Strathclyde People 2030 The Strathclyde Pledge

The Strathclyde Pledge is our foundation commitment to all of our staff.

In line with our socially progressive, values based approach we will further develop The Strathclyde Pledge by providing stable contracts, fair and equal pay, ensuring your opinions are valued, recognising ‘life matters’ – the importance of balancing work and home life and we will ensure our staff are safe, secure and supported through our Safe360° framework.

Our Pledge is that every individual staff member at Strathclyde will have:

Safe360° – a safe, secure & supported environment

Through our Safe360° framework we are committed to creating and promoting a safe and respectful environment that enables our staff, and the wider Strathclyde community to work, learn and live free from harm, abuse, neglect, or exploitation.

Life matters

We recognise that everyone has a life outside work and that everyone is unique, with diverse needs both personally and professionally and these may change over time. To support this, we will offer flexibility and support to allow staff to balance work with key life events.

Stable contracts

We commit to ensuring as much certainty as possible for those engaged on a fixed-term or flexible contract and early confirmation of what will happen at the end of each contract along with appropriate career development and support for those whose contracts are coming to an end.

Fair & equal pay

We are committed to providing fair and equal pay and within each grade we will continue to pay colleagues appropriately regardless of their gender or other protected characteristic. We are committed to continuing to pay the Voluntary Living Wage and providing greater clarity and transparency to staff so they can understand the rationale for their salary level. 

Employee voice – an opinion that matters

We commit to listening to, and responding to, the views of all our staff, both through engaging directly with all our staff and working in partnership with our recognised Trade Unions.

To deliver the Strathclyde Pledge we will:

Safe360° – safe, secure, supported
  • fully embed our Safe360° approach to safeguarding and ensure its successful delivery through oversight by our Safeguarding Committee and Safeguarding Team
  • embed our Culture of Care Strategy to achieve excellence in the areas of safety, wellbeing and resilience
  • encourage a compassionate community where suicide prevention is embedded into our daily activities through the implementation of our Suicide Prevention Strategy
  • develop an action plan to further enhance safeguarding arrangements for early career researchers
Life matters
  • provide a framework of leave arrangements to both support and celebrate key life events
  • offer a range of flexible and agile working arrangements to balance work and life
  • provide support for those experiencing life events such as bereavement and those undergoing fertility treatment
Stable contracts
  • continue to reduce the proportion of staff on fixed term contracts with over three years’ service
  • provide career support and advice to those on fixed term contracts to support them in their future career choices
Fair & equal pay
  • review our university pay and grading structure in light of the national pay spine review to ensure that we continue to provide fair and appropriate reward for all grades and categories of staff
  • continue to ensure within-grade equal pay and monitor this through regular equality monitoring
Employee voice – an opinion that matters
  • provide a range of opportunities for all staff to engage in and have the opportunity to input on matters that are important to the Strathclyde community
  • carry out regular Engagement Sessions to update staff on the delivery of Strathclyde 2030 and provide opportunity to give feedback
  • implement a framework for the ongoing development of employee equality networks in order to facilitate engagement for all our communities
  • engage in the development and review of our Policy Framework through our People Policy Forum
  • work together in partnership with our recognised Trade Unions to enhance the employee experience at Strathclyde

Distinctive Strathclyde

The Strathclyde 360 approach

Safe360 reflects our commitment to safeguarding staff and students by bringing together a range of policies, procedures and support mechanisms to set out standards of behaviour, protect from harm and to challenge and address behaviour that is inconsistent with our values. The Safe360 Framework encompasses the following key initiatives.

Launched in 2021, our Strathclyde Community Commitment highlights the way in which we should interact with each other and how we should expect to be treated in return. It recognises the importance of diversity and expressing our opinions whilst ensuring that this is done respectfully and appropriately.

Our Dignity & Respect Policy and associated procedures were revised and launched in 2023 to simplify the routes that staff and students need to take to address concerns and prevent inappropriate behaviour. This is supported by a step-by-step flowchart to guide members of the Strathclyde Community to the appropriate procedure and case studies are available to provide information, guidance and reassurance to staff and students who may be experiencing, or have experienced, situations related to behaviour they deem to be inappropriate.

In 2022 we introduced Report and Support, the University’s online reporting facility to allow anyone to disclose behaviours or issues that they believe may be putting their safety, or the safety of others, at risk.

We have also re-launched our Dignity & Respect Adviser Network as part of Safe360, a pool of colleagues who can be contacted if a member of our community wishes to raise or discuss concerns of inappropriate behaviour. These volunteer staff members are trained to provide comprehensive support to those that have experienced, or been impacted, by bullying, victimisation, discrimination or harassment.

In 2024 we established a Safeguarding Committee to oversee these activities supported by a new Safeguarding Team led by our Head of Safeguarding and have a designated Safeguarding lead on our University Court.

In 2025 we launched a Suicide Prevention Strategy aimed at embedding Suicide Prevention into day to day activities.