Protocol for Responding to the Death of a Colleague

Stage 1: Role of the Head of School/Line Manager or nominee

The role of the Head of School/Line Manager or nominee will be to:

Verification of the Death of a colleague:

Following the verification of the death of a colleague through reliable means by a nominated officer, the Head of School will advise the President’s Office, the relevant ULT member and the People and Culture Department and Office of Media and Communications where appropriate.

Stage 2: Internal Communication by Head of School/Line Manager/or nominee

• Maintain confidentiality regarding the cause of death, respecting the privacy of the family.
• Communicate the death to their closest colleagues in person where possible or by telephone and schedule a meeting to inform the rest of the team.
• Draft a clear and compassionate internal announcement acknowledging the death of a colleague and expressing their sincere condolences. Share the RIP.ie link if available.
• The announcement should be distributed internally to staff by the ULT member as relevant. The email should avoid sharing details surrounding the nature of death.
• The announcement should be communicated to students by a relevant nominated colleague, initially to those most impacted and then to the wider class group if relevant.
• Wider communication to all students can be issued by SU President as relevant to the level of seniority of the role of the deceased staff member.
• Wider communication to any official body/membership to be issued as relevant.

Stage 3: Lead up to the Funeral/Memorial Service

The University should be represented at the funeral of a staff member by the President or a member of the Leadership Team. The protocol is as follows:

• If a member of ULT becomes aware of a staff death, then the ULT member is requested to notify the President’s Office and all members of ULT by email that the death has occurred.
• The email should provide details of the staff member, funeral arrangements if available, clarification on whether the ULT member in question will be attending the funeral.
• If the President is unavailable to attend the funeral, then the University will need to be represented at the funeral by a member of ULT.
• The ULT member attending the funeral in the absence of the President should advise the family that they are attending on behalf of the University.

Stage 4: Staff Wellbeing Support for colleagues

The University has a wide range of staff supports to help colleagues while also acknowledging that some staff may wish not to discuss their grief at work or to avail themselves of UCC staff supports. Staff Wellbeing & Development coordinate staff supports and recognise that staff who are grieving may need different types of support ranging from information on what to expect from the grieving process to more specialised supports for some staff.

Death of a Colleague Protocol