The Trade Union (Facility Time Publications Requirements) Regulations 2017 came in to force on 1st April 2017. These regulations place a legislative requirement on relevant public sector employers to collate and publish on an annual basis, a range of data on the amount and cost of facility time within their organisation.

For the RVC, the following data for the period indicated was submitted to HM Government for publication this year.

See here for the full report.

Important information regarding the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS)

All RVC Grades 6 and above are automatically enrolled into the USS pension scheme under a Salary Sacrifice arrangement.

All relevant information for members or potential members is available on the USS website at:- https://www.uss.co.uk/

A full set of useful USS resources, including modellers, podcasts and videos is available here.

To register for MyUss please use the link : https://www.uss.co.uk/forms/pre-login/registration where you will find all of the relevant information about the USS pension scheme and the options for increasing benefits by paying additional contributions, either as cash contributions or percentage contributions.

For those who may be affected by the Pensions Tax regime information about the Lifetime Allowance and the Annual Allowance can be found here.
Information about DGS Chartered Financial Planners, an independent service, can be found here.

On-going changes to the USS pension scheme will be communicated via a 'Message of the Day' alert, the latest news update being March 2022.

The College is required by law to carry out Gender Pay Reporting under the specific duties of the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017. These regulations underpin the Public Sector Equality Duty. Gender Pay Reporting involves six calculations of the difference between the average earnings of men and women across the institution.  Therefore as part of our legislative requirement please see our Gender Pay Gap Reports, by year, below:

Gender Pay Gap Report 2021

Gender Pay Gap Report 2020

Gender Pay Gap Report 2019

Gender Pay Gap Report 2018

Gender Pay Gap Report 2017

The nationally negotiated salary scales are available here :

2021 Rates

Salary Scales 01 August 2021

Salary Scales (Casuals) 01 August 2021

The 2019 rates also applied to 01 August 2020 as there was no national increase in 2020 due to the pandemic.

2019 Rates

Salary Scales 01 August 2019

Salary Scales (Casuals) 01 August 2019

2018 Rates

Salary Scales 01 August 2018

Salary Scales for Casuals 01 August 2018

2017 Rates

Salary Scales-2017

Casual Staff Salary Scales-2017

Togetherall – Online mental health support for students and staff.

Everyone is on their own mental health journey but sometimes you can feel like no one understands what you’re going through.

Togetherall is an online community dedicated to sharing your feelings and experience. Mental health does not define you but opening up to others and taking ownership of how you’re feeling is the first step in feeling better.

Togetherall is a digital mental health and wellbeing support service which is available online, 24/7 via computer, tablet or smartphone

To sign up visit the Colleges Mental Health Support page.

Further Wellbeing at Work information is available to employees via this link.

Important information regarding the Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL)

RVC Grades 1 to Grade 5 are automatically enrolled into the SAUL Pension Scheme under a Salary Sacrifice arrangement.

All relevant information for members or prospective members is available on the SAUL website at:- http://www.saul.org.uk/ as well as the options for increasing benefits by paying additional contributions.

For those who may be affected by the Pensions Tax regime information about the Lifetime Allowance and the Annual Allowance can be found here.

Information about DGS Chartered Financial Planners, an independent service, can be found here.

On-going changes to the SAUL pension scheme will be communicated via a 'Message of the Day' alert, the latest news update being August 2021.

The link below will take you to the relevant Employee and Manager reporting forms on the Intranet, as well as a link to the Coronavirus/Covid19 information page on the intranet.

HR Absence page

Voluntary Severance Scheme

The financial impact of the pandemic on the higher education sector as well as increasing pension costs and government funding constraints mean we must take necessary steps to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the RVC. We have already taken measures to make savings, including a reduction in discretionary expenditure, freezing all non-essential staff recruitment and utilising the Government's Job Retention Scheme where possible. We are also considering how we can grow our income. However, these measures are insufficient in the longer-term and, regrettably, it is now necessary to reduce staff costs in order to restore our finances to a sustainable position.

To assist with this, we are now launching a Voluntary Severance Scheme.

Voluntary Severance Scheme Information

Voluntary Severance Scheme Q&A

Voluntary Severance Application Form

Summary :

One month’s pay for every completed year of service as at 13 May 2021 (the closing date of the scheme) with a minimum of five months’ pay and a maximum of ten months’ pay or £90k, whichever is the lower. Severance payments are inclusive of a payment in lieu of contractual notice.

If you wish to apply for voluntary severance you should initially discuss your proposal with your Manager or Head of Department. Applications for voluntary severance can be made between 15 April and 13 May 2021. All applications will be considered during June by the Special Reward Panel and, subsequently, in the case of academic staff, by a Redundancy Committee of Council. Decisions will be confirmed by 15 June 2021 with implementation by 31 July 2021 at the latest.

If you have any queries, please talk to your line manager in the first instance or refer to the Voluntary Severance Q&A. If you wish to discuss any aspect of this with a member of the HR Team, please e-mail Cindy Pike, Director of HR, cpike@rvc.ac.uk, or Rebecca Costello, Deputy Director of HR, rcostello@rvc.ac.uk.

New Visa Points System (November 2020)   With the changes arising from Brexit, the free movement of people from the EU/EEA and Switzerland will cease on 31st December 2020 (this excludes Irish nationals).  This will mean that ALL candidates recruited from overseas who meet the eligibility requirements will require a VISA going forward.  In line with this change, the Government has revised the UKVI Visa scheme to a new points based system.   From 1st Jan 2021, all overseas offered candidates will require a visa (including EU/EEA and Swiss Nationals) so this will need to be planned/factored into the process for start dates.   The briefing document below summarises the key changes to the new process, including the opportunity to recruit staff  in positions/roles and at a lower salary threshold than permitted under the current visa scheme.   Queries arising from the new Visa Points System should be directed to Claire Druce  cdruce@rvc.ac.uk  and Kathy Cobb  kcobb@rvc.ac.uk

• Briefing Document

EU Settlement Scheme - Reminder to all EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

Following the UK’s decision to leave the EU, the requirement to finalise Brexit (called the transition period) will end on 31st December 2020.

The EU Settlement Scheme will allow you and your family members to obtain the immigration status you need to continue to live, work and study in the UK.  You must apply to the scheme by 30th June 2021.

If successful, you will receive settled status or pre-settled status, depending on how long you have lived in the UK and you will receive digital proof of your confirmed status through an online service.

You do not need to apply if you are a British or Irish citizen, or you have indefinite leave to remain.

You apply online for pre-settled or settled status here. If you need help or support with your application you can call the EU Settlement Resolution Centre on 0300 123 7379.

There are significant costs associated with applying for British citizenship/naturalisation and an Interest Free Loan for staff and their dependents may be available to help fund these personal costs.

In advance of the UK’s exit from the EU on 29 March 2019, the UK government has committed to protect the rights of EU citizens and their family members currently living in the UK. This includes the right to live here, work here and access public services such as healthcare and benefits.

To retain these rights after 31 December 2020, EU citizens must apply for UK immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

The Home Office is testing the EU Settlement Scheme through a series of pilots ahead of the public launch. This second phase of the pilot has now started and runs until 21 December this year and covers employees in the higher education and health and social care sectors.

You will only be able to take part in the pilot if you are an employee of the Royal Veterinary College, and you are:

●            an EU citizen and have a valid biometric passport (this is an e-passport which has a digital chip)

OR

●            a non-EU citizen family member employed by the RVC and have a biometric residence card with ‘EU Right to Reside’ on the back, which you have applied for on or after 6 April 2015

Please be aware that HR do not have any additional information on this pilot – nor can they advise whether your personal circumstances make you eligible to take part.  There is a Home Office Resolution Centre that can help with any individual queries and they can be contacted on 0300 123 7379 (inside the UK) and +44 (0) 20 3080 0010 (outside the UK)

You can also ask a question using the online submissions form eu-settled-status-enquiries.service.gov.uk.

For more information about the EU Settlement Scheme visit GOV.UK.

The attached document provides a detailed update on the progress we have made towards meeting the actions set out on the Athena SWAN Action Plan.

The RVC successfully achieved the Athena SWAN Bronze Award in October 2017. 

Further information about the award is available here.

At the RVC we support our managers, and those aspiring to be managers, through our Management Development Programme (MDP).

The MDP is a collection of toolkits which supports managers as they move through the different stages of their development. The programme is delivered in a modular format across both campuses through classroom type training and is further supported through our online toolkit literature.

This is a mandatory management course for all new staff at grade 6 or above with appraisal responsibility and presents a unique opportunity to build networks throughout the College with fellow managers. Although this is mandatory for new staff, the programme provides a range of benefits and therefore current managers are strongly encouraged to register.

To view the online programme and for details on how to register please visit the following page: Management Development Programme

 We are pleased to confirm that the RVC has been re-accredited by Department of Work and Pensions in the continued use of the Disability Confident Employer Scheme. This is a national initiative and our re-accreditation confirms our commitment to recruiting, retaining and supporting disabled staff – further details about this initiative are available on the DirectGov website. For further information, please contact Human Resources on hr@rvc.ac.uk or 01707 666380.