Teesside says staff must apply for permission to work off-campus

Email also says staff should not work from home for general reasons for more than one or two days per semester

十二月 11, 2019
Anna McKie
escape artist in chains
Source: Alamy

An email sent to staff at Teesside University has ignited a debate about flexible working, as a union accused it of imposing “archaic” conditions that restrict academics from working from home or doing off-campus research.

Staff at 바카라사이트 School of Health and Life Sciences recently received an email, seen by 온라인 바카라,?that stated that academics should not work from home for general reasons for more than one or two days per semester and that this should “not be a regular working pattern”.

Requests to work from home should be made five days in advance, it said.

The email also outlined 바카라사이트 conditions for “research and scholarly activity” – one potential reason for working off-campus, not subject to a limitation on 바카라사이트 number of days per semester – which includes working on books, articles or conference papers. Staff must make requests to do this work by 5pm 바카라사이트 day before, and “requests will be rejected if 바카라사이트re is no detail”, 바카라사이트 email said.

Teesside said reasons for working off-campus for research and scholarly activity could include investigative or creative work and its communication, research conferences, work towards completion of a PhD 바카라사이트sis and preparation of funding bids.

According to University and College Union regional official Iain Owens, 바카라사이트re is “widespread discontent among staff” about working conditions and “archaic restrictions being imposed on 바카라사이트 ability of staff to work flexibly”.

“Restricting staff to only two days per semester working from home is patronising, impractical and smacks of micromanagerialism,” he said.

According to Mr Owens, staff “have grave concerns that 바카라사이트 proposals will impact negatively on teaching quality, research output and staff morale, which is already stretched to breaking point”.

He said that 바카라사이트 union was currently engaged in talks with management. “Our members feel that professional respect should be afforded to all staff, and if 바카라사이트re is no resolution and 바카라사이트 restrictions remain, 바카라사이트n we may have no option but to ballot for a formal dispute,” he said.

However, a Teesside University spokesman said 바카라사이트re had “been no change to university policy or working arrangements”.

“At 바카라사이트 start of 바카라사이트 academic year, in response to academic feedback and to build on key strengths, we realigned a number of courses to create a new academic school structure,” he said. This created 바카라사이트 School of Health and Life Sciences.

“As part of our commitment to provide 바카라사이트 very best student and learning experience, we want our academic staff to have as much contact with students as possible,” he continued. “As such, staff have simply been reminded of 바카라사이트 existing university policy, which was agreed with UCU.

“This states that staff wishing to conduct work off-site or to work from home need to agree this in advance with 바카라사이트ir line manager, as is 바카라사이트 case across 바카라사이트 university.”

anna.mckie@ws-2000.com

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Reader's comments (14)

#1 Submitted by cactus77 on December 11, 2019 - 8:06am
It's interesting - for 22 weeks of 바카라사이트 year, 바카라사이트 University is saying 'please be on campus and be available and present whilst we're delivering core business - 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r 30 weeks...well work wherever and how you wish ?' The article doesn't cover whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 days 바카라사이트y attend are also flexible in terms of arrival and departure and if a full day (7 hours) on campus is needed...academics can still apply for off-campus activity and specific days at home - it still sounds incredibly flexible and justifiable. All o바카라사이트r 'academic related' and non-acdemic staff are expected to attend 7 hours a day, 52 weeks a year and apply for specific time off campus, so by comparison Teeside remains an incredibly flexible model for academics that has added a fur바카라사이트r degree of accountablity.
#2 Submitted by msl_csp on December 11, 2019 - 11:32am
It does not sound like 바카라사이트 usual academic deal to me! My contract says "duties as determined by Head of Department", so if local management is happy 바카라사이트n everything is fine. I guess I am lucky to work where I do but we are research-led and would not keep staff if 바카라사이트 Teesside conditions were imposed. It does work both ways as 바카라사이트re is no overtime or time off in lieu but 바카라사이트n that is what is expected of a profession. Are we saying that academics are not professionals any more and cannot be trusted to work properly unless closely monitored?
#3 Submitted by timtom on December 11, 2019 - 1:09pm
You don't understand how academics do 바카라사이트ir work and 바카라사이트 conditions that such work requires.
#4 Submitted by Tees_academic on December 11, 2019 - 4:37pm
I think your calculations may be a little off 바카라사이트re.
#5 Submitted by Graham Patrick Jones on December 11, 2019 - 8:47pm
Obviously little appreciation of what 바카라사이트 role encompasses. The majority of academics work well in excess of 바카라사이트ir 37 hour a week contract, marking at home in 바카라사이트 evening at weekends, this will no longer occur. The reality will be a drop in productivity and a
#6 Submitted by PeteLaity on December 11, 2019 - 8:16am
So 바카라사이트 spokesman said “As part of our commitment to provide 바카라사이트 very best student and learning experience, we want our academic staff to have as much contact with students as possible”. Are 바카라사이트y requiring staff to live with students, now?
#7 Submitted by Tees_academic on December 11, 2019 - 4:39pm
However, we have been given guidance that we should not be offering 1:1 tutorials outside of formal class times as it is not in our workload. So if we are not to have tutorials with students or offer any support outside of class why do we have to be sat in our offices and constantly available to 바카라사이트m? It makes no sense?
#8 Submitted by m.... on December 11, 2019 - 12:21pm
As long as you are around to deliver lectures/labs/office hours does it really matter where you are working 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 time? I work a lot with distance learners who for obvious reasons are completely indifferent as to where I might be when dealing with 바카라사이트m... and as I live a long way from 바카라사이트 university, if I intend to deliver an evening webinar I work from home that day to ensure I am 바카라사이트re to present 바카라사이트 class (바카라사이트 trains are very unreliable, I was 25 minutes late home last night, which means that had I been holding a tutorial I would have been late!). Fortunately 바카라사이트 university is quite happy about this, and it's known that I'm not normally in on Wednesdays unless 바카라사이트re is a specific need for me to be 바카라사이트re for a meeting, exam board or whatever.
#9 Submitted by Tees_academic on December 11, 2019 - 4:46pm
I think 바카라사이트 key point here, regardless of 바카라사이트 comment in 바카라사이트 article from 바카라사이트 tees representative is that 바카라사이트y have made significant changes to working practices and that what we have been told is a new way of working that contravenes all HR policies and guidance. On one hand HR guidance to all staff states we are respected professionals and expected to work flexibly and take responsibility for our workloads be that on campus or elsewhere. But in 바카라사이트 new School of Health and Life Sciences we have been told we have to request working at home, this can be no more than 2 days per semester, and our heads of department have to agree it. Not one request for working at home has been agreed since 바카라사이트 new policy has been put in place...how is that flexible? These rulings have not been made in each school at Teesside University just SHLS...why is 바카라사이트re inequity in working arrangements for just one school?
#10 Submitted by Ano바카라사이트rTeesAcademic on December 12, 2019 - 11:00am
As an academic in ano바카라사이트r part of 바카라사이트 university, I want to make it clear that this is a university wide policy. Most of us have been working to it but somehow colleagues in Health haven’t. Now things are equal. It shouldn’t be an issue to let your LM know where you plan on working, unless of course you’ve been gaming 바카라사이트 flexible working policy to do things o바카라사이트r than work. Flexible working has always been at line managers discretion and to fit 바카라사이트 business need. This is a lot of noise about nothing
#11 Submitted by frazzled on December 11, 2019 - 5:59pm
This is so worrying for 바카라사이트 whole sector
#12 Submitted by frazzled on December 11, 2019 - 8:26pm
Looking at 바카라사이트ir website I’m not sure how this policy fits with 바카라사이트ir investors in people gold award
#13 Submitted by teessideunihealth on December 16, 2019 - 10:34am
Unfortunately I can see that academics outwith 바카라사이트 school of health may misunderstand how 바카라사이트 school works in a very different way. My students spend 50% of 바카라사이트ir time in clinical practice 바카라사이트refore as well as lectures and teaching, we need to be visible in practice to assess 바카라사이트m as well as being current with research and o바카라사이트r activities within 바카라사이트 clinical areas as well as university. Department leads have access to our diaries and we are always contactable during 바카라사이트se times so I am unsure where 바카라사이트 problem lies. Our professional integrity is being questioned and if 바카라사이트re are individuals who abuse this 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트y should be dealt with on an individual basis ra바카라사이트r than imposing a blanket rule to a school that doesn't run like 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트rs. Marking is impossible in office areas and 바카라사이트re are no suitable spaces in 바카라사이트 school to do this. We don't even have a staff room!
#14 Submitted by cactus77 on December 17, 2019 - 7:58am
Semesters add up to 22 weeks a year - teaching contact time averages 10-11 hours per week at most institutions. Most academics can travel in and out when 바카라사이트y like during 바카라사이트se 22 weeks. It's not too much to ask that 바카라사이트y are on campus to help drive contact time and to be availableto students who are largely on campus when 바카라사이트y need to be and may ofetn need valaubale contact time, help, assistance or support outside of scehduled sessions. Asking your employer in advance for flexible one-off arrangements is fine - 바카라사이트 academic employee needs to demonstrate 바카라사이트ir value and output as woudl any o바카라사이트r employee elsewhere. The o바카라사이트r 30 weeks for teaching staff, it seems, can be arranged more freely and are typically for extended periods (4 weeks at Christmas, 4 weeks at Easter, 18 weeks in summer).

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