Conversations with management continue. The Unions have stressed the importance of management engaging in meaningful consultation with the Unions, and communication for this purpose has been intense.

We do not feel we were adequately consulted on the initial move back to campus for some staff and we are still hearing reports of a lack of meaningful consultation in some Schools. Please let us know if this is the case in your School.

All concerns raised by union members and representatives have been communicated to management. Some of these have been clarified and others need further discussion. We are asking for clarification on issues including individual risk assessments, which remain a concern for many of our members.

Management have been sending Building Risk Assessments to trade unions and building users, but we have received reports that consultations with unions are not being done in all cases. There is also confusion about deadlines.

UCU have requested that clear deadlines are communicated to unions for these consultations and have reiterated that it is a legal requirement to consult trade unions about them.

UCU members are reminded that Risk Assessments are the responsibility of our employer, and nobody should be required to do a RA if they do not have the appropriate training, which needs to be provided by Cardiff University.

If you find that this is not being done correctly in your School, please let us know.

UCU’s guidance for member on coronavirus and your rights at work can be found here.

Unless you are given the appropriate training to undertake a Risk Assessment, your involvement should be to provide feedback. You are not responsible for the Risk Assessment itself.

For members of staff working from home, the Display Screen Equipment (DSE) procedure must be followed. You should have received this from management and individuals are expected to raise any concerns with their line managers.

Please contact us if you have not received the DSE guidelines.

For members of staff who will be required to work on campus, the All Wales RA Tool will be used:

This tool should be the foundation for a meaningful discussion with your line manager. We have concerns about what this will mean in practice and have asked for clarification.

We have raised many concerns on behalf of our members in relation to arrangements for face-to-face teaching and researching. These include:

• A primary focus on teaching and little engagement about research activities

• the extent of face-to-face teaching to be undertaken next semester, including what has been communicated to students

• The extent of Schools’ discretion to make alternative arrangements according to variable factors such as space, ventilation and student numbers.