Created on: 11 May 2020
The Covid 19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on our HE Sector in Scotland. Institutions are, closed to staff and students, though Teaching and Research has continued wherever possible thanks to the ingenuity and hard work of staff.
While closures will eventually be lifted, and sites reopened, it is obvious that we are moving into a very new world of work going forward.
All HE Institutions will suffer severe financial losses, particularly the Pre-92 section of the sector. The HEIs are likely to respond to these cuts in number of ways in the coming months; from cost cutting measures to potential redundancies.
Social distancing and safety measures are likely to mean new ways of teaching and scheduling classes will be required to mitigate the effects of Covid-19. Even beyond this, it is increasingly obvious that the issues of remote and flexible working will need to be assessed and developed to best suit both staff and students.
For the last 6 weeks, the EIS has been in constant discussions with government, employers, student groups, other campus unions, Universities Scotland and UCEA to mitigate the impact of the virus on our members and seek to explore what protections may be required in future. These discussions remain ongoing and we will update you as they go on.
A Joint Statement on COVID 19 between Unions and UCEA can be found here.
We have produced some information and guidance for members below which is designed to answer specific areas of immediate concern. We will add to this page as and when new information becomes available.
If you have a workplace issue which has not been covered here, please contact your local branch secretary who can assist you.
