The latest news of interest to our members here in Huddersfield:
The summer is upon us, and for those taking annual leave, we’d like to wish you all a happy, well-earned break. As academics and university staff, we are always putting our work first, but it’s important to take a step back and realise the benefits of prioritising yourself by taking a break. Annual leave promotes good mental and physical health, and improves the all-essential work-life balance. It reduces stress and improves your mood. Taking annual leave also benefits you when you return to work, allowing you to work more effectively and often increases motivation levels.
The Post-92 Contract of Employment states:
“Subject to the organisational requirements of the institution, you may request that up to 6 weeks of your normal holiday entitlement be taken in one continuous period, and such a request will not be unreasonably refused.”
You are not obliged to check work-related emails while on leave or engage in work-related communications. Outlook provides a facility to send “out of office” messages while you are away from work. This may be found on the uni web-based Outlook email under
- Settings (The cog wheel)
- View All Outlook Settings
- Automatic replies
I’d like to wish you all an enjoyable summer – Ian (Your Huddersfield UCU web officer)
Times are turbulent, to say the least. There’s never a better time to join us .
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Here is the latest news from UCU Central …
- Staff at Hugh Baird College win pay deal worth up to 9.8% UCU members at Hugh Baird College in Merseyside have won a significant pay rise of up to 9.8% and additional annual leave from next year. The deal comes after an…
- £100k bonus for USS chief executive ‘disgraceful’ UCU said Universities Superannuation Scheme chief executive Bill Galvin was being rewarded for ‘failure’ after he received a salary of over £480k and bonus of over…
- University of Roehampton pushing ahead with mass fire & rehire in arts and the humanities The University of Roehampton has confirmed it will fire and rehire over 100 staff next month as part of its plan to shut down a number of courses, the majority…
HudUCU 
Very useful reminder from Ian to be sure to take annual leave and forget about work for a few weeks. Everyone should follow this advice. The autumn term can seem interminable if you are not properly tested.