Message from the Vice-Chancellor to staff: Update following the Prime Minister’s briefing

Dear Colleagues,

The Prime Minister has just announced further restrictions in order to contain the Coronavirus. 

• First, those with symptoms, and their households, should stay at home for 14 days and avoid going out if possible.
• Second, he has asked people to work from home where they possibly can, to stop non-essential contact and to stop all unnecessary travel.

This means we are bringing forward our plans for remote learning and remote working rapidly.

The University is open, but transitioning fast.

Therefore, staff who can work from home should do so as of tomorrow (Tuesday 17 March).

Some teams and individuals can work from home relatively easily and may already be doing so for some of their working week. As such they are more likely to have suitable equipment and experience of accessing University software and services whilst at home.

There will however be some teams and individuals for whom home working is much more challenging. The starting point therefore is that not all teams will be able to do so for a number of reasons, not least of which is the need for them to be physically on site to carry out their role. 

Where home working is not feasible then the use of team separation should be implemented to reduce the risk of whole team infection at the same time.

If staff are in doubt they should contact their line manager to discuss and work from home tomorrow.

We will continue to cater to students in our Halls of Residence and to care for them. We will also take a decision on our catering outlets tomorrow.

We will be putting out more information tomorrow but wanted to send this message now to offer some guidance.

Best regards,

Colin Riordan
Vice-Chancellor