As a department we strive to provide a working environment which allows all staff and students to contribute fully, to flourish and to excel. We aim to ensure that there is a supportive culture at all levels and across all staff groups. The department provides different laboratory and office furniture to adapt the workplace to be suitable for all.

Past examples: height adjustable desk, lab chairs with backrests, adjustable height and armrests, ergonomic mouse, laptop posture rest, footrests, speak recognition software.

Please contact the Biology Operations Team with your request. biol-opsman@york.ac.uk

Dealing with emails and Slack messages is a substantial task for staff and students at universities, and can pose challenges for a healthy work-life balance. The Agreement on Email and Slack Practices is a best-practice guide to help support healthy working practices for all our staff and students.

The UK’s transition period to leave the EU ended on Thursday 31 December 2020:

• Staff members from the EU: find out about staff residency and Settled Status in the UK
• Do you travel to the EU for business? Find out what you need to do to make sure you’re ready for the changes
• Find out about changes to recruitment of EU staff
• Find out more about how the end to free movement affects the University
• Read advice on procuring and importing goods from overseas after Friday 1 January 2021

Updated November 2022

A buddy is a member of staff, usually away from the immediate work area, who has agreed to be a point of contact for a new starter to provide informal guidance and encouragement during their first few months of employment. A buddy might typically take on the following tasks to help the new member of staff settle in:

• Be available to answer immediate routine questions of a general nature
• Show the new member of staff around the building, introducing them to other members of staff they may see within their working environment, but may not otherwise come into contact with within their role
• Point out catering or other facilities that may be of interest, i.e. sports centre, library, etc.
• Accompany them to lunch on an ad hoc basis

You can speak with your line manager if you wish to be a buddy or for help to identify a buddy. Alternatively, please email biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk. 

The Department is committed to creating a fair, welcoming and inclusive environment where bullying and harassment are unacceptable and where members of its community treat each other with dignity and respect.

Policies and procedures are in place to protect you and to ensure that complaints are resolved. Please see the Dignity at Work and Study Policy. The purpose of this policy is to provide procedures and mechanisms to report and address incidents of harassment, bullying and hate incidents appropriately.  

The University is committed to creating an environment which is safe, inclusive and welcoming for everyone and free from all forms of harassment and bullying. 

The Report and Support tool was introduced for students in 2020 and has now been extended for use by staff. Use the tool to report misconduct and to find out about available support. This is not intended to replace existing support and HR mechanisms, but simply provides another way to reach out for support.

An interim policy on business travel has been approved by UEB. See the full details of the business travel interim policy  (7/12/21).

Any business travel must be booked through either NYS Corporate or Selective Travel Management. To register for NYS and Selective, please send an email to biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk. PhD students, postgraduates and technical staff please ask your line manager to request permission on your behalf. Flights, rail travel and accommodation must be booked in accordance with the University’s travel policy.

All staff and students going on a business trip are required to register for the University's Travel Insurance.  See full details and a link to the Travel Log form.

Please see the University website for the latest COVID-19 information and guidance on business travel.

To arrange car hire for business purposes, you will need to:

1. Register as an 'Authorised Driver' (see the University's business travel webpage for further information on how to do this).
2. Once you are registered as an Authorised Driver, you will need to register for the 'B2B' booking tool, which is the system used to book a hire car through Enterprise. To do this, you will need to email business-travel@york.ac.uk to request registration. You may also find it useful to refer to this Online Car Booking Guide for information on how to use the B2B booking tool.

Please see the University's website for travel and parking information.

All casual workers undertaking casual work at the University (e.g. Student Ambassadors, Tutorials, Marking, and Demonstrating) are required to register online, set up an account and show their right to work documents prior to undertaking any work. Once a worker is booked to work, they can start their working shifts and submit their timesheet daily or weekly.

It is not be possible for the DMT Hub to book hours for workers until they have completed the casual worker registration process. Please visit the registration website and select the ‘register as a worker’ option during login. You may find it helpful to refer to this guidance on the registration process.

Once registered, then a booking will need to be made for any hours to be worked before the work takes place. For students acting as Student Ambassadors, Tutorials, Marking or Demonstrating these bookings will be made by the Student and Academic Services (SAS) team. For any other casual workers please complete the Casual Workers Booking Form at least 5 working days prior to work taking place. Once the worker is registered and booked to work, the causal worker will need to submit an an electronic time sheet via Dashboard.

Please see HR's web pages for right to work guidance and information on hourly rates. For any queries please contact biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk.

Visit the department's Staff Search page to find contact details and other information for all Biology Staff and Postgraduates. If you spot any errors or omissions, please contact biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk

Please refer to the COVID-19 Useful Information and Resources page for information to support and guide.

• Cycle storage is available at various locations round the Department.

• Access to the bike sheds between H block and Q block can be arranged by Biology Reception.

• Bikes should not be attached to any railings near the main entrance to the Department as may block access for delivery trolleys and those with disabilities.

• The University has installed bike pumps adjacent to bicycle sheds across campus.

• There is a departmental bike pump in F006 - ask in infrastructure office to borrow it
• There is a departmental repair kit / lock at reception

• There have been occasions when cyclists inadvertently lock bikes together; if you find your bike has been locked to another, contact Biology Reception as soon as possible.

• Showers and hairdryers are also available in the Department for staff use:

  • Unisex showers are available at 

    • B/K/060*

    • B/K/160*

    • B/K/259

    • B/T/027*

  • A male shower is available at

    • B/D/102

*also has hairdryers

For more University information on cycling see the University transport pages.

As part of the revised University Policy on declaring interests, managing conflicts of interest, and gifts and hospitality which was circulated to all staff on 15 October 2020 the department is required to keep a Gifts and Hospitality Register.  

Where gifts/hospitality are given or received over the value of £40 per person (including the cumulative value of repeated low-level instances over a short period of time), you must (a) inform your line manager, and (b) record the transaction in the Biology Gifts and Hospitality register by completing the Declaration of Gifts and Hospitality Form 2021/22.

All gifts/hospitality which are declined as counter to University policy must also be recorded, regardless of value.

Updated November 2022

The declaration of interests plays an important role in promoting transparency in the conduct of University business, and ensuring that audit trails are in place to protect the good standing of the University and of individual members of staff.

All returns should be made via one central Google form:

https://forms.gle/Tp5dt1kMTEwXTj9HA

If you fall into one or more of the following groups, you are required to make a return (a ‘nil return’ option is available if necessary):

1. Heads of Department/School/PSS and their senior decision-making teams (DMT Members)
2. Anyone who sits on a University Committee 
3. Staff who have a material influence on contracts/partnerships on behalf of the University, or have access to highly sensitive and commercial information (e.g. Finance, Procurement, Legal Services, OPPA).
4. Any staff who are on the board of directors or who act as company secretary for the University’s wholly or majority owned subsidiary companies or joint ventures.

For all other staff, you only need to make a declaration if you have interests which are relevant to your work for the University.

Guidance on what you might need to declare is provided on the University webpages.

You should also keep your return up to date as the year progresses. 

Note: If you have any interests which raise concerns in relation to your work for the University, you should also inform the person responsible for oversight of that area, so that further measures can be agreed to actively address any potential conflicts of interest.

For queries or concerns, please contact governance@york.ac.uk.

Updated November 2022

Due to the nature of research grant activity/work, we have a large number of staff who are on fixed term contracts, or open contracts with fixed term funding.

For employees on fixed term contracts, please see the Fixed Term Contracts pages on the HR website for University policy, which must be strictly adhered to.  For employees on open contracts with fixed term funding, please see the process below (please note that an employee on an open contract with fixed term funding cannot opt out of the consultation process).   Biology DMT Hub will send reminders to line managers to remind them about this process.  

If a contract is to be extended, or the workorder changed, the line manager must complete a contract variation from (CVF).

In the event of redundancy, guidance on the consultation process can be found below:

Process Guide for employees on Fixed Term Contracts.docx

Process Guide for employees on an Open Contract with Fixed Term Funding.docx

All other paperwork relating to consultation is included below and will also be issued to the line manager when the initial reminder is sent from Biology DMT Hub:

For employees on Fixed Term Contracts (FTC):

Consultation Meeting Form (FTC)

Letter templates for consultation meetings (FTC)

Consultation Opt Out Form

For employees on Open Contracts with Fixed Term Funding (FTF):

Consultation Meeting Form (Open Contract with FTF)

Letter templates for consultation meetings (FTF).

 Document

Please feel free to contact biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk if you have any queries about fixed term contracts/funding or the redundancy process.

The Department supports staff as far as possible with Flexible Working requests. Please see the flexible working web pages on HR's website for further information.

Flexitime & Leave App

Upon starting your new role in Biology you should have received an email from the DMT Hub Team if not, please email: biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk

All Support Staff (Administrators and Technicians), grades 1 - 8 are expected to use the Flexitime & Leave App system to record their daily hours and their leave and will require Line Manager approval for all leave. Staff are asked to record their leave including flexileave, annual leave, sick leave etc and you do this through the 'Leave' option via 'Leave Requests'. The system is voluntary for T&S, Research and ART staff.

If you are new to the system you may find the following information useful in getting started ...

How do I log on?

You can access the  Flexitime & Leave App   here >>> https://flexileave.app.york.ac.uk/.

Please note that the system uses SSO to sign on so if you are already logged onto a UoY application it should log in automatically.

How does the system work?

IT Services have produced documentation on the system which can be found on a Wiki >>> User Documentation  

In addition, we have also created a step-by-step guide >>>  Flexi time and annual leave step by step - USERS Guide.  

Please take a look at these guides which should help with any queries you have. 

What are the different types of leave in the system?

It is worth clarifying how the system works for this.  When you request leave there is the following dropdown:

 Biology's DMT Hub is here to help if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Updated November 2022

Please see the University's GDPR web page for further information.

Gmail demonstration

Google Calendar demonstration

Google Hangouts Meet

Collaborate with people who are not using Google

Managing multiple Google accounts in Chrome

Please see the University's web pages for support, welfare and health information and HR's web pages on health and wellbeing. You may also find it useful to know that all staff have access to the Health Assured's Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), which offers independent, free and completely confidential telephone support, online resources and, where appropriate, face-to-face counselling.

These pages are a hugely useful tool and include lots of information and resources for all staff in the following areas:

• Confidential Care (employee assistance scheme)
• Mental Health First Contact Network
• Occupational Health
• Stress Management
• Well@York

P

 Values poster

The DMT Hub, SAS and the Research Office have a values poster which you may find useful to discuss/share within your work area. This is more than a piece of paper on a wall; all of our teams signed up to this commitment and we find it a useful tool.

A welcome pack and induction checklist is sent to all new members of the Department. It contains a wide range of useful information and helpful links to get new staff members set up for work and familiar with key processes and procedures.  We ask that the induction checklist at the end of the welcome pack is completed and returned to DMT Hub within 4 weeks of the start date.

A link to the online health & safety induction' is also emailed to all new members of staff. This mandatory training includes key safety issues that need to be covered as part of the induction training. Further information can be found on the Induction Safety Training web page.

All new staff will have an initial probation period as part of their contract of employment (please ask us or check your terms and conditions to confirm the period). Your manager will have the documentation required for this process and should book regular catch ups with you. Please see the Probation web page on the HR website for further information.

The Department is committed to supporting with the learning and development of staff. The University can help you identify courses that will be useful in your current role and you can work with your line manager to discuss developing for future roles as they become available, either internally or externally to the University.

The award winning Learning and Development Team has a wide range of training and courses on offer to all staff. Visit the Staff Development pages on the HR website and and the Learning Management System (LMS) for further information.

The Department has a small training budget available to staff. Training funding requests can be made using the form below. Please return the form or direct any queries to biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk. The process is detailed at the top of the form but you must have the support of your line manager/supervisor for the request to be considered.

It is your responsibility to check your notice period before handing in your notice, in writing to your line manager (cc biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk). Please see Terms and Conditions web pages on the HR website for further information.

If you are leaving your post or the University, your manager must complete a notification form to let the DMT Hub and HR know.; you will then get a letter from HR to confirm your Biology leaving date.

If you are leaving the Department, but have another job in the University, just email biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk so we can ensure your local file is returned to HR in a timely manner, and so we can support your manager regarding backfilling your post or other alternatives.

Making the Difference is our local/Departmental recognition scheme, and Rewarding Excellence is the annual central scheme. Please read more about each scheme below.

Updated November 2022

We encourage collaborative working with the Marketing Team and want to ensure activity is open and transparent to all our staff. For information, please access our Marketing/Biology Google drive with updates.

For all marketing queries please email biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk in the first instance and the DMT Hub will assist and can even submit and follow up on queries on behalf of our staff.

Please note that any urgent outgoing post should be taken to Stores, as the University's central Mail Room collects from Stores 2-3 times a day.

You can also put outgoing post in the relevant tray in the Biology Atrium Mail Room, but please note that this is only picked up by the Stores team once a day and sometimes not every day if Stores are short-staffed.

Please visit the Parental Leave and Other Types of Leave web pages on the HR website for further information. Please don't hesitate to contact biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk for any queries.

The University values and relies on the professional integrity of relationships between staff members and in the staff/student relationship. In order that University activities are conducted and are perceived to be conducted in a professional and appropriate manner it is necessary to distinguish between, and take account of, personal relationships which overlap with professional ones. The University recognises that there may be occasions when students or staff members are related to or become close to another member of staff. They may be faced with situations where personal interest may conflict with their duties and may be uncertain about how to deal with them. The Personal Relationships Policy seeks to identify appropriate behaviour in such situations.

Biology Staff Quick Links document

General Recruitment Information

Since 1st November 2022 HR has removed access to the old Vacancy Request Form and are moving to a new 'self-service' recruitment process.  Anyone wishing to advertise a vacancy after this date will need to contact the DMT Hub Team (email: biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk) and the team will be able to guide you through the new process.   This new process will hopefully speed up the recruitment process.

In order to advertise a vacancy the DMT Hub Team will ask you to provide them with the following documents:

Advert

HR has provided an advert template which you must use.

Job Description

All staff should be working to job descriptions that clearly outline the current purpose and requirements of the role.  The purpose of the job description is to describe the main duties and responsibilities of the role.  HR has provided a library of template job descriptions for all types and grades of roles and you will need to select the relevant job description for your role from the job library.  You are able to add any specific role requirements for your vacancy to the job description but you are asked not to amend any of the existing information.  The templates have been approved at each Grade.

Additional recruitment information

Once you make contact with the DMT Hub you will be sent a document which will request further information about your vacancy in order for the Team to process your vacancy.  

Updated November 2022

Working remotely web page

Guidance for working from home

General information on the Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Instructions for installing the VPN

Mapping storage (access to the R drive)

If you require furniture for home working, complete this office furniture request form. For IT equipment contact David Nelmes at  itsupport@york.ac.uk

See Biology's Research Performance Expectation document for further information.

Most rooms in the Department can be booked through the FM Helpdesk.

However, there are some spaces in the Department that are booked by other means:

For any event in the Department with any of the following, you will need to complete the Events Approval Form: 

• Use of the Atrium
• Poster boards
• External visitors

It is important to ensure events are planned and run in an inclusive way and you may find it helpful to refer to the departmental event inclusivity guidance, which provides a starting point of issues that should be considered when planning an event.

• During normal working hours, the main entrances (in K block) are unlocked, and also access from A block and Concourse (B block).

• All doors directly off the Atrium to blocks K, L, M are locked at all times. DO NOT LEAVE DOORS PROPPED OPEN as this triggers an alarm in Security. 

• Staff are able to gain access at all other times using their KABA card.

• It is staff responsibility to ensure that all windows are closed when going home.

• As cleaners may be students, computers should be turned off when leaving offices.

• Personal effects should be locked away at all times.

• Access to the Department is only via the KABA ID card system. Staff must ensure that tail-gaters do not enter and compromise our security and are therefore required to carry their KABA cards as proof of identity. If in doubt refer them to Biology Reception.

Sickness is sickness, and we all get ill. Please see the Sickness Absence page on the HR website for further information on the relevant policies and procedures.

You should expect to have a return to work discussion with your line manager/supervisor upon return as per 4.3 of the managing ill-health and sickness absence policy.

Slack online demo demonstration

Staff Guide to Slack 

How to use Slack (Wiki page)

Slack: a Practical Guide

Slack has a number of ‘channels’ which function as forums that get people together to talk about particular areas of interest. Some great channels to sign up to include:

#green-impact

#remote-working

#it-hints-and-tips

#recycle-chat (only for items that are free, not sold and only items from home, not University property)

This site hosts up-to-date detailed information and resources designed for staff wishing to understand more or get involved in change.

In response to feedback received in the staff survey, and through discussions at the various committees, we now have a Biology Suggestions Box to provide an avenue for staff to make positive suggestions on to how to improve life in the Department. A pigeon hole can be found in the post room, K023 (to the right of the A-Z pigeon holes and just above the finance pigeon hole). However, please note that during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is best to use our virtual suggestion box (an anonymous Google Form).

Angela Lipscomb, Deputy Head of Faculty Operations, will review the suggestions monthly, pass the suggestions on to the relevant committee and report back on outcomes wherever possible.

Those on Summer Studentships, must be registered as a Visiting Associate (VA). Please complete the form in the 'Visiting Associate' section below and send it to biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk. 

We ask for a minimum of 10 working days notice to allow us to process the paperwork.

It is not be possible for the DMT Hub to book hours for studentships until they have completed the casual worker registration process. Please visit the registration website and select the ‘register as a worker’ option during login. You may find it helpful to refer to this guidance on the registration process.

Once registered, then a booking will need to be made for any hours to be worked before the work takes place. Please complete the Casual Workers Booking Form at least 2 working days prior to work taking place. Once the worker is registered and booked to work, they will receive an electronic time sheet which can be submitted online.

Please see HR's web pages for right to work guidance and information on hourly rates. For any queries please contact biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk.

Telephones in the Department in shared or lab areas are VoIP phones (Voice over IP technologies), otherwise individual phones have been migrated to Zoom phones.

• Requests to amend the details of existing telephone extensions (e.g.TAC or workorder), or provide additional lines, should be forwarded to the local telephony contact, James Fox- Deputy Operations Manager.

• Faults should be directed to the Logistics Team in the first instance.

• If you relocate within Biology, take your phone to the new location and plug into the existing phone line.

Please see the Unified Communications web page for further information.

Conference Phone

• A Polycom Soundstation IP5000 conference phone is available for use in the Department.
• This can be used wherever there is existing telephone access.
• Email booking requests and charge code to Biology Reception biol-reception@york.ac.uk.

UniGreen offers a service that helps you recoup valuable space and generate revenue by collecting, storing, and selling your unused or surplus high-value laboratory equipment. Their mission is very simple: To help UK universities reduce waste, consume resources sustainably, and enable research organisations to thrive in an increasingly resource-constrained world. 

If you have equipment in your lab that you no longer need, please consider using the UniGreen scheme to give it a new lease of life!

UniGreen Scheme Information for the Department

UniGreen Scheme Users Flowchart

Visitors to the Department who requires IT and KABA card access, including those on Summer Studentships, must be registered as a Visiting Associate (VA). Please complete the form below and send it to biol-dmthub@york.ac.uk. 

We ask for a minimum of 20 working days notice to allow us to process the paperwork.

Updated September 2021

The Department now has two visualisers and one pen tablet available to assist with recording lectures.

Booking sheet:

Visualisers and Pen Tablet  

Search: Biology COVID-19 Secure Booking Folder

Collection:

From the DMT Hub / K/1 Admin area; they are stored on top of the filing cabinets.

COVID secure use and instructions how to use the equipment are with the visualisers and pen tablet.

The department no longer offers ad hoc work experience. 

There are 2 options for work experience:

Year 10/11 Science work experience week

Year 12 week

More details about both of these options are available on the Biology public engagement and outreach webpage.

To open the Workload Model excel spreadsheet, please download the following file - Staff Workload Model and Academic Admin Jobs List, which is accessible by all teaching staff.  See the notes tab for clarification about what is included and how it is accounted for. View access is available to those people whose names appear on the model.

Please send any queries to biol-dhod@york.ac.uk

Zoom online demo

Zoom overview web page

Zoom phone

Zoom wiki guide

Secure your meeting (Zoom Skills Guide)

Secure your meeting (Wiki Page)

Data Protection with Zoom

Live auto-captioning in Zoom ('Live-transcription')

Alternative host in Zoom

Check you are signed in correctly

Using your private meeting room - NEW LINK