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Representatives from campus trade unions met with senior HR staff today to discuss ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The most important step that we need to take without delay is to enforce social distancing.

¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s decision to suspend face-to-face teaching is a positive move, and should be welcomed as should the university’s advice to sections of the workforce that they can work from home with line-manager approval.

The meeting agreed the following:

• Changes to working practices in response to COVID-19 are temporary and subject to consultation and negotiation with campus trade unions.
• ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº's position is 'no detriment'. Staff will not be financially disadvantaged for making decisions to work from home or self-isolate as a result of COVID-19 precautions.
• ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº will cover the costs for contractors paying staff to self-isolate.
• Home-working is encouraged, public events are cancelled and international travel has ceased.
• Where staff cannot work from home for practical reasons, they can apply for special leave to their line manager. (We have asked for a checklist of advice distributed to managers, and we want further assurances on this process.)

Additionally, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº agreed that:

• The large number of staff working in open plan hot desking environments will be able to insist on taking steps to ensure 2 metre separation from colleagues without threat of disciplinary action.
• Sickness absence monitoring triggers related to COVID-19 will be discounted: no-one will be taken through a Sickness Absence Management procedure as a result of COVID-19. Staff on probation or that have entitlement to sick pay reduced for other reasons will be paid Special Leave at the rate of full pay.

As a matter of urgency, to slow the spread of infection, union reps also proposed that hot-desking (¹û¶³Ó°Ôº prefers ’agile working’) should cease immediately, staff be allocated their own desks and 2 metre separation between staff working in offices be enforced. This will clearly have an impact on densely populated open-plan buildings. Note that the ending of face to face teaching has released a lot of space in the estate for moving teams. We are awaiting formal confirmation from the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Coronavirus Mitigation Group but urge colleagues to take action in the interim, consulting their line manager as appropriate.

We are conscious that colleagues have many other concerns and are pressing ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº to convene an emergency meeting of the Health and Safety Committee.

Representatives from campus trade unions have been invited by ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº to join meetings of the Coronavirus Mitigation Group and have accepted the invitation.

We will write again with advice about ASOS and ongoing strike action.