Dear Colleagues,

I hope you are well and enjoying the new semester so far.

I want to provide an update, following the First Minister’s briefing earlier this week, when it was confirmed that the national work from home guidance will be relaxed from Monday 31 January. 

In line with this, from Monday we are pleased to begin to welcome back to our campuses those colleagues who have been working exclusively from home over recent months. For many, this will mark the restart of the hybrid working patterns that we began to embed last year.

Bearing in mind the range of activities that take place on our campuses, we do not intend to specify minimum or maximum limits on how often colleagues should work from campus. We would, however, ask that colleagues returning from Monday bear in mind the advice of the First Minister and take a phased approach to their return, if possible.

In practice, this means no change for colleagues who are required to be on campus all or most of the time, whereas others can return in a gradual manner, implementing a hybrid working pattern that suits their role and preferences.

Over the coming days, we would encourage all members of staff to discuss arrangements within their team and with their line managers to agree the best balance of home and campus-based working.

Our facilities have been in use throughout the pandemic and we have been prepared for the safe return of more colleagues for some time, but please remember to view the Return to Campus Moodle Induction if you have not been on campus recently.

As I am sure you know, there are benefits to hybrid working that cannot be achieved by remote working alone and we are keen to return to hybrid working for the sake of staff wellbeing and the sense of community it can engender, not to mention the business benefits. However, we understand that, for some, hybrid working will still be relatively new and it may take some time to reach the optimal balance.

If you have any concerns or questions, please raise these with your line manager in the first instance and take some time to review our Coronavirus Information for Staff guidance.

Thank you all for your help and cooperation during this time, and I look forward to seeing you on campus again soon.

Best wishes,

David Duncan

Chief Operating Officer and University Secretary

First published: 27 January 2022

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