Ways to Contact Me, for Prospect Members in UKRI.

Ways to Contact Me, for Prospect Members in UKRI.
Photo by Mauro Sbicego / Unsplash

For the vast majority of professional communications, you should use one of the UKRI/STFC-provided communications platforms:

I do not usually have messaging apps or emails open as I work, so you will likely have to wait for a reply, but I check them at least daily (typically first thing in the morning).

An average week sees me receive several hundred emails/messages; I'd be grateful if you could bear this in mind when considering how long it may take me to respond to your communication.

Please, do not rely on Slack as a method to contact me.

Prospect / Trade Union Matters

For more confidential matters, such as contacting me as a Prospect union rep or Trade Union Side Secretary, I recognise the importance of ensuring privacy and security. While UKRI/STFC are not permitted to view communications between a union member and their rep except under the most exceptional circumstances, no employer-controlled communications platform can be considered safe from monitoring or interference.

Because of this, you may prefer to use a method of communication that is separate from UKRI/STFC control and monitoring. If you do so, you should carefully consider using a non-work device, ensure you are not breaking any rules regarding confidentiality, and pay particular attention to protecting any OFFICIAL (or more highly classified) information.

In such cases, you might consider:

  • Signal, a secure instant messaging platform (similar to WhatsApp) where you can contact me using my username 'mathewcsims.84'. I encourage you to set up 'disappearing messages' so that your communications cannot be retrieved by a malicious actor at a later time.
  • Proton Mail, where you can create a free email account and then send an encrypted, password-protected message to my work email without your message - or any attachments - ever passing through UKRI/STFC's email servers.