Information for Staff

An employee’s return to campus will be informed by the Government’s ‘Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with Covid-19. This Plan affirms the Government’s commitment to keeping the education sector operating as much as possible during this period.

All information relating to the Return to Campus can be found here. 

Documents outlining the Unversity response to possible COVID-19 cases on campus:

• University Response to Employees
• University Response to Students
• Response Plan for Heads of Department (Employee and Student)
• MU Covid-19 Incident Response Plan
• Summary of Working Arrangements in response to COVID-19

Home Workstation Questionnaire  

It is essential that employees have a safe working environment when working from home. As such, all employees should complete the Home Workstation Questionnaire to establish the suitability of their home working environment. This questionnaire is available here. 
 
Once completed, your questionnaire will be reviewed by a member of Campus Services. If it is determined that you require additional equipment to ensure that your place of work is safe, you will be contacted by a member of Campus Services to discuss your requirements.  
 

IT Equipment 

While working from home during Covid-19 restrictions, employees should continue to use their University assigned IT equipment. If necessary, employees should contact their Head of Department so that they can collect same from their Department. 
 
Where it is not possible for an employee to collect their assigned IT equipment from the campus, or their assigned equipment is not suitable to use from home, the University will, where possible, provide the necessary equipment, such as headsets, keyboards and a mouse, to ensure that they can work effectively from home. Any equipment that the University provides remains the property of the University. Therefore, employees must keep this equipment safe and avoid any misuse. 
 
If you require additional IT equipment, you should send a request to IT Services (servicedesk@mu.ie) cc’ing your Head of Department/Budget Holder and using “WFH IT Equipment Request” in the subject line. 
 
IT Services will then source the requisite items and, when sourced, you will be notified and requested to schedule a time to pick the equipment up from IT Services in the Eolas Buildings. Pick-up of equipment will be by scheduled appointment only. 
 
Please note, whenever pre-used equipment is supplied, it will be thoroughly sanitised beforehand.  
 

Working Remotely Policies and Guidelines 

Employees are encouraged to read the below University policies and guidelines, which provide information on working from home working during this period. Working From Home During COVID-19 Policy
Guidance for Data Protection
IT support when working from home Guidance on working from home 
Guidance for Health and Safety When Working From Home During the Covid Period
Library Guide to Online Resources
 

International Travel on University Business  

The current Government advice is not to travel overseas, and this should be followed to the greatest extent possible. 

There should be no travel outside Ireland on University business. This restriction applies until 30th June 2021. If travel is somehow considered essential for business purposes, then explicit permission is required in advance from a member of UE. 

All employees should request permission from the relevant UE member no later than three weeks prior to the proposed travel by email and c.c. their Head of Department in this email. It is the responsibility of individuals undertaking the travel to ensure that they comply with any provisions for restricted movement on return to Ireland.   

Please ensure you check the HSE guidelines [here].
 

International Travel for Personal Reasons  

The current Government advice is not to travel overseas, and this should be followed to the greatest extent possible.
All persons arriving into Ireland (except those arriving from Northern Ireland) are required to have a negative or ‘not detected’ result from a pre-departure Covid-19 RT-PCR test, that was carried out no more than 72 hours prior to arrival in Ireland. It is an offence not to have evidence of this test. 

All persons arriving into Ireland from any destination must quarantine for 14 days at the address specified on their Passenger Locator Form, it is an offence not to do so. 
 
Additional travel restrictions apply to travellers arriving from high-risk countries classified as “category 2 states”. Further information on category 2 states can be found here. All travellers who arrive in Ireland from any of these high-risk countries must complete a mandatory two week hotel quarantine. Further information on the mandatory hotel quarantine can be found here. 

Travellers coming from countries that are not categorised as category 2 states may cease restricting their movements if they get a second negative test 5 days after arriving in Ireland. For further country specific information, please visit the Department of Foreign Affair’s website and the Government’s website here.
 
All employees are required to advise the University in advance of all travel, including personal travel. This requirement is necessary for the protection of public health. It is the responsibility of individuals undertaking personal travel to ensure that they comply with any provisions for restricted movement on return to Ireland. Please ensure you check the Government’s guidelines here.
 
All employees should report their intended overseas travel plans to their HoD in writing no later than two weeks prior to their overseas travel, including their date of return.   
 
Academic staff should ensure that their travel arrangements allow for a safe return to campus, including completion of any period of restricted movement, by the beginning of the second semester or earlier if their presence is required on-campus. 
 

Domestic Travel 

Employees who travel within Ireland for personal reasons should fully adhere to public health guidelines. 

• Maynooth University Covid-19 Guidance Webpage
• Government’s Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19
• Department of Education and Skills Circular Letter 0051/2020 Letter dated 11 August 2020
• Implementation Guidelines for Public Health Measures in Higher Education Institutions
• HSE Covid-19 Guidance 
• HSA Covid-19 Guidance 
• DPER Information for Civil and Public Servants
• Government’s Covid-19 Webpage
• National Standards Authority of Ireland Workplace Protection and Improvement Guide
• Maynooth University Equality & Diversity Policy
• MU Covid19 Operational Response Plan
• MU Covid-19 Incident Response Plan
• Policy and Guidelines: Use of face coverings during the Covid-19 pandemic

Download our full  Coronavirus Staff FAQ ​
Download our  Frequently Asked Questions - Researchers ​