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Colin Shipp, Executive Director of Human Resources

Colin Shipp, Executive Director of Human Resources, wrote to all staff on 16 March. You can read the full text of his email below. 

Dear Colleague,

The aim of this update is to clarify: 

• Where we are in the VL process 

• Communication about leavers and changes to operations  

• Next steps 

Where we are in the VL process 

The most recent Voluntary Leavers Scheme (VLS 2025) closed to applicants in early February. Decisions about applications have now been made and applicants were informed at the end of last week.  

Colleagues in HR are now preparing settlement agreements, and those who have been offered a settlement have been asked to ensure that they sign and return their agreement by 22 April. Following this deadline and the processing of signed settlements, we will know the exact numbers of people leaving and the associated financial savings. Colleagues with one month’s notice will leave Sussex at the end of May, and other colleagues will leave at the end of July, unless there is a specific time-limited operational need for them to stay longer. 

Communication about leavers and changes to operations  

Although exact details of who will be leaving will remain confidential until settlement agreements are signed and fully processed, senior leaders now have an understanding of which colleagues are likely to be leaving and the roles we may need to work without in the future. Executive Deans and Professional Services Directors are considering their operating models for the future delivery of our education, research, and associated services in the longer term. In the short term, they will be working with small groups of staff who were involved in the local moderation processes to develop plans to reconfigure work tasks accordingly, in particular considering workload for teams, and what can or must be changed, stopped, or reduced.  

As with the previous VL scheme last year, we will not share a central list of people who are leaving through the scheme for data protection reasons. However, once all relevant conversations have been completed within teams to share who is leaving from that team and when, there will be an expectation that the managers of those teams let relevant colleagues know how their services and/or ways of working will change as a result of VLS 2025. Information about team services and contacts on the Staff Hub and the externally facing website will also be updated as required.  

Next steps 

We will share further information about the financial outcome of the scheme and what it means for the University’s financial position during May.  

Kind regards,

Colin Shipp
Executive Director of Human Resources