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Model Email Regarding Returning To On-Campus Work

This is a draft email for members to modify and send to their managers if they feel they are being asked to return without a clear reason behind it. We would encourage all members being asked to return without a good reason to send something along these lines even if you feel relatively relaxed about it –…

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Redundancies threatened at the Guild of Students (6th Aug)

UNISON learned in early August of an ongoing restructure taking place at the Guild of Students, that could potentially lead to up to three members of staff losing their jobs. This comes at a time when most staff are still furloughed and the financial impact on the University is still unclear – it simply makes…

Return to campus plans  (13th Aug)

We’ve had a number of concerns recently from members regarding the local plans being made for returning to campus. It’s clear that there is a huge amount of variation across the institution, with some good practice where continued home working remains the default as well as unfortunately many examples where a return to on campus work is…

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Advice for “shielding” staff and others with underlying health conditions (6th Aug)

Reposting advice from our Facebook page Government advice throughout the pandemic has been fast changing and sometimes contradictory. Late last week the government indicated that new local restrictions will be put in place across a large area in the North of England, and further loosening of lockdown restrictions have been paused.  While the government maintains that…

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Update on the Organiser Job Advert

Thank you to all applicants who have submitted an application for the organiser vacancy. We really appreciate the interest in this post. Due to the ongoing lockdown and restrictions on work linked to the Coronavirus pandemic, we’ve taken the really difficult decision to pause the recruitment of this post until the national situation changes. We simply…

Open letter to the University and all members of staff, concerning Cleaning Services
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Open letter to the University and all members of staff, concerning Cleaning Services

Dear All, UNISON in recent weeks (and most recently in a meeting with the Director, Deputy Directors and Heads of HR) has been desperately attempting to gain more information and reassurance around the work staff in Campus Services and particularly Cleaning Services will be doing over the “restricted operations period” due to start at the…

FAQs regarding Coronavirus
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FAQs regarding Coronavirus

Last updated 24.03.20 19:00 Government advice / instruction On the 23.03.20 the UK government moved to enforce social distancing, stating that everyone in the country should remain indoors apart from when: Buying food and other essential items Exercising (once per day)  Addressing a medical need or providing care or assistance to a vulnerable person Travelling…

Follow-up information on communications with the University regarding Coronavirus
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Follow-up information on communications with the University regarding Coronavirus

Following our last post about the information we wanted from the University in relation to the Coronavirus, today has seen a rapid series of events on campus, including reports of a suspected diagnosis, the closure of offices, and an email from the Vice Chancellor (which includes the announcement of  “restricted campus operations” by the end…

UNISON’s committee has taken the very difficult decision that tomorrow’s AGM should be postponed.

While the UK government and official scientific advisors are not yet recommending gatherings and meetings are cancelled, Birmingham University UNISON have decided to follow a precautionary approach, not least because we recognise that a number of members would have felt particularly anxious about attending a meeting of 50+ people in the current climate.    Under…