Broadcast: News items

We’d like to remind you about all the steps we are taking to protect our campus community. All the information below is available on our returning to campus webpages.

Working on campus

Over recent weeks we have been welcoming larger numbers of staff back to work on campus.

The vast majority of staff will now have resumed a level of campus working, trialling new hybrid ways of working ahead of the full implementation for the start of the new academic year.

Rather than reverting to pre-pandemic ways of working, our aspiration is, where possible, for staff to retain increased a level of flexibility over work location. More information on this is set out in our new Remote Working Framework [PDF 222KB] and the Current Ways of Working FAQs. You should now have had conversations about what this means for you and your team with your manager. If you have not, please contact your manager as soon as possible.

Keeping ourselves and each other safe

It’s important to remember that we all have a responsibility for keeping ourselves and others safe. We should also be respectful towards each other and understand the pandemic has affected people in different ways.

We are also updating our Community Pledge which sets out how we will uphold the values of the University on campus, treating each other with dignity and respect. We will be sharing this soon. 

Keeping you safe

The University is implementing a number of health and safety measures to protect the Sussex community:

• refreshed signage about the use of face coverings
• sanitiser stations in place across campus
• Perspex screens remaining in place where requested
• additional bins in teaching spaces
• QR codes to support the Track & Trace app
• ensuring ventilation systems and windows operate effectively

Lanyards

From Monday 20 September, the University will also be providing red lanyards so staff and students can signal they’d prefer greater social distancing. These will be available for collection from the 19 locations where Lateral Flow tests are available as well as Sussex House reception.

Face coverings

We do expect all students and staff to wear face coverings, unless exempt, in crowded and enclosed spaces on campus including in all teaching spaces, and to follow the instructions indicated by signage. This signage will be very visible across the campus.

We will be reminding all students before and during the term through regular communication, signage and our new Community Pledge that we do expect students to wear face-coverings in busy indoor spaces – such as the classroom.

We do not expect face coverings to be worn in office spaces where staff are comfortable – although we do advise staff to consider avoiding having meetings with multiple people in crowded spaces.

Vaccinations

The University strongly endorses employees to take part in the vaccination programme against Covid-19, in line with government guidance. We understand that it is each individual’s personal choice, but we request all of our employees to make a fully informed decision on whether to accept the Covid-19 vaccination by reading literature published by official sources.

To make vaccinations easier, we're hosting a Mobile Vaccination Unit from Monday 20 - Wednesday 22 September, which will be stationed outside Pevensey 1 opposite the Meeting House (see map) between 10.30 am and 2.30 pm. While this is primarily a service for our students, it is available for staff who may wish to receive the second dose of their vaccination. To secure a slot we recommend you book an appointment.

Read our recently-updated guidance on vaccinations – including arrangements for vaccine appointments and sickness absence.

Vaccination status

Following feedback from staff, we have now developed a secure and confidential way for you to share this information with us.

You can now update your vaccination status on the MyView portal. It is your choice whether you supply this information to the University, and you can update or remove this data at any time.

The data will be held securely with access limited to relevant colleagues in Human Resources. The data will only be held for as long as is necessary for these purposes.

Getting tested

Even if you have been vaccinated, it is still worthwhile getting tested until official guidance changes. The Government recommends that people in the workplace get twice-weekly Covid-19 tests. We are making this as easy as possible for staff by supplying home testing kits at 19 locations across campus.

The University’s asymptomatic Covid test centre will operate at Bramber House, level 1 until Friday 1 October, for staff and student lateral flow testing. It’s also a useful way to quickly confirm your Covid status should you be ‘pinged’ by the NHS app. Book a test from Monday to Friday, at any time from 10am to 2pm.

A Mobile Testing Unit is on campus and will remain there for the foreseeable future, offering tests to anyone with symptoms - or who is otherwise advised to have a PCR test.

Students living on campus will be provided with testing kits in their rooms.

If you feel unwell

If you feel unwell you should contact your line manager and, if possible, work from home until you feel better. People do have other conditions that make them sneeze and cough, so it’s important not to jump to conclusions.

It can help for those individuals to explain to their colleagues if they feel able, and/or to wear masks – appreciating that people may feel more vulnerable in a workplace after the pandemic.

It can be difficult to keep up with the rules around self-isolation relating to Covid. Here is a quick summary of the rules:

• self-isolate straight away and get a PCR test on GOV.UK if you have any of these Covid symptoms: a high temperature; a new, continuous cough; a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
• if someone you live with has Covid symptoms, or has tested positive for Covid, you do not need to self-isolate if you're fully vaccinated or you're under 18.5 years old. Even if you do not have symptoms, you should still get a PCR test
• if you test positive, your self-isolation period includes the day your symptoms started (or the day you had the test, if you did not have symptoms) and the next ten full days. You may need to self-isolate for longer if you get symptoms while self-isolating or your symptoms do not go away

Flu jab

The Government has rolled out a seasonal flu vaccine programme to protect as many lives as possible – and all staff returning to campus can take advantage of this. The University pharmacy currently has a limited number of jabs available on a drop-in basis. University staff who are under 50 who are not eligible can pay for a vaccination and reclaim the cost through expenses. Find out about current information about flu vaccines and who is and isn’t eligible.

Ventilation of rooms on campus

A review of rooms has been carried out on campus including window checks and checks on mechanical ventilation systems.

Additional information on the methodology used to assess ventilation is available on the University Health and Safety Covid resource page.

If you have concerns about ventilation in a room you can submit this form to the Health and Safety team, please let us know by reporting it to the University if you think we have missed a room.

If you have a meeting in a room without windows that you are concerned doesn’t have mechanical ventilation, you can consider; wearing a mask, using an outdoor space for your meeting, or consider alternative arrangements such as a proportion of the attendees joining remotely.

Support for you

It can take a while to adjust to being back on campus, so please talk to your line manager about any concerns and remember that our wellbeing hub also offers many tools and resources to look after your mental, physical and financial wellbeing.

The University’s Employee Assistance Programme also offers a broad range of services for staff and an evidence-based app to improve mental wellbeing. A confidential helpline also provides urgent support to staff on these matters 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Reporting Covid cases

The University is keen to ensure that all staff and students are able to access information on how our community is affected by Covid-19. It is important that everyone is aware of the processes involved for reporting information – and also how information is shared between the University and authorities. The University updates its Covid-19 information on a daily basis as well as providing a daily report to the Surrey and Sussex Health Protection Team and the Public Health Authority at Brighton & Hove City Council. Case numbers for the past week remain relatively low.