Research School Irregular

As we are now back in lockdown many University researchers will continue to work from home. We know that some postgraduate researchers (PGRS) don’t have the right equipment to do this so here are two new ways to get hold of items to help you work from home:

• Purchasing items: From Thursday, 14 January 2021, PGRs will be able to ask their supervisor if they can purchase items up to the value of £50 to help them work from home. Items may include things like footrests, keyboards, a mouse etc. You must gain approval from your budget holder before making any purchases. You can use the usual expenses process to claim back what you have agreed can be spent using the reference: ‘Small items for working from home’. Please bear in mind before making a request to your budget holder that they will have to fund any equipment from existing budgets so they may not always be able to approve your request. It will also not be possible for PGRs who have purchased and paid for small items themselves prior to 14 January 2021 to retrospectively claim for these through the expenses process.

• Office furniture: The University’s Furniture Store has invested in new supplies of recycled office desks and chairs – please visit the StaffNet site or email simon.atkinson@manchester.ac.uk for more information. If you require an item from the Furniture Store please speak with your supervisor first to gain their approval before contacting the Furniture Store directly. If the Furniture Store can supply the item you will have to arrange collection from campus, taking into consideration the current national restrictions on travel and our coming on to campus guidance. If you are unable to go to the Furniture Store to collect items you should speak to the supervisor who may agree to fund the delivery of items to your home.

• Household expenses: PGRs who also have a contract of employment with the University can make a claim for household expenses in the form of income tax relief through Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Details about this tax relief and how to claim it are available on the HMRC website.

Workspaces on campus: Government guidelines require PGRs to work from home wherever possible, but bookable workspaces are available on campus for use by PGRs who are struggling to work from home and this is affecting their wellbeing or mental health.

You can find FAQs for PGRs here: https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/coronavirus/faqs/pgr/

Laptops and IT equipment

Demand for devices to support working from home is still very high. While IT Services has a stock of standard Windows 10 laptops, requests which involve ordering new equipment are taking at least six weeks to arrive, due to a global shortage of laptops and supply chain issues. Lead times are even longer for Apple devices and higher specification laptops, which can lead to significant delays in getting IT equipment to PGRs.

It’s important that any laptops requested are provided through IT Services to ensure that they are fit for purpose, secure and supported. To help, temporary staff have joined the IT Services equipment deployment team to ensure that when laptops do arrive from the supplier they can be prepared for use and reach staff who need them more quickly.

Improving processes

At the beginning of COVID-19, IT Services was asked to put in place an emergency laptop loan service and prioritise getting these to business critical areas of the University. It’s recognised that the current process was introduced at speed to support what was expected to be a short-term arrangement and that this now needs to change. Therefore, the approach to supplying IT equipment is changing over the next few weeks as follows:

• Any PGRs who are currently struggling to work at home using their personal or University equipment, can request a standard laptop from the University.

• Where a more advanced (non-standard) device is required, eg; to carry out a research project or conduct complex data analysis, then the uplifted cost should be met locally by the Faculty or department.

• A new process and revised equipment catalogues will be in place by the end of February, whereby PGRs in the above situation, with the support of supervisor and Faculty PGR office can request a laptop. At that point standard laptops will be provided from stock to agreed timescales, whilst any non-standard will depend on supply channels.

• When a PGR leaves the University, their supervisor is responsible for recovering all devices and returning them to IT Services for redeployment. If the device is not returned to IT Services the cost of a replacement, eg for a new PGR, will need to be funded by the Faculty or department.

• Requests for monitors and other accessories over £50 which cannot be purchased using the expenses system as outlined at the beginning of this message, should always be requested via the local requisitioning team in your School/Department office. IT Services do not usually provide or fund these. Local requisitioning teams should refer to the current guidance on purchasing and payments for goods and services.

• Specialist support or assistive software to support PGRs with disabilities should be discussed with the Disability Advisory and Support Service

• All requests for devices must be submitted via the IT Support Portal or by phoning the IT Support Centre – details including links to the appropriate forms can be found on the IT Services website.

IT Services are currently working through the changes and amending processes. It is anticipated that the new arrangements will be ready early in the coming weeks. For the latest information please visit the IT Services website.