The heavy snowfall has led to unsafe situations: employees were stranded, got stuck in public transport, took a tumble, or had to spend the night elsewhere because they could no longer reach their homes. In several cases, information only came late in the day, while employees were already on their way. Several employees received no information at all.  

We think it is undesirable that employees in such circumstances have to make an individual assessment of what is expected of them, without timely and clear central guidelines. That is why we recommend that in the event of code orange, the university always communicates actively, for example via a message on the website and/or an e-mail to all employees. This makes it clear to everyone what the situation is.

At the same time, we value employee autonomy: in consultation with their manager, they should be able to decide whether working from home or providing online education is a suitable approach. The space to do so must continue to exist. Clear and timely communication promotes safety and avoids confusion.

Our letter to the Executive Board (in Dutch) is available here. If you would like to know more about this subject, you can contact the COR via cor-uva@uva.nl.