Due to ongoing Covid restrictions, we are anticipating a larger than usual number of students remaining on campus over the winter vacation.

Many of these students were planning to spend the vacation away from campus and they will now need to extend their food budgets for a month longer than planned. Some students may also experience situational hunger or insecurity, while this period may cause others to demonstrate chronic hunger or insecurity and a need for continued support. Our on-campus Foodbank provides short-term support to students who find themselves in need of supplemental food.

Regardless of circumstances, no student should have to choose between food and other basic needs. Over this period, Kent Union will be making special arrangements to provide this service to students in need – but they need your help! Volunteers will organise, run and distribute the food to students in need – they need donations in order to do so!

What to donate

Anything! Apart from alcohol.

It must be:

• in date,
• unopened
• not need to be refrigerated

Major needs

• Breakfast items such as cereals/porridge
• Pasta sauce jars
• Sweets, crisps and chocolates
• Pasta
• Rice
• Noodles

Christmas Bonus!

While these items are welcome all year, sharing something as a treat would be very welcome:

• Toiletries
• Chocolate
• Sweets
• Crisps

How to donate

Permanent Foodbank donation points are located at the Kent Union Reception in the Mandela Student Centre, Keynes Atrium, Plaza Co-op and Parkwood Co-op. Please drop your donation into the easiest location for you.

Thank you for donating. The difference this makes to individuals cannot be underestimated. We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the volunteers for all the work they are doing to provide this service through the vacation.

Find out more

Find out more about the Foodbank, what you can donate, where and when on Kent Union’s website.

Our new Kent Rainbow Lanyard celebrates and promotes our work around Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Wearing one shows your commitment to providing a safe and comfortable environment for all of our LGBTQ+ staff and students. It also shows LGBTQ+ people that they can ‘bring their whole selves’ to you without fear of judgement or an unsupportive reaction.

Designed by our LGBTQ+ Staff Network, and based on the Inclusion Flag, the Kent Rainbow Lanyard is a symbol that you are aware of the hardships marginalised members of the community have faced and continue to face, and that you are committed to supporting our LGBTQ+ staff and students by being a friend, advocate and a safe space, otherwise known as an Ally.

Designed by Daniel Quasar in 2018, the Inclusion Flag includes pink, blue, black and brown chevron stipes alongside the rainbow flag to represent the trans community and people of colour within the LGBTQ+ community and places a greater emphasis on inclusion and progression than previous iterations. There are three different types of Rainbow Lanyard available – one for staff, one for students, and one for Student Ambassadors. The lanyards are available in most outlets and reception desks across our Canterbury and Medway sites.

Being an Ally

We know that being an Ally is not always easy, and like any skill it takes practice, awareness and education, which is why we have developed resource pages to help support anyone who wants to enhance their Allyship knowledge and skills. We would encourage anyone wearing a lanyard to explore these resources and self-educate to ensure that they feel confident in their allyship abilities.

Wearing a lanyard and displaying symbols of Pride at our sites is an important way to remind our LGBTQ+ staff and students that they belong here in our community, and should always feel safe, supported, and able to bring their whole selves to work and study with us.

Wear yours with Pride!

Becky Lamyman | Student EDI Officer

The University was very sorry to hear of the death of Keith Dimond.

Former colleague, Mohamed Sobhy writes:

‘It is with sadness that I report that my friend and colleague Keith Dimond has passed away. Keith joined the University in 1971 as lecturer in the Electronics Laboratories (now the School of Engineering). Prior to joining, Keith worked at GCHQ in Cheltenham. I remember in his interview at Kent, Keith could not give the panel some details of his work, as it was classified. Nevertheless, the panel was so impressed by Keith’s personality and knowledge and had no hesitation in offering him the post.

‘Subsequently, Keith made a vital contribution to developing the teaching and research in the department, especially on the digital side and was promoted to a Senior Lectureship in recognition of his work. Keith also made a significant contribution to the administration of The Electronics Laboratories. For 10 years, during my term as director, Keith was deputy director and his help and support were vital to the smooth running of the department. I remember in particular, his help in preparing the application to the Institution of Electrical Engineers (now IET) for accrediting the new courses. Before his retirement, Keith became Master of Keynes College again using his personality and diplomacy to run the College smoothly and effectively.

‘Throughout my knowledge of Keith, I admired his manner of dealing with people in a diplomatic and kind manner that made him respected and loved by all his colleagues and students. Keith will be sadly missed by all who knew him.’

We express our condolences to his wife Judith, his two daughters Rachel and Fiona and their families.  

Congratulations to Professor Juliette Pattinson on her appointment as our new Director of the Division for Arts and Humanities.

Juliette, who is a Professor in the School of History, is currently the Deputy Director (People) in the Division and an AdvanceHE Chair for Athena Swan. She replaces Professor Simon Kirchin who will stand down at the end of the year.

Juliette says: ‘I am delighted to have been appointed as the new Divisional Director. I look forward to working with colleagues in championing the arts and humanities and to joining the Executive Group. This provides an exciting opportunity to work collaboratively to shape the future of our University and the Division in the next phase of our development.’

Juliette joined the University in 2013. She was Head of our School of History from 2015-20 and, before that, at the University of Strathclyde (2012-13).

Juliette completed her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at Lancaster University in History and Women’s Studies and her PhD was a gendered oral history analysis of male and female secret agents in Nazi-occupied France. She is a socio-cultural historian of gender and war and has published on civilian men, uniformed women, partisan warfare, incarceration, national identity, cultural memory and oral history methodology.

Her monograph on the fabulously named FANYs (the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry), which examines the world’s longest established female military organisation as a case study of gender modernity, was published last year. Following a symposium held in Special Collections at Kent, she is completing an edited collection on British humour and the Second World War, which has offered some light relief over the last 21 months.

Outside work, Juliette is a keen cyclist and runner, loves scuba diving and yoga and enjoyed flying a Cessna recently. She is somewhat less enthusiastic about an upcoming skydive – something she has felt compelled to do since 1999 when she interviewed secret agents who parachuted behind enemy lines.

From Martin Atkinson | Director of HR and Organisational Development  

Following Government guidance in response to the new Covid-19 variant, we are taking extra measures to ensure the continued safety of our staff, students and everyone in our University community.

From tomorrow (Tuesday 30 November), we will be expecting everyone on campus – unless they have medical exemptions – to wear face coverings in all teaching spaces and communal areas. In shared offices and other spaces, face coverings should also be worn where social distancing cannot be maintained. This is to enable all of us to undertake planned activities as safely and securely as we can. Face coverings are available free of charge from any student reception desk.

We are also stressing the importance of regular testing – everyone coming onto campus should continue to take a Covid lateral flow test regularly and at least twice a week. You can get walk-in tests or pick up take-home kits from the Old Bank on our Canterbury campus or the Old Sports Hall at Medway, or order them online.  If you’re using a home test kit, please remember to report your lateral flow test results to the NHS, using the postcode CT2 7FS, whether they are positive or negative.

If you have symptoms or if you do test positive, you must self-isolate for 10 days from the day your symptoms started and get a PCR test as quickly as possible. If your PCR test is positive, please let your line manager know and also email covidsupport@kent.ac.uk. If someone in your household tests positive, and even if your own test is negative, you should remain at home during the self-isolation period.

Don’t forget that from tomorrow, you will also need to take a PCR test, regardless of whether you have symptoms, if you are travelling to the UK from abroad.

Vaccinations are also critical in national efforts to counter Covid-19. If you qualify for a booster jab, we would strongly encourage you to get one if you can.

As always, if you have any questions or need further support, please email covidsupport@kent.ac.uk.

The health and safety of our staff, students and University community is always at the front of our minds. By taking these extra measures, we can all work together to protect each other in the run-up to the Christmas festivities.

Martin Atkinson | Director of HR and Organisational Development

On Tuesday 7 December, from 13.00-14.00, we will be holding a staff webchat focusing on  proposed changes to the USS pension scheme and the consultation process.

The session will be led by Jane Higham, Chief Financial Officer, with a presentation by Rebecca Dodd from Mercer, independent pensions advisers. There will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the session.

If you would like to attend, please complete the registration form here. The webchat will take place on MS Teams.

Pensions surgeries

Alan Gazzard, Pensions Supervisor at Kent, will be holding one-to-one pension surgeries in December, to answer any personal pensions questions. The sessions will be held on:

Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 December, 09.00-17.00

Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 December, from 18.30-19.30

Friday 10 December, from 14.00-17.00

Please email Alan Gazzard to book a 30-minute one-to-one appointment. These will be held on Microsoft Teams.

Find out more

To find out more about the USS pension changes, see our webpages, which include information on the current situation, the University position and local consultation process.

With more of us working on campus at least part of the time, it is essential that we all continue to keep safety at the front of our minds.   

 Key to ensuring everyone stays safe is regular testing and reporting of results.  

Everyone coming onto campus should continue to take a Covid lateral flow test twice a week. You can get walk-in tests or pick up take-home kits from the Old Bank on our Canterbury campus or the Old Sports Hall at Medway, or order them online.   

Reporting is also critical to supporting the national effort to counter Covid. If you are using a home test kit, please remember to report your lateral flow test results to the NHS, using the postcode CT2 7FS, whether they are positive or negative – instructions on how to do this should come with the testing kit itself.    

If you have symptoms or if you do test positive, you must self-isolate for 10 days from the day your symptoms started and get a PCR test as quickly as possible. If your PCR test is positive, please let your line manager know and also email covidsupport@kent.ac.uk.   

If someone in your household tests positive, and even if your own test is negative, you are encouraged to work at home if you can during the self-isolation period. If your role is not normally one that works remotely, please talk to your line manager about any work you can do from home. If there is no work you can do remotely, please remain away from work for the duration of the isolation period (if you are living with someone with Covid-19) or until you have had a negative PCR test (for a close contact)  

Other ways we can do our bit to stay  safe are:  

Vaccinations – A key component in national efforts against Covid. If you qualify for a booster jab,  you are strongly encouraged to get one if you can.   

Face coverings – We strongly encourage and recommend that staff and students wear face coverings in crowded indoor spaces, particularly if meeting people from outside their area. Face coverings are available free of charge from any student reception desk.  

Ventilation – We are monitoring buildings and rooms across campus to ensure they meet Government guidelines on airflow. Keeping a window open supports this and our ‘virtual first’ approach to staff meetings also helps reduce the number of gatherings. If you wish to double-check airflow levels in your area, get in touch with Estates Customer Services to borrow a CO2 monitor.  

Following checks by our Estates team, some of our teaching spaces have reduced capacity. If you’re teaching in these rooms, you’ll need to follow ‘user instructions’ on ventilation. You can find out which rooms this applies to, and check on any changes ahead of your class, on the live teaching room spreadsheet on our Estates webpages. Useful guidance on ventilation is also available from our SHE team. 

From Martin Atkinson, Director of HR and Organisational Development

As you know, members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Kent will be taking industrial action in the form of a national strike next week from Wednesday 1 to Friday 3 December, along with a period of Action Short of a Strike (ASOS). While these are national disputes, the issues involved are important – we take them very seriously at Kent and recognise the strength of feeling among some of our staff around them.

With that in mind, I wanted to update you all on what we are doing to address the different concerns being raised – those who are available can also come to a Staff Webchat tomorrow (Thursday 25 November) from 13.00-1400 where you can ask any questions you may have about this directly; I appreciate this is very short notice so the recording of this will also be shared afterwards.

USS Pensions

The dispute over pensions is long-running and extremely regrettable. Proposed changes to the scheme are currently being consulted on, and we have had an ongoing, constructive dialogue with UCU and staff representatives on it over a number of months. At its heart, disagreement nationally is over the valuation of the USS pension scheme and changes to benefits deemed necessary to address its current deficit. Given the very real risk of unaffordable rises in both employer and employee contributions if agreement isn’t reached, our view is that the proposal put forward by Universities UK currently under consultation is the least worst option available at this time, but we are also calling for a review of the scheme’s wider governance to be carried out without delay and ahead of the next valuation – there is more information on this on our USS Pension Staff Webpages.

Pay and Conditions

There is no denying that recent months have been challenging for our community and I know I speak for all of us on the Executive Group when I say we are determined to put this right. While there is always more to do, there are also areas where we have real progress to build on:

• In the absence of a national agreement with trade unions on pay, in August along with the rest of the sector, we implemented pay increases of between 1.5% and 3.6% to make sure our staff are fairly rewarded within our current financial constraints. In addition, last year we reviewed our Reward Strategy to ensure competitiveness, consistency and transparency in our pay policies.
  
  
• We have done a great deal of work since 2018 to reduce the inappropriate use of timesheet contracts across the University, including introducing new contract types, removing zero hours contracts for teaching staff and agreeing principles with UCU regarding the future use of hourly-paid lecturers. We can, and do, actively deal with exceptions to this when we are made aware of them.
  
  
• We are also fully committed to addressing equality-related pay gaps and have made real progress towards closing the gender pay gap – over the last three years our mean gender pay gap in favour of male colleagues has reduced from 17.9% to 14.3% and the median gap from 13.7% to 8.2%. We will shortly start work with our staff and trade union representatives on our next Equal Pay Audit to help us identify and address the pay gaps across gender, ethnicity and disability.

Workload remains a serious issue, not helped by national staff recruitment challenges since the pandemic. We are, however, taking practical steps to ease the pressure on staff: our new KentVision project manager is working closely with key stakeholders to address the most pressing issues with the system; this will take time and I can only reiterate our apology for the significant impact the initial rollout of this has had on staff. Elsewhere, we will shortly share a staff survey put together with our Wellbeing Working Group to help us identify and then address specific areas where workload is impacting on our mental health.

There is still plenty of work to do, but I’m confident that our plans will make real improvements to life at work for all our staff over the coming months and we will continue to engage constructively with UCU and with all of our trade union and staff representatives on these issues.  As I have said before, while our opinions can differ, all of us want the best for Kent and I hope we can continue to harness this shared determination in the weeks and months ahead.

I hope to see as many as possible at Thursday’s webchat, and in the meantime do read through our Industrial Action Staff Webpages for more information on the background to the current dispute. If you are a UCU member and intend to participate in the strike action and/or the ASOS, please read the University industrial action pay policy and FAQs beforehand.

Recording of webchat 

If you missed Thursday’s webchat on Industrial Action you can listen to the session’s recording. 

Best wishes,

Martin Atkinson | Director of HR and Organisational Development

We have three nominations for a new representative for non-union staff grades 1 to 6, in place of Becky Verlin, on our Joint Staff Negotiating and Consultation Committee (JSNCC).

The nominees are:

Jason Shinn – Assistant Housekeeping Manager – Election Statement

Zoe Wood – Finance Officer – Business School – Election Statement

Julien Danan – Finance Officer – Brussels – Election Statement

Staff working within grades 1 to 6 are eligible to vote in the election – if you’re eligible, you will have been sent an email with a link to the ballot form.

The ballot will close at 17.00 on Monday 6 December 2021.

The JSNCC is the main forum for consultation between the University and its staff on matters of mutual interest and is one of our most important and influential committees.

Staff membership comprises representatives of each of the trade unions and four representatives of non-union staff: two from the Academic, Research and Professional Services Staff and two from the Professional Services and Research Support Staff.

Further information about the JSNCC and the nomination and election processes can be found on the JSNCC website or by contacting Colin Smith in the employee relations team via c.smith-832@kent.ac.uk

From Martin Atkinson | Director of HR and Organisational Development

Yesterday evening UCU head office informed us that they will be calling on Kent UCU members to take three days of strike action from Wednesday 1 – Friday 3 December on the ongoing disputes over changes to the USS pension scheme and over Pay and Conditions. They will also be calling on UCU members to start a period of Action Short of a Strike (ASOS), which will see members working to contract and refusing any voluntary duties for a period starting 1 December and ending no later than 3 May 2022. Further strike days may also follow in the New Year. This follows the mandates secured in the recent ballots.

We are continuing open and constructive dialogue with the branch so that we do as much as we can to avoid this planned action taking place. In the meantime, there are a number of workstreams led by the Industrial Action Response Group prioritising what we will need in place to support students and staff throughout the period of industrial action, with more information on the background to the dispute on our Industrial Action staff webpages. I will be in touch shortly with a further update on this, along with details of an upcoming staff webchat where you can ask any questions you have about this.

As before, we will all need to continue to be respectful of differing views about the issues on the ballots. I will also continue to keep you all up to date on developments as we navigate the coming weeks, including ensuring students are fully informed of what this will mean for them throughout.

Martin Atkinson | Director of HR and Organisational Development