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Following the announcement of agreements reached by the ßÏßÏÊÓƵ and University and College Union (UCU), we are delighted to give you some further details on how colleagues will benefit from new policies that have been developed as a result.

The collaborative efforts of our ßÏßÏÊÓƵ staff, the University College Union, Unison and Unite, who worked together in order to forge these new and relevant policies, has been invaluable. These policies will contribute to further benefitting our staff and enabling progress for all, supporting our aim to become an employer of choice and an exemplar in the higher education sector.

Maternity and Adoption Policies

As of 1 December 2022, all employees will be eligible for paid Maternity or Adoption Leave, regardless of their length of service. 

Employees will receive full pay for the first 26 weeks of their Maternity or Adoption Leave.  This will also apply to all employees who are currently within the first 26 weeks of their Maternity or Adoption Leave or are about to commence Maternity or Adoption Leave. Read the full Policies.

Carer Fund Guide

As of 1 December 2022, all employees with caring responsibilities will be able to claim for additional costs incurred for caring-related services when attending work events, such as conferences, training or career development events as part of the employee’s role.

The fund will also provide for the cost of learning and development for existing members of staff who are returning to the workplace following caring related absence. Read more about the Carer Fund.

General Carer Guidance

To underpin our commitment to enabling all staff at the University to be successful in their careers and to manage their work and life balance, we have written a guide to support carers.  This guide gives useful information regarding support that is available to carers. It also highlights the University’s commitment to, wherever practicably possible, always backfilling roles where members of staff are embarking on a period of parental leave, where the period of leave is longer than two weeks. View Carer Support policies and the Carer Support Guidance document.

If you have any questions, please contact HR: human.resources@sussex.ac.uk