The following request for the suspension of disciplinary and capability processes has been communicated to management.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a once-in-a-generation scale crisis for the UK and the University. At the time of writing, the UK alone has seen over 36,900 deaths from over 261,000 confirmed cases. During times of crisis, our public institutions should try to support people and not compound an already difficult situation. The UCU holds that all university processes with potentially detrimental outcomes for staff should be stopped until the crisis has abated and the university reopens. We welcome the recent confirmation that all compulsory redundancies have been suspended in all areas, but call for this suspension to be extended to all disciplinary and capability procedures currently in progress.
We make this request on humanitarian and practical grounds. The University of Hull is said to be committed to the values of care, respect and the dignity of the person; its leaders rightly claim that their principal responsibility is to the health and wellbeing of staff and students. In practical terms, the UCU is unable to provide the support our members need to ensure meaningful representation. The personal dynamics that are essential to good communication and shared understanding are compromised in online meeting spaces, especially when high quality and reliable internet connections cannot be guaranteed.
UCU trusts that the university will do the right thing during this crisis when people are juggling commitments to their colleagues, students, families and friends. UCU believes that the University of Hull aims to be a compassionate institution whose leaders demonstrate genuine care for their staff during this difficult period. We think an immediate suspension of the aforementioned procedures would be a significant step towards meeting those aims.