On Wednesday 12 May, the University emailed all staff about the route out of lockdown. You can read the message in full below.

Monday’s announcement by the Government of the latest easing of restrictions from Monday 17 May is an important phase in the University’s own route out of lockdown.

Here’s an update on what this latest guidance means for Sussex and what is coming up in the next few weeks.

Students returning to campus:

Students across the country have been told that they can return to university campuses from next Monday 17 May. However, the vast majority of teaching at Sussex has already finished and most students are currently in the assessment period.

However, there may be some in-person teaching that can happen for postgraduate students and Schools will be in touch with students where this is possible.

Information has been shared with students today about spaces on campus that they can begin to use and access more freely, including study spaces, sports facilities and the Library.

You can read our advice to students here.

Staff returning to campus:

Over the past week more staff have begun to return to campus - even if only for one or two days a week.

If you are coming onto campus, or plan to, it’s important to familiarise yourself with the return to campus guidance, and specific guidelines for working in offices, labs, and teaching spaces on our health and safety pages.

Please remember that currently the Government advice is to work from home where possible, so do get the approval of your line manager before coming back to work on campus as this helps the University understand the number of people in buildings and offices.

Hands, face and space – are still applicable, so it’s important to remember to wear facemasks in communal areas and when walking around offices, buildings and corridors. Any meetings and workspaces must be socially distanced and staff should take care to ensure that desks and tables and sanitised after use.

All staff who are working on campus should ensure they are getting weekly tests at our onsite testing centre in Bramber House or using the home testing kits that are easily ordered from the gov.uk website.

The University continues to follow guidance from Government and the four-step approach in line with the Government’s easing of restrictions.

A fuller return to campus from July:

The Government has indicated that the current roadmap for a much broader relaxation of restrictions is on course for 21 June. As such, to give the University time to respond to any new measures required, we plan to start welcoming staff back to campus from July.

This will give more staff the opportunity to enjoy being back on campus, and familiarising themselves with the benefits of working together with colleagues in their normal surroundings, as we move towards a full return for the start of the new academic year.

As has been communicated previously, a remote working framework is currently in the final stages of being presented to managers and this will create opportunities for many staff who may find real benefits from working remotely on a more permanent basis. We expect that most staff who work remotely will also spend time on campus too.

In summary the key dates for the University’s full return to campus working are:

• 17 May – some staff can come back with agreement from their line manager, with social distancing and wearing of facemasks still in place
• From July – staff can continue to return to campus (within guidelines, to be set out by the government and our own health and safety measures)
• New academic year – a full return to working on campus with the new Remote Working Framework in place (to support a hybrid model of working) which we will be sharing at the end of the month

We want to make sure staff have all the information they need to return to campus safely. We will maintain the arrangements outlined in our HR policies and procedures page including the advice for staff and managers FAQs which will be updated on a regular basis as guidance evolves. All staff should ensure they are familiar with this key guidance and resource.

With best wishes,

Internal Communications