This page contains Covid-19 related material that we have produced for staff, students and other stakeholders including joint work with the trade unions:
Managing Staff Return to Campus
This guidance is intended to support HEIs in managing the return of staff as they plan the safe reopening of campuses and to inform their considerations when balancing the needs of students and the provision of a high-quality teaching and learning experience with the needs and preferences of staff. The guidance has been developed in response to requests from members who have reported that staff have expressed a range of concerns and anxieties about returning to campus and that there are likely to be challenges in managing the return of staff, particularly in light of the differing staff experiences of the pandemic and general anxieties about returning. The guidance was republished in August 2021 to include some updates and additional case study examples.
Checklist: Communications in advance of the 2021-22 academic year for staff
UCEA produced a communications checklist to assist members prepare their messaging to staff, students and other stakeholders ahead of the start of the 2021-22 academic year.
Joint work with the trade unions
UCEA and the HE trade unions (EIS, GMB, UCU, UNISON and Unite) have worked together to provide the sector and its staff and students with a series of joint statements on return to work.
These include:
Raising a Concern - What to do if a health and safety concern is identified
During the pandemic, it is perhaps unsurprising that staff have become concerned about the impact of Covid-19 on their health and safety. This was discussed at the Higher Education Safety and Health (HESH) Forum, which brings together UCEA, the unions and the HSE, with input from the Universities Safety and Health Association (USHA).
In response, USHA has developed a template escalation procedure to help HEIs ensure that staff utilise appropriate channels. In drafting the template, USHA consulted with HESH members and the final template has been endorsed by all parties, on the understanding that it is an example template which HEIs do not have to use if it does not suit them.
It is hoped that HEIs will find the optional template (below) useful for discussing appropriate processes with their staff and their representatives, and for adapting into their existing H&S procedures if appropriate.
Raising a Concern - What to do if a health and safety concern is identified
a Joint statement between UCEA and the HE trade unions on Covid-19 testing for Staff, published on 25 May 2021 and updated in October 2021 which can be downloaded below
Joint statement between UCEA and the HE trade unions on Covid-19 testing for Staff
a Joint statement to encourage the uptake of vaccinations across the Higher Education sector, published on 25 March 2021 and updated in October 2021 which can be downloaded below
Joint statement between UCEA and the HE trade unions on staff vaccinations
and the Principles for working safely on campus during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, published on 1 June 2020 and updated in October 2021 which can be downloaded below
Principles for working safely on campus during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic
