager of this in the first instance.
Reporting Covid-19
If you experience symptoms, need to take a Covid-19 test or self-isolate please let the university know as soon as possible. We want to know that you are ok and have appropriate support in place as well as ensuring we take any appropriate action to minimise the risk to others.
