Read a message from Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor, on our package for supporting our community with the cost of living.

Dear colleague,

I wanted to get in touch to let you know what we’re doing to help those members of our community most in need this winter. Many people are struggling with their finances right now as household budgets are being hit hard by the cost of living crisis, and that will include some of our staff, students and local community.

We want to do what we can to help, and so we’re announcing a £3.5m package of support this winter.

For staff

To offer extra help to staff on lower salary bands, we’ll be making a cost of living payment to eligible salaried employees on Grades 1a-5. Those working full time will receive £550, and those working part time will receive a prorated payment based on FTE. We will make this payment to eligible staff in January, and you can find more details about eligibility hereLink opens in a new window.

In addition, we will be offering a staff support fund to make interest free loans to eligible salaried employees at all grades if they are struggling with unexpected costs or changes in personal circumstances. Look out for details of the application process in December.

Our new dedicated cost of living staff hubLink opens in a new window is where you’ll find information, offers and details on how to access the support which is available. We’ll add to this over the coming weeks, including providing free access to an online personal finance platform – which will provide tips, budgeting tools and expert advice to help people get on top of their finances.

For students and our local community

We’re delivering extra help to thousands of students from lower income families, with money which will be paid automatically into their accounts as part of our existing bursary schemes. There’s a cost of living student hubLink opens in a new window bringing together other support available for our student community, too.

And we want to support our wider local community, which is why we are issuing an open invite for local residents to use our Warwick Arts Centre, which will offer a friendly space for local residents to meet and stay warm during the day.
 

We believe that offering this package of practical support to those who need it most is the right approach to take and reflects the feedback from our community.

Don’t forget, if you are struggling, wellbeing support is available for you too – you can contact the Employee Assistance ProgrammeLink opens in a new window in confidence, or explore their resources online.

Today isn’t a full stop in terms of the support on offer. We will continue to work closely with you, and with our students, to understand what additional help may be needed over the coming months.