Coronavirus - (COVID-19)

We can all protect ourselves and others by following government advice around social distancing, shielding of extremely vulnerable people, and self isolating if we display any symptoms, no matter how mild.

If you live with others and you are the first in the household to have symptoms of coronavirus, then you must stay at home for 7 days, but all other household members who remain well must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill.

Source: NHS

Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. You do not need to contact 111 to tell them you're staying at home. Read the advice about staying at home.

Use the NHS 111 online Coronavirus service if:

• you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home
• your condition gets worse
• your symptoms do not get better after 7 days

Only call 111 if you cannot get help online.

The Government is advising all those who are 70 years and over and those who are at increased risk of severe illness from coronavirus (COVID-19) to be more stringent in following social distancing measures.

Students who have one or more of these characteristics, a weakened immune system, underlying health condition, or are pregnant should stay at home and notify your School.

The Government is advising all those who are at increased risk of severe illness from coronavirus (COVID-19) to be more stringent in following social distancing measures. Please familiarise yourself with the guidance to protect yourself and others.

Student Services will be supporting students and colleagues via their normal online web, telephone and email services. 

We appreciate that many of you may have gone home or may be self-isolating at various points in the coming weeks and we want to ensure that we continue to support you during this time.

Our services include Disability Advice, Student Money, Student Wellbeing, and the Student Advice Hub.  If you’d just like someone to talk to or you’re unsure how these services might help you our Student Advice Hub is there to listen, advise or point you in the right direction.  You can call them on 0113 812 3000 or email studentadvicehub@leedsbeckett.ac.uk 

All our telephone lines will open as usual 09.00-17.00, Monday to Friday, and details for all teams can be found at our A-Z of Services and at the Student Hub.

It is really important that you keep your contact details in MyBeckett up to date to ensure we are able to support you during your online teaching period. 

Please ensure you continue to keep your ID card safe so that you can access services on campus once things return to normal. In the eventuality that you do require a replacement card you should contact the Student Advice Hub.

We understand that this situation is unsettling. Our Student Wellbeing Team continue to provide telephone support and counselling, and can also direct you to a range of self-help resources. Please go to the Student Wellbeing pages to find out more. 

In addition, the university offers an online counselling service via Kooth Student which is accessible during afternoons, evenings and weekends. To access the platform please sign up with Kooth Student directly.

The Government has published guidance on the mental health and wellbeing aspects of Coronavirus (COVID-19). 

There are a number of helpful resources to help maintain mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 outbreak:

• Information on looking after your wellbeing as a result of Covid-19: Taking care of your mental wellbeing
• Information and resources from Student Minds: Looking after your mental health
• The mental health foundation: Look after your mental health and wellbeing if you are staying home
• Getting creative whilst at home: Creative Isolation & Cove
• Leeds Beckett Student Union: Facebook community group for Coronovirus

If you have symptoms you need to stay at home and self-isolate for 7 days, it is important that everybody you share your living accommodation self-isolates for 14 days.

You should contact the university to make us aware if you are self-isolating. Please contact the Student Wellbeing Team and your Course Administrator. The Student Wellbeing team can be contacted on 0113 8128507 or via email studentwellbeing@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.

If you live in university accommodation, you must inform the accommodation team on accommodation@leedsbeckett.ac.uk. Arrangements will be made to provide necessary pastoral and practical support.

If you are self-isolating and have symptoms it is important that everybody you share your living accommodation self-isolates for 14 days.

Although you might not be able to entirely separate yourself from family members or flatmates, the advice is to limit contact as much as possible. You should follow the NHS guidance around reducing the spread of infection in your home.

Yes. You must advise your Course Administrator and the Student Wellbeing team to inform them when you are planning to return to university following your period of self-isolation.

If you are awaiting Coronavirus test results you must await the outcome of these tests and have proof of a negative result before returning to university.

Please contact the Student Wellbeing team on 0113 8128507 or email student.coronavirus@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.

All students have received a four-week extension to all deadlines which were originally due or set between Monday 23 March and the end of the assessment period for their particular subject or School.

New submission dates will incorporate any extensions you have already been given by your course team, and will not be in addition. That means if you already have a two-week extension to the original date of submission, this will grant you an additional two weeks.

Your course team will review their assessment requirements, and any deadlines that currently fall within that period, and notify you of the new submission date as soon as possible. You are still entitled to submit individual claims for mitigation that recognise particular circumstances.

In order to reduce unnecessary social contact, we have suspended classes. Your School has moved to online learning resources.

A substantial amount of your course content is available through MyBeckett so we would encourage you to use MyBeckett for self-study.

We are also working to deliver assessments to take place remotely wherever possible. Your School will be in touch with you to confirm arrangements once they are finalised.

Please be assured that should you fall ill with this virus and have to self-isolate, now, or at any time, we will make sure you do not suffer academic disadvantage.

We are working to deliver assessments to take place remotely wherever possible. Your School will be in touch with you to confirm arrangements once they are finalised.

Please be assured that should you fall ill with this virus and have to self-isolate, now, or at any time, we will make sure you do not suffer academic disadvantage.

You can apply for mitigation, an extension, or authorised absence if you are advised to self-isolate, or if you are ill due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

What is the mitigation process?

Should you be affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19), you can apply for mitigation, an extension or authorised absence, as a result of these extenuating circumstances.

We accept that it will be difficult to obtain evidence from a GP or health care professional given the Public Health England advice and current pressures on health services.

We have adapted our mitigation request process to enable self-certification with an explanation of the circumstances affecting you. Please provide any evidence you are able to with your form.

View our revised mitigation process

Our student fact sheet on the revised mitigation process in the case of Coronavirus (COVID-19) is here.

Graduation is an important part of your university experience.

We are following, and will continue to follow Public Health England guidance. In the event that we are advised against holding events such as Graduation on the planned dates in July, students will be given the opportunity to attend a ceremony at a later date.

Yes, it is important to note that there is a difference between graduating (being awarded your degree) and the graduation ceremony (the celebration event). You will still graduate when the Board of Examiners awards your degree.

Attending your Graduation ceremony is an important part of your university experience. We are following Public Health England guidance, in the event that we are advised against holding our Graduation ceremony on the planned dates in July, you will be given the opportunity to attend a ceremony at a later date.

Self-isolation as per Public Health England guidance is important and doing so will not harm you academically, nor should it impact on your Tier 4 visa. UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) has indicated that it will work to ensure students are not disadvantaged by the situation.

The Home Office has also set-up a helpline for students if they have immigration queries related to coronavirus, including questions about urgent, compelling, compassionate cases where an international student or other visa national based abroad needs to travel to the UK.

The helpline can only speak to the visa holder or applicant about individual cases. If a third party wishes to speak on their behalf, they must have the visa holder’s permission. Call 0800 678 1767 (Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:00, (calls free of charge) or email CIH@homeoffice.gov.uk.

If you choose to return home, we will need to inform the UKVI of your change of study location. Therefore please keep your School and Student Immigration Advice & Compliance siac@leedsbeckett.ac.uk informed if you do decide to travel. This will not lead to the cancellation of your visa.

If you stay in the UK but are unable to attend classes for any reasons connected with coronavirus, again this will not lead to the cancellation of your visa. If you have any specific concerns, please contact Student Immigration Advice & Compliance on siac@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.

Should you choose to return home due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, it is essential that you inform the university of your absence by emailing your Course Administrator and Course Tutor, copying in the Student Immigration Advice & Compliance Team on siac@leedsbeckett.ac.uk. Please include your name, student ID number and the date that you expect to return home.

Before travelling, we strongly recommend that you follow the latest Government advice. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) advises British people travelling abroad to return to the UK now, if commercial flights are still available.

Please ensure that you check and carefully follow any government guidance of the country that you are travelling to, so as not to put yourself or others at unnecessary risk. Please also read current guidance for travellers. If you’re due to travel to an area affected by coronavirus, ensure that you keep up-to-date with the latest information from your travel company or airline.

The university will remain supportive of students in this position to the full extent of its capacity to do so. During your period of absence it is essential that you engage with your studies via the your School’s arrangements for online provision and remain in good standing, as this is a requirement of your Tier 4 visa. If you have notified the above departments of your absence, you will not be penalised as a result. We can work together to ensure we minimise any impact on your visa.

Please refer to the Teaching and Learning FAQs above. Schools will be providing more detailed guidance as the situation develops.

Your absence will not be marked as unauthorised if you are unable to attend classes for any reason connected with coronavirus (COVID-19). UK Visas & Immigration recognises that the current situation is exceptional and will not take any compliance action against students who are unable to attend their studies due to the coronavirus outbreak.

If classes continue and you have returned home or are self-isolating (for any reason), please inform your Course Administrator so that your attendance can be updated appropriately.

The situation will be reviewed at the end of the semester, please keep up to date with university guidance on this webpage.

Before you travel, you should refer to the guidance for returning travellers to familiarise yourself with the actions you may need to take when you return to the UK. Please read the Government’s guidance on self-isolation.

We strongly advise any students planning to travel to areas affected by travel restrictions or heightened alerts to consider carefully whether that travel is essential.

Public Health England have provided updated guidance for UK students over the age of 18 travelling overseas during term breaks, or for placements and exchanges.

Please be assured that should you fall ill with this virus and have to self-isolate, now, or at any time, we will make sure you do not suffer academic disadvantage.

Please contact Student Immigration Advice & Compliance at siac@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.

We will continue to review UKVI published guidance and update when able to do so.

Please be assured that should you fall ill with this virus and have to self-isolate, now, or at any time, we will make sure you do not suffer academic disadvantage.

The UK government updated its advice to advise that where commercial flight options are still available, all British travellers should return to the UK. International travel is becoming highly limited with the further closure of air routes, land borders and domestic restrictions introduced daily.

We urge you to follow the government’s advice and Leeds Beckett University will support your return.  Due to the high demand on a limited number of flights, insurance companies are finding it very difficult to make reservations on your behalf. Therefore we advise that you book your own flights and we will reimburse the costs to you through our insurance company when you return.

You should also be in regular contact with the Study Abroad who will be able to support and provide further guidance.

If you have no available funds to pay for your ticket, please email stafftravel@leedsbeckett.ac.uk. If there is a time difference or you need to contact someone immediately to return home, please call the university’s insurers Chubb Travel on +44(0) 2071737796 quoting Policy UKBBBO38106119 Leeds Beckett University. This can be done directly through the Chubb Travel Smart app.

In cases where a student has met the minimum duration for their Erasmus funding (two months for a work placement, three months for a study exchange) but has been repatriated early, students may be entitled to keep a larger share of the grant because of other costs which they may have incurred (typically travel and accommodation payments) or their specific circumstances.

In cases where students haven’t met the required minimum duration, students may also be entitled to keep a share of their grant (subject to approval by Erasmus+).

In cases where a student’s mobility is interrupted owing to university or host organisation closures, the Erasmus grant is still available for the duration of this closure.

The UK government updated its advice to advise that where commercial flight options are still available, all British travellers should return to the UK. International travel is becoming highly limited with the further closure of air routes, land borders and domestic restrictions introduced daily.

We urge you to follow the government’s advice and Leeds Beckett University will support your return.  Due to the high demand on a limited number of flights, insurance companies are finding it very difficult to make reservations on your behalf. Therefore we advise that you book your own flights and we will reimburse the costs to you through our insurance company when you return. 

If you have no available funds to pay for your ticket, please email stafftravel@leedsbeckett.ac.uk. If there is a time difference or you need to contact someone immediately to return home, please call the university’s insurers Chubb Travel on +44(0) 2071737796 quoting Policy UKBBBO38106119 Leeds Beckett University. This can be done directly through the Chubb Travel Smart app.

If you experience symptoms and need to self-isolate or are diagnosed with COVID-19 while overseas, please report this to student.coronavirus@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

The UK government has updated its advice to advise that where commercial flight options are still available, all British travellers should return to the UK.  International travel is becoming highly limited with the further closure of air routes, land borders and domestic restrictions introduced daily.

We urge you to follow the government’s advice and Leeds Beckett University will support your return.  Due to the high demand on a limited number of flights, insurance companies are finding it very difficult to make reservations on your behalf . Therefore we advise that you book your own flights and we will reimburse the costs to you through our insurance company when you return. 

If you have no available funds to pay for your ticket, please email stafftravel@leedsbeckett.ac.uk. If there is a time difference or you need to contact someone immediately to return home, please call the university’s insurers Chubb Travel on +44(0) 2071737796 quoting Policy UKBBBO38106119 Leeds Beckett University. This can be done directly through the Chubb Travel Smart app.

On your return to the university, please contact your Course Administrator to discuss alternative arrangements so you can meet the learning outcomes of your programme.

No student will be disadvantaged academically by taking a decision to cut short their stay abroad and return home due to COVID-19.

Please follow the local advice provided by your host institution and country. You should also be in regular contact with the Study Abroad team who will be able to support and provide further guidance.

Please be assured that should you fall ill with this virus and have to self-isolate, now, or at any time, we will make sure you do not suffer academic disadvantage.

The health and wellbeing of all our students is our number one priority. We are continuing to monitor the situation and, at present, we are contacting students who are abroad, providing them with the information and guidance they need.

If you are in any of the affected areas and have not already been contacted by the university, please get in touch with the Study Abroad team / Outbound exchange: tel:+44 (0)113 812 3804.

The university’s insurers, Chubb, can be contacted on +44(0) 2071737796.

We encourage you to check the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) website for up to date information about travelling to the UK and to follow their advice.

It is very important to let your Course Administrator know you are currently abroad, and not able to return to the UK to continue your studies.

Yes, although the university campuses are currently closed, we encourage you to keep working on your research. Most university services can be accessed online.  You can find details of the electronic resources available on The Library webpage.

Research students should continue to contact their supervisory team and supervisory meetings can be held via Skype or telephone.

If you lose contact with your supervisory team please email researchstudentadmin@leedsbeckett.ac.uk or call 07387 232 962.

This does not apply to research students and we will be scheduling Confirmation of Registrations, Progressions and Vivas as normal. However we do recognise that this period will cause many students disruption and so will be dealing with extension and requests to delay meetings on a one to one basis. Please email researchstudentdmin@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.

Yes, our research students must continue to contact their supervisory team and supervisory meetings can be held via Skype or telephone.

All students should have two supervisors, a Director of Studies and a supervisor. If you lose contact with your supervisory team please contact researchstudentadmin@leedsbeckett.ac.uk or call 07387 232 962.

Yes, these meetings will now take place online - we will contact you to arrange this. If you already have a date this will not change.

More information can be found on our webpages: https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/the-graduate-school/existing-students/covid/

Please email researcherdevelopment@leedsbeckett.ac.uk regarding any training opportunities or training questions.

Yes, these meetings are now taking place online, we will contact you to arrange this. If you already have a date this will not change.

More information can be found on our webpages: https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/the-graduate-school/existing-students/covid/

You must still check in with us twice a month but this can be done via email. The email should contain details of where you are and what you are working on.  

More information can be found on our webpages: https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/the-graduate-school/existing-students/covid/

No face to face data collection can take place at the moment and you should discuss a revised data collection approach or workplan with your supervisory team.

You should submit your thesis as normal by emailing it to researchstudentadmin@leedsbeckett.ac.uk. We do not require paper copies currently.

More information can be found on our webpages: https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/the-graduate-school/existing-students/covid/

We recognise that this current situation will impact on our research students’ progress. You are encouraged to continue to work on your thesis as best as possible.

You should also keep a record of how the evolving situation impacts on your work and time-plan, where appropriate. Supervisory teams should be included in this discussion and it should be formally recorded in the supervisory meeting notes.

Please check our dedicated webpage on these protocols.

Yes, it is important to note that there is a difference between graduating (being awarded your research degree) and the graduation ceremony (the celebration event). You will still graduate and receive your research degree when the examination team have approved your research and no further corrections are needed.

Attending your Graduation ceremony is an important part of your university experience. We are following Public Health England guidance, in the event that we are advised against holding our Graduation ceremony on the planned dates in July, you will be given the opportunity to attend a ceremony at a later date.

In order to reduce unnecessary social contact, your School has moved to online learning resources. Further information on teaching arrangements will be communicated by School staff. A substantial amount of your course content is available through MyBeckett so we would encourage you to use MyBeckett for self-study.

Apprenticeship funding rules allow for part-time study, so please contact your employer and Course Director to discuss how this can be arranged, along with how your 20% off the job training will be calculated and completed. Please note that part-time work will not be appropriate for some apprenticeships.

If you are unable to undertake the 20% off the job training as planned, please contact your employer and Course Director to discuss a possible break in learning and how you may restart your apprenticeship at a later date.

The university is currently planning to ensure that no student is disadvantaged in relation to the confirmation of assessment outcomes. Further information on this will be available soon and communicated to you.

The university and your employer will support you to ensure you are not disadvantaged with any changes to assessments on your apprenticeship. Please contact your employer and Course Director to discuss how this situation can be managed.

We are working to deliver assessments to take place remotely wherever possible. Your School will be in touch with you to confirm arrangements once they are finalised.

Any changes that are made are likely to be specific to your apprenticeship, please contact your Course Director to discuss how your new role meets the requirements of your apprenticeship.

In some cases, you may need to instigate a break in study from your apprenticeship.

All student accommodation where Leeds Beckett University or Unipol is the landlord remains open. Students who have either a tenancy agreement with Leeds Beckett University or were referred by the University to enter into a tenancy agreement with Unipol should have received an email update regarding their final rent instalment for this academic year. If you haven’t received this email, please get in touch via email at accommodation@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.

If you are self-isolating in private accommodation, and don’t have anyone who can help you, for example with delivering food or collecting prescriptions, help is available via Leeds City Council and Voluntary Action Leeds. Please visit https://www.leeds.gov.uk/coronavirus to access this support.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday 23 March, instructing people to stay at home and introducing further restrictions to reduce the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), we have closed all university buildings with immediate effect. This includes the libraries on both campuses.

As well as existing electronic resources publishers are offering additional free material accessible via the Library Database A-Z pages and students and staff can also request new eBooks.

Library and IT advice including password resets are available 08:30 to 00:00 (midnight) every day by phone (0113) 812 1000 or chat.

Academic Support are offering online learning and support for students and academic staff and openaccess@leedsbeckett.ac.uk is still handling staff research queries.

For any additional undergraduate or postgraduate support, please complete the Get Help form: Bit.ly/39xkhJ.

Colleagues and students will no longer be able to make new media equipment loans from the service desks in either library. 

If someone has equipment that is due back, they should hold onto this equipment until the campus reopens. There will be no charges or strikes levied in light of current events. Students and colleagues should remain safely at home. We will contact people who have equipment when we begin normal operations again.

Regrettably we can no longer maintain a grab and go service at our food courts and these will remain shut to all students and staff until further notice.

Leeds Beckett University sports facilities are closed until further notice.

We will continue to update all customers and will re-open at the earliest possible opportunity. 

The following will be implemented immediately: 

• All Sport & Active Lifestyle memberships fees/payments will be frozen, until a time when facilities are accessible again
• Swim Carnegie payments will be frozen, with swimmers remaining in their present classes
• You do not need to contact us to arrange freeze of payment, we have already done this for you

Once we have an understanding of timescales for re-opening, we will be in touch to confirm arrangements for reinstating direct debits or refunding and crediting for payments already made. 

Please see details below for how this may affect you:

• Student memberships (Active Beckett and Sports Beckett)
  • There is no access to any facilities (City or Headingley)
  • When we re-open we will be in touch to confirm arrangements for any credit/refund arrangements.  Until we have a date for re-opening, we won’t be able to confirm this detail. This will be based on a daily pro rata amount applicable to your membership type
• Student athletic union memberships
  • There is no access to any facilities (City or Headingley) and all coached and group activities suspended
  • Every club is different in terms of season start finish times etc. When we re-open the Athletic Union Staff will evaluate the impact and confirm any credit/refund arrangements that may be applicable
• Pay as you go (all activities), block bookings and events
  • All university sports facilities are currently closed until further notice, and any bookings or events have been cancelled for the rest of March and April
  • Payments: Any credit will be moved to future bookings. If you would prefer a refund, we will manage these requests when we re-open
• Coach education training courses
  • All training courses until the end of April have been postponed. We will keep courses beyond this date under review
  • Payments: Any credit will be moved to a future course (dates tbc). If you would prefer a refund, we will manage these requests when we re-open

For further enquiries please contact sport@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

We understand that this situation is unsettling. The university offers student money advice and our advisors are available to provide guidance and support, please call 0113 812 5593 or request a call back via MyHub.

The university’s hardship fund remains open to enrolled students. Information and details on how to apply are available through the Student Hub.

Sports & Active Lifestyles has devised a programme of live classes that our instructors will deliver from their homes. In addition, as a partner organisation to Les Mills students and colleagues have access to over 95 virtual classes that people can do from home for free at anytime. More information is available on our fitness classes webpage.

Although the Students' Union helpdesks and the Hive are closed until further notice, SU services are still available. More information is available on the LBSU website.

We strongly recommend that you follow the latest Government advice. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) advises British people travelling abroad to return to the UK now, if commercial flights are still available.

If you don’t follow advice and find yourself unable to return as a consequence please be aware that your absence will be regarded as unauthorised and you will not be able to claim mitigation.

Leeds Beckett University is proud to be a diverse and inclusive global community.

We realise that there is the possibility that current events may cause an increase in incidents of racial harassment, aggression or abuse which some students and colleagues might face. This is completely unacceptable.

There is no place for behaviour which undermines the dignity and human rights of other members of the community. We have a zero tolerance approach to racial harassment, aggression or abuse.

We encourage anyone experiencing or witnessing inappropriate behaviour to report it to the university, so that action can be taken. If you feel you need support, please contact the Student Hub.

We understand that you may feel concerned about your child attending university. We are monitoring the changing situation closely. The university takes the health of its students and colleagues very seriously and is working hard to provide our students and colleagues with up to date information and advice.

As the national picture evolves we will continue to respond in line with Government advice.

The Department for Education (DfE) has launched a new helpline to answer questions about Coronavirus (COVID-19) related to education, which some parents may find helpful.

Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: DfE.Coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk.

The helpline is open from 08:00 to 18:00, Monday to Friday.

The health and safety of colleagues who are temporarily working from home is of importance to us. This abridged version of the Leeds Beckett University risk assessment for Home Working provides a checklist of factors to be aware of:

• be mindful of how to handle heavy items at home (exam papers, stationery, quantities of photocopying, filing etc)
• individuals with health conditions, previous back injuries, new and expectant mothers, etc, should assess the need for handling items
• be mindful of posture when setting up and using a laptop
• ensure that sufficient/frequent short breaks are taken to avoid prolonged periods without change of posture
• ensure your working environment is free from hazards such as trailing cables
• visually check any electrical cables or items to ensure they are free from obvious defects such as cuts/damage
• it is a mutual responsibility of the manager and team member to ensure regular contact is maintained
• as far as practicably possible, managers have a duty to ensure that remote workers do not contravene the Working Time Regulations and colleagues should report any concerns about excessive working hours to their manager

You should let your manager know if you experience issues relating to your health and safety when working from home.

Safety and security of LBU information, systems and equipment

• ensure that work is not viewed by others at home
• store any sensitive information securely at home

Any changes to working patterns related to the COVID-19 pandemic will not mean a permanent change to your terms and conditions.

Managers will retain an up-to-date list of colleagues who are working from home and make this information available if the University requests it.

Although we are experiencing un-precedented constraints on our day to day lives, both within and outside of work, and heightened worry for ourselves, our family and friends, you  are still expected to continue to treat other colleagues with respect, tolerance and dignity at all times.

Further guidance for managers regarding managing team members who are working from home is available on our HR webpages.

If managers have any questions that aren’t covered by this guidance, they should contact the HR team via the dedicated phone line – 0113 812 6100 or by emailing employeerelationsteam@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.

The Major Incident Team, in conjunction with the wider HR team, will continue to monitor government and Public Health England advice and guidance. This may result in changes to these guidelines over the coming months. This is a fast-changing situation and we will provide as much notice as reasonably necessary to any changes made. However, given that developments can occur overnight as we move through the pandemic period, we may not always be in a position to do so. 

The Government has published guidance on the mental health and wellbeing aspects of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

As the university expands and embeds its remote working capabilities, the overall surface area of risk widens, and mobile working and remote access has potential to increase the threats to the security of the personal information that we work with.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the independent data protection regulator in the UK, is taking a proportionate approach to the pandemic and organisations are being urged to do the same.

In short, there are no barriers in data protection law to prevent more frequent remote working, or the use of personal devices. However, the university has a responsibility to consider the security implications of homeworking, and the need for any risk mitigation.

Along with this the university may need to collect and use personal information about individuals in order to deal with Coronavirus (COVID-19). However, it is important not to forget that, although this could be a time-sensitive issue, the requirements of data protection law will still apply to any personal information that the University uses for these purposes.

When using information about individuals for the purposes of dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, the golden rule to remember is that the position under law has not changed. Although this is a novel factual scenario, the same principles and considerations will apply around the principles of:

• Lawfulness, fairness and transparency
• Purpose limitation
• Data minimisation
• Accuracy
• Storage limitation
• Integrity and confidentiality (security)

We have added to our overarching privacy notices explaining how the university will collect, use and protect data specifically with regards to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

A Data Protection Impact Assessment has also been carried out and further information on handling information safely while home working is available on the university’s Data Protection page.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 you must stay at home in accordance with the Public Health England (PHE) guidance. 

If you are unfit to work due to a diagnosis of COVID-19 or COVID-19 symptoms, you can self-certify for a period in excess of seven days, even if you have not attended a GP surgery or hospital due to the risk of further infection.

You must inform your manager on the first day of any period of absence, explaining you are absent and for how long you  expect to be absent – in line with the relvant PHE/NHS guidance provided at that time.  Your manager will follow the normal absence recording procedures.

If you are absent due to a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 or because you have COVID-19 symptoms, it will not count towards absence thresholds.

Our HR team has prepared a guide on how to put absence related to Coronavirus into iTrent.

The Government is advising all those who are 70 years and over and others who are at increased risk of severe illness from coronavirus (COVID-19) to be more stringent in following social distancing measures. If you are in one, or more of these categories, we are asking you to stay at home until further notice. If your role is compatible with working from home, your line manager will instruct you on your duties. If you fall into this category you will not be financially disadvantaged. Our HR team has prepared a guide on how to put absence related to Coronavirus into iTrent.

If there are members of your household with symptoms, you must follow the PHE stay at home guidance and inform your line manager as soon as possible. If you do not have symptoms and are able to work from home, then you should discuss this with your manager who will instruct you on your duties during your period of self-isolation. If you are not able to work from home then you should still stay at home in accordance with the guidance. You will not be financially disadvantaged if you are not able to work during self-isolation. Our HR team has prepared a guide on how to put absence related to Coronavirus into iTrent.

If you have been in close contact with someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19, you must follow the PHE stay at home guidance and inform your line manager as soon as possible. If you do not have symptoms and are able to work from home, then you should discuss this with your manager who will instruct you on your duties during your period of self-isolation. If you are not able to work from home then you should still stay at home in accordance with the guidance. You will not be financially disadvantaged if you are not able to work during self-isolation.

If your child’s school is closed and you need to care for young children, despite them not displaying symptoms of the virus we will take a sympathetic approach to understand your situation on a case by case basis. If you are able to work from home, then you should discuss this with your manager who will instruct you on your duties. If working from home is not an option, then we will allow reasonable paid time off to enable arrangements to be put in place.

Flexible working (including working from home), annual leave or unpaid leave should be considered if a longer period is required and alternative care is not possible. Whilst the university will support you in this situation as much as reasonably possible, you will be expected to make reasonable personal arrangements to accommodate the requirement to provide care, such as sharing the care with a partner, sibling or friend. If you have any questions or concerns about this please speak to your manager, who will contact HR for further advice, as required.

 

Colleagues on variable hours contracts (e.g. Part-time Hourly Paid colleagues)

These guidelines also apply to colleagues currently working under variable contracts. You will continue to be paid for the hours for which you are contracted to work as at 16 March 2020, subject to these guidelines.

Our HR team has prepared a guide on how to put absence related to Coronavirus into iTrent.

This guidance takes precedence over the university’s other published policies, until the university advises otherwise.

In order to keep our community safe, our students supported and our core services functioning we will all need to work together, and perhaps, to do new and different things, as appropriate. We will therefore attempt to accommodate flexible working wherever possible. However, the ability to work flexibly will be dependent on an individual’s circumstances. It may be necessary for your manager to ask you to work flexibly in order to protect yourself and others, whilst the School or Service continues to deliver services that enables the university to stay open for the benefit of as many students as possible. 

Working flexibly takes several forms, such as:

• working from home for a number of weeks or months, depending on government guidance or directive
• a later start and finish time at work, to avoid the use of more crowded public transport
• working part-day in the workplace and then working in the evening at home, to accommodate caring for young children or other dependents
• working in the workplace for part of the week, whilst a colleague stays at home (whether working or not) and swapping over on an agreed day (or days) during the working week

Your manager will communicate with you about what is most appropriate to your team’s circumstances and your role. You may be asked to undertake responsibilities that are appropriate to your role if other colleagues are not in work due to illness or are working off site. 

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday 23 March, instructing people to stay at home and introducing further restrictions to reduce the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), we have closed all university buildings with immediate effect. This includes the libraries on both campuses.

As well as existing electronic resources publishers are offering additional free material accessible via the Library Database A-Z pages and students and staff can also request new eBooks.

Academic Support are offering online learning and support for students and academic staff and Openaccess@leedsbeckett.ac.uk is still handling staff research queries.

The Digital Learning Service has online guides for university systems. Details on how to contact the team are available on the Teaching and Learning Resources site, along with academic continuity guidance to support you in moving teaching online.

Library and Student IT Advice can help students access Remote App and other systems to be able to study from home. They also deal with IT queries, including password resets.

Leeds Beckett University sports facilities are closed until further notice.

We will continue to update all customers and will re-open at the earliest possible opportunity. 

The following will be implemented immediately: 

• All Sport & Active Lifestyle memberships fees/payments will be frozen, until a time when facilities are accessible again
• Swim Carnegie payments will be frozen, with swimmers remaining in their present classes
• You do not need to contact us to arrange freeze of payment, we have already done this for you

Once we have an understanding of timescales for re-opening, we will be in touch to confirm arrangements for reinstating direct debits or refunding and crediting for payments already made. 

Please see details below for how this may affect you:

• Staff memberships
• There is no access to any facilities (City or Headingley)
• when we re-open we will amend any future payroll deductions accordingly  
• Pay as you go (all activities), block bookings and events
• All university sports facilities are currently closed until further notice, and any bookings or events have been cancelled for the rest of March and April
• Payments: Any credit will be moved to future bookings. If you would prefer a refund, we will manage these requests when we re-open
• Coach education training courses
• All training courses until the end of April have been postponed. We will keep courses beyond this date under review
• Payments: Any credit will be moved to a future course (dates tbc). If you would prefer a refund, we will manage these requests when we re-open

For further enquiries please contact sport@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

The Mail Rooms at Headingley and City Campus remain closed until further notice. Mail received is being stored securely at each campus via both security receptions.

Colleagues are advised to make alternative arrangements for mail where possible.

If business critical items have been delivered to the university, please make arrangements for collection from either the James Graham or Leslie Silver Security desks. Please consider carefully what is classed as business critical.

Contact security via: security@leedsbeckett.ac.uk or by calling X4444

If you have further queries please contact CAREShelpdesk@leedsbeckett.ac.uk  

 

Sports & Active Lifestyles has devised a programme of live classes that our instructors will deliver from their homes. In addition, as a partner organisation to Les Mills students and colleagues have access to over 95 virtual classes that people can do from home for free at anytime. More information is available on our fitness classes webpage.

Regrettably we can no longer maintain a grab and go service at our food courts and these will remain shut to all students and staff from Tuesday 24 March until further notice.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has changed its advice on travel and advises British nationals against all but essential international travel. Until further notice the university no longer requires colleagues to undertake business travel in the UK or overseas. We will also aim, as far as possible, to move meetings online by using Skype or other technology solutions to reduce unnecessary social contact.

Mentoring

Please email ubcleeds@leedsbeckett.ac.uk if you would like to book an appointment with our business mentor, qualified accountant, Steve Baker.

Legal

University Business Centre partners, Lupton Fawcett, have legal advice on their blog pages.

IT

Care Micro can provide IT support and can support in setting up networks from home, please email ithelpdesk@caremicro.co.uk.

The Government has announced a business support campaign and published guidance for employers and businesses, support for businesses and for those affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Guidance on reducing the risks from Coronavirus (COVID-19) is also available from the National Federation of Self-Employed and Small Businesses (FSB).

Additional advice is available from the Government’s Business Support website.

The Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) introduced by the Government will support self-employed individuals whose income has been negatively impacted by Coronavirus (COVID-19). You can find more information on eligibility and how to access the scheme on the Government website.

Refer to gov.uk/coronavirus for the latest information from the Government on the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The Government has also set up an email alert system which you can sign up to here.

Our usual security protocols are in place, all buildings have been locked down and will have a daily sweep by our designated security teams at each centre. Additionally, each building has intruder alarms set.

There are no plans to turn off or reduce the capacity of the network at any of our centres. If there are any issues with the network our IT support will investigate but please be aware they are working with a reduced team onsite, so it may take slightly longer than our SLA stated period during this emergency.

We will follow advice from the Government and Public Health England, we will continue to liaise with you.

We are reviewing whether if it is possible to provide a brief window to open Leeds and Wakefield to clients who have an urgent reason to access their space. Any clients that require this are asked to email: ubcleeds@leedsbeckett.ac.uk. We will work with you to assess the urgency, safety and need on a case by case basis. We understand that this is a very difficult time and we will do our best to accommodate any requests where it is possible and safe to do so.

Halifax University Business Centre will not be accessible during our closures due to health and safety compliance limitations.

Wakefield: 
We are currently exploring the ability to have client post re-posted to client home addresses. We hope to be in a position to advise on this soon. Please note that if you prefer that post is not re-sent to your home address in the event of this solution being put in place, please advise at ubcleeds@leedsbeckett.ac.uk. Once the post has been re-posted it will be dependent on the Royal Mail’s ability to deliver and not within our control.

Leeds:
Post can be collected from the Security Office located on Woodhouse Lane in the Leslie Silver Building. Currently all post due to be delivered by Royal Mail from Tuesday 24 March has been sent to the University Security office. We are still looking at a safe method to hand out any post that was already held in the reception office at University Business Centre Leeds 15 Queen Square. If you need to contact security please email security@leedsbeckett.ac.uk or call 0113 812 4444.

Halifax:
Post will remain in Royal Mail's possession. We are still looking at a safe method to forward any post that was already held in Admin at University Business Centre Halifax.

 

University Business Centre clients are urged to contact their suppliers and customers and to make alternative arrangements for mail such as redirection, holding mail, sending digitally or paying electronically, in order to minimise the amount of unnecessary contact and travel.

Please see the letter sent via email to you on 31 March 2020.

Please see the letter sent via email to you on 31 March 2020. There is no necessity for any clients to relinquish any space whilst our Business Centres close due to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

We are looking into secure ways that we can comply with GDPR to provide this. Early suggestions are if people are happy to email their approval to hand out their mobile numbers we can create a WhatsApp group for each centre, but we are happy to look at further suggestions that could make this possible and please continue to email us at ubcleeds@leedsbeckett.ac.uk with your ideas and suggestions for other innovative ways of staying in touch.

Currently we are expecting our new term to start in September as planned, and we are very much looking forward to seeing our students in September as usual. We will, of course, keep in touch with the Government’s position and should this change in the coming months, we will of course keep you informed.

We are currently taking all the measures necessary to protect our staff and students, for example from next week our teaching will be carried out online. Students joining us in September can be sure that we will follow all Government advice and not put our students at risk.

We will keep fully up to speed with the situation and will keep you informed should this become likely. We will have contingency plans in place to ensure you can join us at Leeds Beckett.

If you have a specific query about your application, you can contact the Admissions Enquiries Team via AdmissionsEnquiries@leedsbeckett.ac.uk or by calling 0113 812 3113. If you are a research student (eg applying for a Phd, Professional Doctorate such as EdD, DBA, or  research masters, MRes) please contact researchadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk or call 0113 8129396.

We are currently still taking bookings for our Open Day in July and are planning to run the event. We will monitor the situation over the coming months and will, of course, follow Government guidance.

The Government has written a message to all GCSE, AS and A level students explaining how their grades will be calculated. You can read the letter, which was published on 3 April, on the UK Government website.

We are continuing to process all applications as we would normally, regardless of where you are from or where you live. All our staff based in Leeds and across the world continue to be available to support you.

Yes, If you are unable to join us at Leeds Beckett University in September, we will refund your deposit or you can defer it to a later intake.

The position of test centres in certain countries is rapidly changing as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the webpages below are being regularly updated with the latest advice for candidates:

• TOEFL
• IELTS

A list of the English language qualifications we accept can be found on our website leedsbeckett.ac.uk/international-students/application-process/english-language-requirements/

Please contact our International Office: internationaloffice@leedsbeckett.ac.uk. If you are a research student (eg applying for a Phd, Professional Doctorate such as EdD, DBA, or a research masters MRes) please contact researchadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk or call 0113 8129396