LUCU Covid Bulletin 3 – March 2020

Our survey on Covid and in-person contact closes tomorrow – March 5, 2021. If you have not yet completed the survey, which takes c. 3 minutes, we urge you to do so to help the committee better understand your views on Covid related issues at this time. 

Campus Re-opening

There will be a partial re-opening of campus on Monday, March 8, 2021 for students who are registered on courses that require access to specialist facilities to complete practical elements of their programmes. See here for a complete lists of courses: Microsoft Word – practical-degree-programes-march2021.docx (lboro.ac.uk). In addition, undergraduate finalists who require access to specialist facilities for project / dissertation work can continue their on-campus activity as per the email to students dated 28th January.

Teaching programmes that are not listed on the above linked document will remain online until after Easter, pending review during April and further government guidance.

For your information, the most recent Government advice, based on SAGE guidance, that informs how the University is managing the staggered return of students may be found here: Higher education: operational guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Members may also be interested to read Indie Sage Guidance: Independent SAGE Statement on Universities and Colleges Winter-Spring 2021 in the Context of SARS-CoV-2 and the | Independent SAGE.

Covid H&S Update

Since the start of the pandemic, LUCU and the other campus trades unions have been closely involved in monitoring how the University is responding to Covid risks on campus through representation on the University Health and Safety committee. In addition, we have held weekly meetings with Neil Budworth, Director of Health, Safety and Wellbeing, and Anne Lamb, Deputy Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development, in cooperation with Unison and Unite, where we have been able to assess in greater detail the implementation and enforcement of Covid-secure measures. 

In response to Covid variants that are more highly transmissible, we can report to members that all risk assessments for rooms that will be in use from March 8, 2021 have been reviewed and updated where needed, and risk assessments for all remaining teaching/shared office spaces that may come into use after Easter are also under review. 

Thus far, the following changes have been made in response to the threat of Covid variants.

1. Student and Staff Testing: Students are required to undertake a rapid Covid test at least once every seven days in order to be allowed to use campus-based facilities (e.g. Library, PC labs, study spaces).  Students who do not take a minimum of one test every seven days will be denied access to facilities until they comply with the testing.  The aim is for students to undertake two tests each week (3-4 days apart), but rather than implementing this from the start, the University is building up compliance with at least one test per week. 

Staff are required to take a weekly rapid Covid test if they are working on the campus for any length of time.  The only exceptions to these requirements are for anyone who has had a positive Covid test in the last 90 days, or who is otherwise medically exempt.  Staff based on the Loughborough campus can book a rapid test via the website (https://www.lboro.ac.uk/internal/studying-working-living/testing/), while for staff based at the London campus, testing is available on Mondays and Wednesdays between 10am and 2pm at the 4th floor test centre and booking is not required in London. 

LUCU broadly support the requirement for staff working on campus to undertake regular rapid Covid tests and would encourage all members to engage with the policy where they can.  If you have any concerns about the testing, please speak to your line manager in the first instance, or you can contact LUCU at ucu@lboro.ac.uk.

2. Ventilation: The ventilation in all teaching spaces on campus has been reviewed to ensure that it is compliant with the latest guidance regarding the more highly transmissible variants. Lectern notes and Risk Assessments have been updated to reflect this.

3. Leaving spaces empty for longer between sessions: In order to reduce the risk posed by viral load build up in teaching spaces, extra gaps are being left between sessions to ensure the rooms are well ventilated between classes.  The requirement for this varies between locations and is factored into the timetabling of the rooms.

4. Social distancing: As with the autumn term, staff should be able to maintain a 2m distance between themselves and students in teaching spaces.  Floor markings have been placed in teaching spaces denoting the safe areas for staff to maintain this spacing.  Students will be spaced at 2m where feasible.  Where 2m distancing between students would severely impact the capacity of a room, the University is mandating 1m+ spacing, where students may be seated within 2m of one another but other protections (such as differing orientations and mandatory face coverings) reduce the risks). 

The seats in teaching spaces that are suitable for students to occupy are clearly denoted with stickers.  In laboratories, workshops and practical spaces, where 2m floor spacings for staff may not be possible, higher grade PPE (e.g. additional respiratory protection) will be provided.

5. Enforcement: Covid ambassadors will be in place to ensure compliance with social distancing and other safety measures.

If you become aware of a situation where health and safety guidelines are not being followed, contact your line manager and school health and safety officer in the first instance. Please also let the union know.

LUCU Dispute Update

Early in the pandemic UCU called for all non-essential teaching to move online, and LUCU requested management to adopt the UCU position.

Management refused on the basis that 1) they were providing a workplace where Covid risks were minimized as much as possible, and therefore, requesting in-person contact was not unreasonable; 2) it was necessary to deliver some in-person teaching for the benefit of students’ educational needs and mental wellbeing, as per LSU’s position; and 3) minimizing financial losses during the pandemic was essential to protect jobs.

LUCU has paid careful attention to what members have been telling us via their union Reps, email communications, surveys, and AGMs/EGMs.  We learned that the membership holds a wide range of views relative to the UCU position, ranging from support for moving all teaching online to support for the system of blended learning that management put in place.  The majority of members took the position that LUCU should work toward ensuring that the campus was made as safe as possible, avoid action that would impact on university finances to the extent that management may move toward further cutbacks, and consider the learning experience and wellbeing of students as well as staff when negotiating with management. 

Feedback from members also demonstrated a concern that some staff might be pressured into working on campus even if they felt extremely anxious about doing so.  Clinically vulnerable staff are not expected to work on campus, and those staff (mainly in professional services) who are able to perform their roles remotely are also working from home. 

Consequently, in November 2020, LUCU declared a formal dispute in line with our Partnership Agreement: our aim was to find a compromise that would allow members who did not feel comfortable about undertaking in-person teaching, or other campus duties involving in-person contact, to work from home. We argued that anxiety about in-person contact should not be pathologized during a pandemic, and management had a duty of care to respond to reports of high levels of anxiety with reasonable adjustments.  Management accepted this argument.

We requested that management adopt an opt-in policy for campus working, but this was refused on the basis that an opt-in policy could result in students having an uneven experience across disciplines in terms of in-person hours.  Consequently, further negotiations to resolve the dispute resulted in a working agreement whereby staff members may request home working or reduced in-person hours even if they are not clinically vulnerable, and without necessarily involving input from Occupational Health (although in some cases a referral to OH may be in a member’s interest).

Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis at school level by the relevant line manager or a member of staff designated by the line manager (e.g. Head of Subject, Operations Manager).  Thus far, most requests to work remotely have been treated sympathetically, with members either having their in-person hours reduced or being allowed to work from home. 

Anyone who is not satisfied with the response they receive to their request for remote working may contact LUCU, and we will assign them a caseworker.  Where a caseworker has become involved, we have enjoyed a good rate of success in negotiating a satisfactory outcome for members, and we have a small handful of cases that are ongoing.

We are continuing to monitor how well this approach is working through communication with school and unit LUCU Reps, as well as ongoing meetings with Deans/HR. Currently, we are aware of two subject areas where remote working is negatively impacting other colleagues in terms of the number of in-person hours they are being asked to deliver, and we have secured management agreement to work with LUCU on an action plan to resolve the problem in these areas. 

If you are considering making a request for remote working and have questions/would like further guidance before doing so, please contact us: UCU@lboro.ac.uk. 

On behalf of LUCU Committee

Vaccination of Clinically Extremely Vulnerable

We have just been sent the below information from Rob Johnstone on behalf of the TUC Midlands, which may be useful info for Clinically Extremely Vulnerable members.

Anyone who is Clinically Extremely Vulnerable can book their Covid vaccine appointments at the below link. It does not require a letter, they just need their NHS number (it appears at the top of their shielding letter from the DHSC).

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/

LUCU Covid Bulletin: 25th January

In light of the more transmissible variants of Covid-19 (including B117 plus at the time of writing, others) and the upsurge in infections, UCU advised branches to consult with employers on revised workplace risk assessments and control measures and to confirm implementation of recommended safety measures for any workers undertaking onsite or in-person work.  The information below is intended to illustrate for members what UCU has called for and how Loughborough University is responding. 

While the university relies on government guidance in determining what measures to put into place, other sources of information also inform decision making. We have provided links to information that has informed our discussions with management on Covid-secure measures, and in the interest of transparency and clarity, we are providing links to relevant documents. Not all materials are available online. If you would like to read any of the documentation cited here, please contact the branch and we will provide a copy.

Given how quickly the Covid landscape can change, committee members are continuing to meet regularly with senior management to review and monitor health and safety measures related to Covid. We will regularly update members as and when UCU health and safety guidance changes and/or the lockdown period ends. We would like to thank Neil Budworth (Director of Health Safety and Wellbeing) and Anne Lamb (Deputy Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development) for the generous amount of time they spend with the campus unions discussing health and safety and providing responses to our written requests for information.

If members have further queries, please don’t hesitate to ask. If you are currently working on campus and feel that sufficient health and safety measures are not in place or see evidence of poor compliance, please alert your line manager/local health and safety officer, and let us know.  Remember that you have the right to work in a safe environment: if you feel that there is a serious and imminent danger which you cannot avert yourself, and that you have brought to the attention of your line manager and/or local health and safety officer, then under the Employment Act 1996 section 44, you have the right to remove yourself from that situation until that danger is resolved. While staff can remove themselves from immediate danger, this is not an action that should be taken in isolation. Please continue to report any deviation from safety protocols as soon as you become aware of them.

The address for committee correspondence is: UCU@lboro.ac.uk

What UCU asks for…	What Loughborough University is doing…
Reduce the number of people required on site to the lowest level possible so that only essential and unavoidable work activities take place during lockdown.	Only essential and unavoidable work activities are currently taking place.
Reduce the number and duration of in person interactions to the lowest level possible.	Number and duration of in person interactions have been brought to the lowest level possible (currently this affects mainly grounds crew, security personnel, etc.).
Reduce the number of people permitted in a space at any one time to the lowest level possible.	The number of people permitted in one space is being kept to the lowest level possible (e.g. by staggering clocking in).
Set a safety threshold for ventilation of 12-17 litres per second per person for typical offices and educational settings. SAGE suggests employers adopt a precautionary approach.	The university has/will take a precautionary approach by increasing ventilation rates to reflect the increased risk of transmissibility of the new variants) of COVID-19, as recommended the HSE, DfE and CIBSE (professional engineering association authority for ventilation).
Ensure a minimum of 2m social distancing as standard.	Measures are in place so that staff should be able to maintain a 2m distance in working environments. The guidance that Loughborough has been given directly by HSE and PHE is that they are not planning to change the guidance and that the main thing (as emphasised by the SAGE report) is compliance with the precautions in place.
Ensure all essential workers undertaking in-person work have the highest possible level of respiratory protection. This should be FFP3 face masks (providing 99% particle filtration) where available and with priority for workers who could have interactions that fall below 2 metres social distancing and FFP2 face masks as a minimum standard for all (providing 94% particle filtration).  *Please see below for further details.	Where colleagues have to work within 2 metres of others, FFP2/3 masks will be recommended, and face fit testing provided.  These masks are not suitable for in person work where individuals do not come within 2m of others as they require careful fitting to the face and make breathing harder (due to the resistance from the filtration).  There is also a national/international supply shortage of these masks; hence, the university is reserving them for the circumstances where the protection is needed.
Ensure any use of face coverings in the workplace meets the WHO standard of three protective layers (Type IIR surgical masks).	The university recommends the use of multi-layer coverings.  When campus re-opens, LUCU will continue to advocate for the most appropriate level of PPE to minimise risks for staff and students.
Ensure effective cleaning and hygiene measures are in place.	In light of the new Covid variant, all health and safety risk assessments are being reviewed, in consultation with campus unions, and effective cleaning and hygiene measures are in place. Additional ventilation has been provided in teaching spaces where needed. Fallow periods have been implemented/increased in rooms where needed to ensure pre/post-use clearing of the air.
Ensure all workers and anyone they interact with during the working day receive adequate instruction, information, and training on any new safety measures that need to be followed.	Information and training instructions are being/will be regularly updated as and when new safety measures are put in place. This guidance will be disseminated to staff at school/unit level.
Ensure lateral flow testing is undertaken by highly trained volunteers.
Ensure access to regular testing for all who are not able to work or study remotely. Where lateral flow tests are used to identify asymptomatic cases, ensure a minimum of two negative tests prior to any attendance on site.	Lateral Flow Testing is being offered to staff and students, with a view to building up to between 16,000 to 20,000 per week, with further consideration being given to twice weekly testing. Students are encouraged to book a second test when booking their first one but not all students are attending for their second test.  Consideration is being given to how this can be improved on.  A positive LFT will result in the individual being asked to isolate and referred for a confirmatory PCR test (either internally or through the NHS depending on the circumstances).
Ensure workers and students are given support to quarantine, self-isolate and undertake testing as required. Testing should not be used to reduce isolation periods for close contacts of infected people.	Support for testing, quarantine and isolation is in place for students and testing is not used to reduce isolation periods after a positive PCR test (testing may be used to reduce the quarantine time for international travellers etc. where all prior testing has been negative). To arrange testing see here.
Any workers at increased risk from COVID should not be required to undertake in person work at this time and alternatives should be offered to ensure exposure risks are avoided or minimised.	Clinically extremely vulnerable staff are not expected to undertake in person work. At present, in person teaching is limited to specific permitted courses and/or year groups for activities which cannot be delivered online, i.e. requiring access to specialist facilities. The situation will remain under review.

*Ventilation

Documents from the Health and safety Executive (HSE), Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Associations (REHVA) have been issued during the COVID-19 Shutdown. These documents have been updated several times to reflect new knowledge. We have used these documents to aid our response to the Covid-19 situation.

CIBSE COVID-19 Ventilation Guide (Version 4, Published 23rd October 2020)

HSE – Air conditioning and ventilation during the coronavirus outbreak

REHVA COVID-19 Guidance (Version 4, Issued November 17th 2020)

REHVA COVID-19 Limiting Internal air leakage across the Rotary Heat Exchanger

REHVA COVID-19 Use of Fan Coils and avoiding Recirculation

CIBSE – Coronavirus COVID 19

LUCU Committee