Staff are the University’s most valuable asset and your health and wellbeing is extremely important. 

There are many ways that colleagues, even when they are not working on campus, can access support and advice as and when they need it. These include a new Employee Assistance Programme specifically for Kent employees, as well as access to specialist advisers across the University.  Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) 

This new scheme offers University staff easy access to expert help with both workplace and personal issues. Whether you have questions on issues from debt and landlords, to nutrition and stress, our new EAP website should have the answers.

To log-in, use the username: uokent and the password: university.  Alternatively, you can phone the providers, Care first/Sodexho, free of charge on 0808 168 2143 and get free and confidential advice from an information specialist or accredited counsellor. 

Occupational Health support 

As well as EAP, the University has a dedicated Occupational Health team whose remit is to: 

• prevent work-related ill health 
• facilitate rehabilitation and return to work following periods of illness or injury 
• promote physical and mental health and wellbeing at work. 

Your line manager can refer you to Occupational Health or you can opt for self-referral. Find out more on the Occupational Health webpages or the OH team’s Health and Wellbeing webpages.   At the present time, it’s best to contact the OH team via email: occupationalhealth@kent.ac.uk 

Talking to your line manager 

Don’t forget that your line manager can also support you on health and wellbeing issues – either directly or pointing you to the right colleague/place to ensure you get the support you need.  If you are able, speak to your line manager first. There may be a simple solution and they are not going to know you have a problem unless you discuss it with them.  Line Managers can also take advantage of advice available from the EAP.  

HR contacts 

Our HR department is responsible for a number of staff wellbeing policies – from special leave to flexible working.   The Employee Relations and Business Partnering Team provide line managers and other colleagues with specialist, professional advice, guidance and policy implementation on those policies, amongst others.   Each area of the University has a specific Business Partner and Employee Relations Adviser – you can find out who yours is on the HR website. To make initial contact with the general ERBP team, email ERBP@kent.ac.uk. This address is monitored 09.00 to 17.00, Monday to Friday and using it will enable us to deal with your query as quickly as possible.   Colleagues in Estates and Commercial Services have their own dedicated HR teams who can advise as necessary. 

In line with Government guidelines on Covid-19, we are limiting face-to-face contact and adopting recommended social distancing measures. Unless physical access is absolutely essential, all staff should be working from home. 

Setting up at home 

Our HR and IS teams have put together a handy guide to working at home. This includes useful information on: 

• Redirecting your office phone  
• Setting up your work station and Display Screen Equipment 
• Accessing network files through the VPN (Virtual Private Network) 
• Storing sensitive data 
• Using Office 365 
• Accessing Staff Connect 
• Staying in touch with your team members (eg through Skype for Business) 
• Links to key resources 

IS have also published a comprehensive guide to accessing and using our IT services from home or elsewhere off-campus. 

In addition, you can find helpful advice on setting up your home work station in new guidance from our Safety, Health and Environment Unit. 

If you can’t work at home 

If you are unable to work due to caring responsibilities, then you should contact your manager. Our focus is on maintaining core services and it may be (particularly if two parents are working from home) that it is possible to rotate caring responsibilities so that you can undertake at least some of your core tasks. If staff are unable to work, they will be expected to use any accrued TOIL by agreement with their manager but pay will be maintained as normal.  

For timesheet staff who are available for work and have already agreed working hours, their manager will arrange for these hours to be paid in the usual way. Timesheet staff who have not agreed any working hours will not be paid. 

Hourly-paid lecturers (HPLs) who have moved their teaching online and continue to support their students should continue to submit timesheets to their school for payment as normal. HPLs who are not able to continue with their teaching duties should speak to their school regarding alternative activities.   

How it affects your pay 

Our new University Pay Policy related to COVID-19 sets out temporary changes from standard policies, recognising that staff may find it difficult to work from home or while caring for dependents and that staff are concerned about their pay. 

Staff are the University’s most valuable asset and their health and wellbeing is extremely important.

There are a number of ways that colleagues across our campuses and centres can access support and advice as and when they need it. These include a new Employee Assistance Programme specifically for Kent employees, as well as access to specialist advisers across the University.

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

This new scheme offers University staff easy access to expert help with both workplace and personal issues. Whether you have questions on issues from debt and landlords, to nutrition and stress, our new EAP website should have the answers. To log-in, use the username: uokent and the password: university.

Alternatively, you can phone the providers, Care first/Sodexho, free of charge on 0808 168 2143 and get free and confidential advice from an information specialist or accredited counsellor.

Face-to-face counselling (up to eight sessions) is available through the EAP, not just phone or online advice. Following an initial telephone assessment by a qualified counsellor, there can be a referral to a counsellor within your locality.

Occupational Health support

As well as EAP, the University has a dedicated Occupational Health team whose remit is to:

• prevent work-related ill health
• facilitate rehabilitation and return to work following periods of illness or injury
• promote physical and mental health and wellbeing at work.

Your line manager can refer you to Occupational Health or you can opt for self-referral. Find out more on the Safety, Health and Environment website or the OH team’s Health and Wellbeing webpages.

Talking to your line manager

Don’t forget that your line manager can also support you on health and wellbeing issues – either directly or pointing you to the right colleague/place to ensure you get the support you need.

If you are able, speak to your line manager first. There may be a simple solution and they are not going to know you have a problem unless you discuss it with them.

Line Managers can also take advantage of advice available from the EAP.

HR contacts

Our HR department is responsible for a number of staff wellbeing policies – from special leave to flexible working.

The Employee Relations and Business Partnering Team provide line managers and other colleagues with specialist, professional advice, guidance and policy implementation on those policies, amongst others. Each area of the University has a specific Business Partner and Employee Relations Adviser – find out who yours is on the HR website. Please use the general ERBP team email to make initial contact on ERBP@kent.ac.uk. This address is monitored 09.00 to 17.00, Monday to Friday and using it will enable us to deal with your query as quickly as possible.

Colleagues in Estates and Commercial Services have their own dedicated HR teams who can advise as necessary.

Development opportunities

Our Learning and Organisational Development team, part of HR, also provides a wide range of personal and professional development opportunities for staff across the University. Courses include Mental Health Awareness, Crucial Conversations, Promoting Inclusion, and Resilience and Wellbeing.

Find out more on the L&OD website.

Staff representatives

Staff representation and consultation are key to good employee relations

Our Joint Staff Negotiating and Consultation Committee (JSNCC) is the main forum for consultation between the University and our staff on all matters of mutual interest. Membership includes both staff and trades union representatives, who can share your concerns with other members of JSNCC. Find out more about the JSNCC and who your representatives are on the JSNCC webpages.

You may also wish to seek advice/support directly from your trade union if you are a member.

The University has a number of trade unions active across its campuses and centres, including:

• GMB – mainly representing staff in grades 1-6
• University and College Union (UCU) – mainly representing academic and academic-related staff.
• Unison – mainly representing staff in grades 1-6
• Unite – mainly representing technical staff.

Find out more about trade unions and campus representatives on the HR Information for Staff webpages.

In recognition of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2020, members of staff have been sharing who their most inspirational woman is and what makes them so special:

Jacinta Ardern (PM of New Zealand) – ‘Compassionate leadership in a male dominated world. The youngest female head of government, and only the second elected head of government to have a baby and take maternity leave while in office.’ (Laura Pheils, L&OD Advisor)

Dame Julie Andrews – ‘Her incredible talent and how she coped with having to use this to support her family as a young child; not letting her childhood put her off her dreams. I admire her grace, charity work, her love of family, her strength after losing her voice and as the only person I’ve ever seen to get a standing ovation just walking into a room. ‘ (Helen Oliver, L&OD Coordinator)

Barbara Castle – ‘for introducing the Equal Pay Act.’  (Maddy Withers, Reward Assistant)

Aphra Behn – ‘A playwright, poet and spy was a remarkable and talented woman who made her voice heard and took risks for the things she believed in. Virginia Woolf wrote of her: “All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn… for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.”‘ (Alison Ross Green, Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development)

‘Mary Lacy’ – ‘She was determined to succeed and did so in spades. Born and bred in Ash, Kent she ran away to sea and also became an accomplished shipwright: she was arguably the first women ever to train as shipwright (albeit disguised as a man) and was also the first woman (this time not in disguise) to gain a pension from the Admiralty. She published her fascinating, candid memoirs – The Female Shipwright – in 1773.’  (Simon Kirchin, Director of the Division of Arts, Culture and Design)

Isabel Myers Briggs – ‘No-one has to be good at everything, By developing individual strengths, guarding against known weaknesses and appreciating the strengths of others, life will be more amusing, more interesting and more of a daily adventure than it could possibly be if everyone were alike.’ (Anne-Marie Baker,  Project Manager Athena SWAN)

Mother Teresa – ‘Despite all her encounters with adversity and distress, she maintained an iconic symbol of hope, peace and compassion.’ (Jena Dady, L&OD Advisor)

Emmy Noether – ‘As a woman in a patriarchal scientific community and a Jew in a brutally anti-Semitic society, she was unquestionably an outsider. Yet she discovered mathematics of great power and reach: her theorems on symmetries underpin our understanding of physics, and her exceptionally clear teaching has formed the heart of algebra for the last century.’ (Peter Hydon, Professor of Mathematics and Director of Division)

The abolitionist Sojourner Truth – ‘Born into slavery and at one point sold with a flock of sheep. She fought for the right to have all that comes with the freedom of personhood and equality.’ (Christina Hughes,  Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience)

The Development Office is looking for support for Congregations in July.

Graduations are an important University occasion supporting students in a crucial part of their journey at Kent. Ceremony dates and times are available here.

Various roles are available during graduations. Full training will be available for your designated role, with a member of staff on hand to support you at all times. Staff working two or more consecutive ceremonies will be provided with lunch/hot dinner in between their two shifts as well as allocated breaks throughout the day.

Please complete the form here with your availability. Once you have committed to these hours, please block them out in your calendar as we may not contact you with your role until nearer the time.

Where possible, we will try to allocate you your preferred role. Each role has varying start and finish times so we advise that you are available for two hours before and after the ceremony time you select.

Some of the graduation shifts may involve working outside of your contracted working hours.  Please get permission from your line manager prior to agreeing to work outside of your contracted hours, as they make the decision whether to permit you time off in lieu.

Latest information on coronavirus, including updates and FAQs for staff, students and members of the public, is available on our coronavirus website.

The University has not been notified of any confirmed cases of coronavirus amongst our students, staff or visitors.

Our Coronavirus Response Group, led by Professor Christina Hughes, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience, will continue to monitor the situation and is following the advice of Government agencies, including Public Health England, Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the NHS.

Based on this advice, the University is fully open for business as usual. All our campus facilities and buildings are open.

As you may be aware, the Gulbenkian was informed on Sunday (1 March) that a family member of two cast members of the National Theatre ‘Connections’ production had tested positive for coronavirus. As a result, these cast members were advised to self-isolate as a precaution. The University sought the advice of Public Health England, and advised that no further action was required. The Gulbenkian continues to operate as normal.

For staff that may have travelled to one of the affected areas, or come into contact with someone who has, please follow the Public Heath England guidance. If you are concerned, please ring NHS on 111 or visit 111 online.

All students, staff and visitors in the UK are advised by the NHS to follow basic hygiene good practice in order to prevent the spread of germs and infection. Our coronavirus website includes the latest NHS public health campaign.

If you have any questions or concerns about the virus, please do make use of the NHS 111 service. You can also make use of our recently launched Employment Assistance Programme, which offers easy access to accredited counsellors. You can find out more about the service and how to access it on our Staff News webpages.

We will ensure that further updates on coronavirus and the University’s response are published as soon as possible on our coronavirus website.

Universities UK has announced that staff, students and parents who have queries about coronavirus can contact a new Department for Education helpline: 0800 046 8687 (8am-6pm, Monday-Friday).

If you have any enquiries on our response to coronavirus, or wish to find out more about what the University is doing, please email the Coronavirus Response Group: covid19@kent.ac.uk

The Government has updated its advice to include those who have recently travelled from Italy, Iran and South Korea, as well as Wuhan and Hubei province.

The University’s coronavirus response group is currently writing up the set of principles which we have established to help staff assess any travel plans line with government advice. These principles will also inform the support that we are giving to students who are impacted by the situation and will also advise schools and departments who have visitors coming to the University. These principles will be available shortly.

In the meantime, if you have visitors coming to the University from any of the areas identified by the Government, we would suggest you contact them to make sure they are aware of the steps to take to keep themselves and others safe, as outlined by Public Heath England and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

We would also like to remind you that all overseas travel, work and study undertaken on behalf of the University, as part of a University teaching programme or organised by the University must be risk assessed.

All travel on University business should be booked through Key Travel. Not only is this a procurement requirement, it also enables the University to know where travelling staff are just in case we need to support them due to the impact of the coronavirus or other issues.

It is also important that you are covered by the University’s travel insurance.  This will not only provide essential cover, but give you access to a wide range of travel advice, including the option to sign-up to daily intelligence briefings and SMS travel alerts.

Chris Morrison has proved his copyright credentials by winning an award for best dissertation on his Master’s degree course.

Chris, our Copyright, Software Licensing and IS Policy Manager, has graduated with a Master of Arts in UK, EU and US Copyright Law at King’s College London. He passed the course with distinction and was awarded The Dickson Poon School of Law Prize for best dissertation, at his graduation ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall, London.

Chris’ dissertation, now available on the Kent Academic Repository was titled ‘Illustration for Instruction and the UK Higher Education Sector: Perceptions of risk and sources of authority’.

Chris said: ‘The dissertation is the culmination of my work and interest in copyright. At the end of my study, I realised that I knew a lot about the legal side of copyright but not so much about how it affects us in education. My dissertation aims to provide some clarity in this area.’

Chris has worked in copyright most of his working life – first for PRS for Music and then as Copyright Assurance Manager at the British Library. He joined Kent in 2015, becoming our first dedicated copyright manager.

At Kent, he has continued to champion all things copyright – for example, as a member of the Universities UK/GuildHE Copyright Negotiating and Advisory Committee, co-organising an annual ‘Icepops’ conference and co-authoring a regular blog on copyright.

He is currently finalising the Kent Copyright Literacy Strategy, the first of its kind among UK universities and regularly presents ‘Copyright the Card Game’ sessions for Kent colleagues. The next session is on Monday 23 March.

Chris remains a passionate advocate for the importance of copyright: ‘Copyright matters because everybody is a creator these days – but similarly everybody uses other people’s material. As an education institution, it is important that we do things the right way.’