{"id":1244,"date":"2020-03-27T14:31:53","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T14:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/?p=1244"},"modified":"2020-06-19T08:28:33","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T08:28:33","slug":"frozen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2020\/03\/27\/frozen\/","title":{"rendered":"FROZEN"},"content":{"rendered":"
News reaches subtext that, in an email to line managers on Wednesday 25 March, the Vice-Chancellor has announced a complete freeze on all external recruitment at Lancaster. Where an offer has already been made, this will be honoured, but all other appointments and vacancies are to be frozen.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The VC informs managers that ‘we are having to review our short to medium position regarding staff recruitment and all other costs in light of the significantly altered financial and operating position. You will be aware that we communicated last week a deferral of the most significant capital projects; i.e. the next phase of the LUMS development, the refurbishment of the east estate, and the construction of the new Engineering building. Other changes to the capital programme will follow.’ As a result, ‘all external recruitment (including through ERS) with immediate effect is being placed on hold until further notice.’<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The existing vacancy control process for Professional Services staff will now apply to all roles, including ERS (the University’s in-house employment agency that lets them hire people on zero hours contracts while pretending not to have any staff on zero hours contracts) positions and proposed extensions to fixed term contracts. The process will assess whether vacancies are ‘strategically critical roles’ where the freeze should not apply.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
There is some reassurance: ‘we need to ensure we are, where possible, providing job security to our existing staff and mitigating the cessation of fixed term contracts. This will require us to think differently and creatively as we redeploy staff and share our resources.’ Furthermore, ‘we will automatically place all fixed term contracts due to come to a natural end on the redeployment register.’<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Fixed term staff awaiting transfer to indefinite status, as promised by the University’s new policy, are likely to be disappointed: ‘we are mindful that work is due to start in respect of the new Fixed Term Contracts Policy and this work will continue as best it can do in light of COVID-19 context. However, managers should still keep fixed term contracts under review as normal.’<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This announcement will hardly have come as a surprise to anyone – after all, how many overseas students do you think we’re realistically likely to recruit for the coming year? Your subtext drones wonder how equipped the university would be, or more likely would not be, to weather a significant one-year drop in student numbers without redundancies.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
We should perhaps be grateful we are not at the University of Sussex, which reportedly announced on Wednesday 25 March that all temporary contracts should be ‘terminated where possible’:<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/KathrynTelling\/status\/1242860784306343938\/<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
As subtext goes to press, 44 vacancies are still being advertised at: https:\/\/hr-jobs.lancs.ac.uk\/<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

News reaches subtext that, in an email to line managers on Wednesday 25 March, the Vice-Chancellor has announced a complete freeze on all external recruitment at Lancaster. Where an offer has already been made, this will be honoured, but all … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":568,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[84,572,152,569],"class_list":["post-1244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-contracts","tag-covid-19","tag-hr","tag-issue-193"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s99sHo-frozen","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1015,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/05\/23\/running-out-of-money\/","url_meta":{"origin":1244,"position":0},"title":"RUNNING OUT OF MONEY","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"May 23 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Reports of a curious chill emanating from D Floor have reached the subtext inbox. Apparently, Professional Services roles that are vacant are likely to, err... stay vacant, at least for the foreseeable future. Staff have reported to us that they have been told that new or replacement roles that have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1140,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/06\/28\/state-of-the-uni\/","url_meta":{"origin":1244,"position":1},"title":"STATE OF THE UNI","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"June 28 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A moderately populated Great Hall played host to the final all-staff meeting on Tuesday 25 June, led by Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark E Smith, CBE, before his imminent departure to southerly climes. The majority of those present, apart from the conflagration of senior managers [is this the correct collective noun for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1296,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2020\/06\/19\/editorial\/","url_meta":{"origin":1244,"position":2},"title":"subtext 194 \u2013 \u2018voluntary subtext reductions\u2019","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"June 19 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Increasingly less often during term time. Letters, contributions, & comments: subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details: http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/ In this issue: editorial, BLM, open letter, appeal for editors, online teaching, rent strike, liddle, phones, nuttall, elections, pandemic, letters. ***************************************************** EDITORIAL Our new Vice-Chancellor was clearly trying to strike a Churchillian note\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "editorial"","block_context":{"text":"editorial","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1094,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/11\/01\/when-im-ua64\/","url_meta":{"origin":1244,"position":3},"title":"WHEN I’M UA64","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"November 1 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"After all the hype, UA92 is now open and teaching inside a refurbished Kellogg's cereal factory in Stretford, where we hope the students are all having a 'grrreat!' time. The staff-student ratio is certainly looking impressive - almost Oxbridge-like - although this seems to owe more to the under-recruitment of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1246,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2020\/03\/27\/subtext-193-stay-home-and-read-subtext\/","url_meta":{"origin":1244,"position":4},"title":"subtext 193 – ‘stay home and read subtext’","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"March 27 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Every so often during term time (and sometimes slightly later). Letters, contributions, & comments: subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details: http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/ In this issue: editorial, freeze, applause, court report, rip tony madeley, gender stereotyping update, democracy update, toilet paper, teach outs, widden's review, pies, letters. ***************************************************** EDITORIAL That UCU strike\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "editorial"","block_context":{"text":"editorial","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1146,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/06\/28\/subtext-189-imaginative-thinking-subtext\/","url_meta":{"origin":1244,"position":5},"title":"subtext 189 – ‘imaginative thinking subtext’","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"June 28 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Every so often during term time. Letters, contributions, & comments:\u00a0subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details:\u00a0http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/\u00a0 In this issue: editorial,\u00a0recruitment drive,\u00a0VC swan song,\u00a0pensions,\u00a0bailrigg fm,\u00a0dundee,\u00a0overheard on the spine,\u00a0art degree show review,\u00a0letters. ***************************************************** And so, we are almost at the end of our sixth VC's tenure. 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