Coronavirus - Staff FAQs
General information
I am
concerned about coming in to work due to coronavirus. What should I do?
As
a large organisation, we have a few roles that provide essential services to
support students, and keep our campus safe and in some key areas, operate a
skeleton service. These roles require staff to be on campus. We will take all
the steps we can to protect the health and safety of staff in these essential
roles, where working from home is not possible.
If
you work in an essential service and have concerns for your health due to a
pre-existing health condition, or may be more vulnerable to infection for other
reasons, you should discuss this with your manager.
Can
I still access the campuses?
We
are committed to keeping our buildings open for essential access, whilst
ensuring we are acting responsibly and safely. All campuses are
now closed to students and the public. This includes access to the library
and other facilities. Colleagues must also remain at home unless
attendance has been deemed essential by your line manager.
Any colleague who has a critical need to attend campus should contact Andy McGoff, Director of Finance and Operations,
who will authorise access as appropriate, taking into account health and safety
requirements. Please try and give reasonable notice to allow our Security team
to make appropriate arrangements and bear in mind facilities such as lifts will
not be operational. Anyone on campus should continue to follow NHS and
government guidance – for example, washing hands regularly and staying two
metres away from any colleague. Finally, remember to bring your ID card
and sign in where requested to guarantee access.
What
is the University’s position with annual leave this year?
We
expect employees to continue to take annual leave in the normal way during the
coronavirus outbreak and ask that staff book in their remaining annual leave
from now until the end of August. If many people accrue lots of leave, we could
end up with a large number of colleagues all trying to take leave at a similar
time – and operationally, it may not be possible to accommodate all these
requests which may cause some staff disappointment and a risk of ‘burn out’
because they have not had a break and a chance to recharge their
batteries. It is very important to take
regular breaks, especially as many of us are now working from home so work
never feels too far away.
Will I be able to carry unused annual leave over to 2020/21?
It has been decided not to allow
carry-over of annual leave into next year, for this year only. It is very important to take regular breaks
from work and we are keen to minimise the carry over cost that must be reported
in our accounts at year end. If there is
a very good reason why someone cannot use their leave, then the normal five day
carry over can be agreed with their Dean’s or Director’s approval. It is
anticipated that this will only be in exceptional circumstances.
What about the Government announcement
that all employees are entitled to carry over unused holiday for the next two
years?
This measure
is aimed at supporting key industries such as healthcare and food distribution.
The purpose of amending the Working Time Regulations is to ensure that key
workers, such as NHS staff who are prevented from taking holiday during this period,
do not lose out on the annual leave that they are entitled to as a result of
their efforts to help the country deal with the pandemic.
What
about my holiday plans?
We
would strongly advise you to keep up to date with the latest FCO travel advice and follow that advice whilst
this outbreak is ongoing. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has
produced travel insurance
guidance following
the outbreak.
Will parking permit deductions stop?
If you have a parking permit, the
deductions will still be collected. We use the parking fee to pay a contractor
to manage the car park and this will need to continue being paid during the
current situation. Our staff are still receiving their full pay and have not
suffered any detriment so they should not be any worse off.
If you wold like to cancel your parking
permit then you can do so by emailing car.parking@napier.ac.uk and notifying them of your
request to cancel. If you cancel your permit and would like one in the
future, please understand that you would be processed as a new request so will
be added to the waiting list. It may be some time before a space becomes
available. As the staff are extremely busy right now dealing with the current
situation, it may take time to reply and process any cancellation.
I am
concerned about the impact on my visa, what should I do?
Guidance on immigration provisions made by the Home Office for people affected
by travel restrictions associated with coronavirus is available here.
I am
a qualified nurse - can I help support the NHS?
We
understand that we may have staff whose skill sets may be called upon and many
are already doing so in their own time. It is important that we liaise with the
NHS to ensure a co-ordinated University response to this and that things such
as appropriate insurance and health & Safety measures are put in place. At
present the NHS have not formally requested support from the University. Once
we receive formal notification, we will discuss the options with the Dean of
School who will then contact staff to discuss opportunities. If you are
contacted directly by the NHS, then please get in touch with the Dean of School
or your line manager as soon as possible.
Can
I volunteer to support the community?
At
this stage we ask that you volunteer in your own time if you do not have a
skill set that is being called upon. We
have set up an Edinburgh Napier Volunteering Scheme so that staff can help
staff members, their families and students which can be accessed here.
Non-salaried staff – now the campuses are closed, will I get paid for hours
that I was due to work?
You
will receive payment for any hours that you were scheduled to work, subject to
confirmation by your manager and Dean of School. If appropriate, you may be
asked to work from home or undertake alternative duties during this period.
Can
I take the new emergency volunteering leave to volunteer in health and social
care?
Employees have
a legal right to take unpaid emergency volunteering leave to support the NHS
volunteer programme. Staff have to give 3 working days’ notice and provide
their NHS certificate of volunteering. The leave would be for a period of 2, 3
or 4 weeks as indicated on the certificate, and employees are entitled to
return to their existing role after the volunteering ends. Non-pay benefits
(such as accrual of annual leave) would continue during the period of
volunteering.
What
is the University doing to help students who may be concerned about how the
current situation affects their finances?
We
understand that, due to current situation, many students will be unable to earn
enough to meet essential living costs. The University have made funds available
to help meet these costs:
- Students who receive a student
loan from SAAS or Student Finance England, Northern Ireland or Wales you
should make an application for help from the Discretionary
Fund
- Nursing and Midwifery students who
receive fund from SAAS or Student Finance England, Northern Ireland and
Wales should make an application for help from the Nursing
and Midwifery Discretionary Fund
- Students from overseas should
apply for help from the International
& EU Crisis Fund
All other
funds are closed and students should apply to whichever fund mentioned above
which suits their circumstances. For further details contact studentfunding@napier.ac.uk.
What
needs to be recorded on HR Connect during this period?
Managers
are required to record all absence due to sickness and homeworking working
arrangements during the coronavirus outbreak on HR Connect for your team
members on the same day they notify you of their absence or a change to their
status.
Note: all
coronavirus related absences and homeworking arrangements should be recorded in
HR Connect under Other Absence using
the reasons in the table below.
Absence
Options for Coronavirus Recording
|
|
Absence
Reason
|
When
to use
|
|
1
|
Working
from Home
|
Staff
showing no symptoms and transitioned to home working.
|
You should keep this
arrangement under review and when this arrangement ends, you should update
the employee’s HR Connect record.
|
2
|
Self-Isolation
- unable to work
|
Staff
showing symptoms, and need to self-isolate for 7 or 14 days
|
Use this reason if an
employee informs you that they are showing symptoms and need to self-isolate
and unable to work.
Once the employee
recovers, enter the end date of the self-isolation period and update the
absence reason back to homeworking or other appropriate reason.
|
3
|
Vulnerable
Group – unable to work
|
Staff
identified as Vulnerable as per Government guidance - unable to carry out
duties via homeworking
|
Use where staff have
identified themselves in this government category and appropriately reflects
their current working arrangement.
|
4
|
Vulnerable
Group – working from home
|
Staff
identified as Vulnerable as per Government guidance – carrying out duties via
homeworking
|
Use where staff have
identified themselves in this government category and appropriately reflects
their current working arrangement.
|
5
|
Essential
Worker
|
Staff
who have been assessed & designated by a senior manager as
an essential worker, who may need to carry out duties on University premises,
|
Only assigned to a
small number of specific roles and authorised by ULT via Andy McGoff,
Director of Finance and Operations
|
6
|
At Home
– unable to work
|
Staff
at home but unable to carry out duties via homeworking
|
|