Broadcast: News items

PS Essentials highlights the key priorities for Professional Services colleagues and recent news you and your teams may find useful. Please take five minutes to read the full PS Essentials below.

If there is information you would like included in a future edition of PS Essentials, please email the Internal Comms team at: internalcomms@sussex.ac.uk.

The next edition of PS Essentials will be issued in February 2025.

Quick links

About you

• Staff survey infographic with results highlights at a glance
• New financial wellbeing benefit for staff
• Winter wellness and useful information

About Professional Services

• Voluntary Leavers Scheme support for staff
• Autumn Senate Report now available to view
• University to seek planning permission for a temporary car park
• Paperless Parking: answers to frequently asked questions
• Latest Transforming Sussex newsletter now available

Coming up

• Celebrating the festive season

A reminder

• Can you help at winter graduation?
• Join the seasonal switch-off before the winter break
• Multi-factor authentication advice for the holidays
• Safety and security on campus this winter
• Keeping you informed during severe weather on campus

About you

Staff survey infographic with results highlights at a glance

Thank you again to everyone who took part in our recent staff survey. You can now view an infographic with our results in brief, including the highest and lowest scoring questions and our overall staff engagement score. Full results for the University and for our Faculties, Schools and Divisions will be shared on the staff survey webpages later in December. Professional Services’ overall results were summarised at the recent PS Open Forum and you can view the slides.

New financial wellbeing benefit for staff

Free mortgage advice and support is available for Sussex staff through our discount platform, Reward Gateway. Charles Cameron & Associates specialises in providing completely free of charge and independent financial education and mortgage advice, whether you are a first-time buyer, looking to re-mortgage, or are looking for other property advice.

Winter wellness and useful information

As the winter break approaches, here a few reminders about ways to stay well and healthy. Our free Employee Assistance Programme is available 24 hours a day all year round for staff and their immediate family who may need help and support. You can also view information about services and opening hours on campus over the winter break.

Sussex staff have been given an additional minimum service day on Monday 23 December 2024. If you are required to work that day, or wouldn’t normally be working, please arrange an alternative day off with your line manager. The extra minimum service day should not be booked on MyView.

About PS

Voluntary Leavers Scheme support for staff

Following the Vice-Chancellor’s recent update on our financial situation, full details about the Voluntary Leavers Scheme can be found on MyView. This includes a set of frequently asked questions which is being updated regularly to reflect additional questions from staff. Support is available for those who may want more information, and briefing sessions are taking place on 16 December and 6 January with an opportunity to ask questions.

The HR team will also be holding in-person drop-in sessions, where staff can come along and ask questions about the scheme. These will be taking place on Wednesday 11 December and Wednesday 18 December.

Applications for the scheme close at 5pm on Wednesday 8 January 2025.

Autumn Senate Report now available to view

The autumn term Senate meeting was held on 13 November and you can now read the report summarising the business and decisions of the meeting. The next Senate meeting is planned for 12 March 2025 and minutes and papers will be published a week in advance. Gemma Harman (g.harman@sussex.ac.uk) and Kit Eves (ce79@sussex.ac.uk), are our two elected senators and act as spokespeople for PS staff. Please contact them in confidence if there is a matter you would like them to raise at Senate. You can also get in touch via their shared email inbox: pssenators@sussex.ac.uk.

University to seek planning permission for a temporary car park

The University is seeking planning permission to build a new temporary car park on campus to accommodate West Slope construction employee commuting vehicles from August 2025. The extra capacity is needed to reduce the risk of congestion both on campus and the local area. The application proposes the use of Boundary Field, which is accessed via University Way. Our application includes a commitment to preserving and enhancing Boundary Field, including a comprehensive restoration management plan. You can read more about our plans on the Staff Hub and there will be a proposal on display in the Library (near the café) from Tuesday 10 December until Monday 16 December. Members of the West Slope team will be in the Library on Wednesday 11 December between 2pm and 4pm to answer your queries at a drop-in session.

Paperless Parking: answers to frequently asked questions

Paperless Parking has been active across campus for eight weeks. Take a look at some frequently asked questions and answers received during that time, including queries about charges, signage and timings. Further information about Paperless Parking can also be found on the Transport Office website.

Latest Transforming Sussex newsletter now available

Read the November issue of the Transforming Sussex newsletter for the latest news on programmes and projects underway at Sussex. A few of the key updates this month include:

• the latest successful release for the Student Information System project
• when and where Network Replacement Programme cabling works will be taking place
• how colleagues from Estates and across campus have been giving back to the local community
• the latest news on the Cloud Transformation, Research Management System, and Curriculum Reimagined projects

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up for our mailing list to receive the newsletter directly to your inbox in future.

Coming up

Celebrating the festive season

Take a look at what’s happening on campus during December to get you into the spirit including:

• winter solstice ceremony with Pagan Chaplain Erin Johanson on Wednesday 11 December
• Sussex Astronomy Christmas Lecture, a family-friendly event for all on Thursday 12 December
• Christmas lunches with all the trimmings at the Conference Centre
• festive treats all through the month from SussexUni Food

A reminder

Can you help at winter graduation?

Winter graduation is taking place from Wednesday 22 to Friday 24 January 2025 at the Brighton Centre, and you have the opportunity play a part in this key moment in our year. Staff are at the heart of this very special occasion, and we are calling for colleagues to sign up to help for one or more days. Over 100 staff are needed each day to make graduation a success, with further volunteers needed on Friday 24 January in particular. You can find out more about the different roles available on the graduation webpage and if you have any queries, please contact the Graduation team at: graduation@sussex.ac.uk.

Join the seasonal switch-off before the winter break

You can help save energy and reduce waste by taking a few simple steps before you leave campus. Appliances left on standby, radiators heating unused spaces, and lights illuminating empty rooms all contribute to higher costs, energy and emissions so please take a few minutes to follow this checklist. Small actions can make a big difference – thank you for helping us reduce our carbon footprint and save money.

Multi-factor authentication advice for the holidays

If you receive a new phone over the holidays, you can transfer your multi-factor authentication (MFA) account from your old phone using these instructions. If you trade in your old phone, or don’t have it to hand once you’ve received your new one, you can raise an IT Support Portal ticket or email itservicedesk@sussex.ac.uk to request an MFA account reset. For more information about MFA please visit the ITS MFA homepage.

Safety and security on campus this winter

The Security team is on hand to keep you and our campus safe this winter. You can play a vital role by reporting anything that makes you feel unsafe to the Security team. You know your surroundings better than anyone else, including your workspaces and any communal areas. So, if you see or hear something that makes you feel unsafe on campus, get in touch with the Security team on 01273 67 8234 or email Security@sef.fm. The emergency phone number is 01273 873333.

Keeping you informed during severe weather on campus

As extreme weather events in the UK become more common, campus activity can occasionally be disrupted by high or low temperatures, flooding, or stormy conditions. Find out how you will be kept updated before and during adverse weather.