Over the last few days, productive conversations have taken place between the University and College Union (UCU) and members of the University’s leadership team regarding the iSolutions restructure, in light of the unprecedented situation with COVID-19. UCU requested that the redundancy processes be paused due to COVID-19 and the impact this is having on colleagues.
The senior leadership of our University and UCU together understand that this is a very unsettling and uncertain time for staff and students, and their wellbeing continues to be our highest priority. The University has agreed with UCU that the iSolutions redundancy processes will be paused for at least three months.
Richard Middleton, Interim Chief Operating Officer, said: “These are exceptional times for both the UK and for our university and it is of vital importance we do everything we can to support our staff through this uncertainty whilst also protecting our day to day activities. iSolutions are playing a key role in supporting our community as part of the transition to remote working.”
Mal Allerton, Executive Director of iSolutions, said: “We are pleased to have been able to work with UCU to agree a solution which protects our impacted colleagues during this time and also allows the directorate to move forward with the changes required for us to operate more effectively.
“Although this is a difficult time, it is also a great opportunity for us as a department as our staff and students begin to use new software, gain important new skills, and discover new ways of working digitally. I would like to thank my entire team for their understanding and continued dedication.”
Moray McAulay, UCU Regional Official for the Southern Region, said: “We are pleased that University of Southampton has responded positively to the request from UCU to postpone moving forward with redundancies for at least three months, due to Covid-19 (coronavirus). UCU will work with the University during this additional time to continue to explore alternative solutions to redundancies for iSolutions staff, in particular redeployment opportunities across the whole institution.
It is also a good opportunity to provide additional training for staff who have not yet secured employment in the new structure to enable them to develop new skills, helping ensure that valued colleagues will be able to continue to contribute to the University in these uncertain times.”
Commenting on the joint statement Mary Morrison, President of the UCU branch at University of Southampton, said: “Southampton UCU welcomes the decision of the University to postpone making redundancies in iSolutions for at least the next three months. Southampton UCU would like to work with the University to ensure that the University of Southampton can find alternative solutions to making redundancies during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis.”
For more information:
iSolutions reorganisation post from October 2019
