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Work laptops, computers and accessories

If you're a member of staff, you can request computer equipment for work, including laptops, monitors, keyboards and mice. All devices are managed by IT Services and supported throughout the device's lifecycle.

Key features

  • Primary standard equipment is funded by the University:
    The University funds one set of standard equipment for each eligible staff member – this is known as your primary device setup. It typically includes a laptop, monitor, keyboard and mouse. It covers:
    • new members of staff joining the University, in an eligible department
    • existing equipment that is faulty, outdated or no longer suitable for work.
  • Managed devices:
    All computers and laptops, whether funded centrally or by a department, come with:
  • Enhanced warranty and support:
    All recommended devices include a three-year enhanced warranty.
    • If you have any issues, contact IT Services – we’ll arrange a repair or replacement where needed.
    • If the device was centrally funded, we’ll cover the cost of repairs and replacement.
  • Secure disposal of old equipment: 
    The University securely disposes of or repurposes old equipment in line with information security requirements.

We don’t provide:

  • Laptop risers, stands, desks or chairs – request these via departmental admin teams.
  • Wifi boosters, powerline network adapters or other equipment to improve domestic connectivity.
  • Spare laptop chargers (unless yours is lost or faulty).

Access instructions

Request equipment

Use this form to request laptops, monitors, keyboards and mice.

Available to staff (restrictions apply)

Most staff can use this service. This excludes staff in the International Pathway College (IPC), York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC), PCMIS and Biorenewables (BDC) – instead, please speak to your department/faculty IT team or Departmental Computer Officer.

Windows, Mac and Linux

Devices are set up with the managed Windows build by default. Managed Mac and Linux are also available.

What you’ll be charged for

Primary standard equipment is funded centrally for eligible staff, including repairs and replacements. You’ll need to use departmental or research funding for non-standard or specialist devices, or extra equipment (like additional monitors or laptops).

Additional information

Standard equipment

Standard set up

You can request a primary device for work, which usually includes:

  • standard laptop
  • charger
  • laptop sleeve (where required) 

We’ll also provide accessories for your typical working setup, based on where you spend most of your time.

  • If you mainly work from home, your secondary setup will usually be a hot desk on campus. These desks are already equipped with dual or widescreen monitors and docking.
  • If you split your time evenly between home and campus, we’ll provide a full setup in both locations.

Main workspace (your primary work location)

You’ll get one of the following monitor setups:

  • two 24" monitors
  • one 27" monitor
  • one 34" widescreen monitor

Along with:

  • docking capability (usually built into a monitor)
  • wired keyboard and mouse
  • laptop sleeve

A separate webcam is only provided if your monitor doesn’t have one built in.

Secondary setup (if you work in more than one place)

You can request:

  • one 24" monitor
  • wired keyboard and mouse

Makes and models typically provided

  • For details of the equipment we usually provide, see our recommended computers, laptops and monitors.
  • Requests that fall outside these recommendations will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • If you need a MacBook for specialist work, please raise a request as usual – we may contact you for more information.
Requesting special or additional equipment and how to fund them

Special requests are not funded centrally. These are usually funded by your department or research grant, and include:

  • non-standard devices (specs not included in our standard options)
  • additional devices (eg a second laptop or additional monitor)
  • devices for staff in departments not eligible for central funding (see eligibility for details)
  • upgraded components 
  • department-only computer classrooms

Using a research grant or departmental budget

If you have secured external research funding for a laptop or computer, you should use that to fund equipment. Complete the request form as usual and provide your research grant work order or M coded work order during the ordering process.

You can use the grant to:

  • cover the full cost of the order, or
  • top up from the standard spec (eg request a MacBook Pro instead of the standard MacBook Air).

Devices purchased with University research grants remain the property of University of York.

Make a special request

Discuss funding with your department or grant holder before making a special request.

  1. Browse recommended models to see what's available.
  2. Go to the equipment request form.
  3. At the start of the form, select ‘Other’, or ‘Specialist’ when asked about laptop type.
  4. Provide funding details (eg departmental budget code or grant).

If the recommended models are not suitable

All IT equipment orders must go through our mandatory supplier, Converge, as part of our contractual agreement. Converge supplies a full range of HP and Apple hardware.

If your needs aren’t met by the recommended range, you can:

Orders for IT desktop hardware from approved suppliers are placed via YEP.

Guides and help

How-to guides and set up

Search all our guides and help

Accessibility

Requesting adjustments for health or accessibility needs: If you need equipment adjustments for health reasons (for example, following an Occupational Health (OH) or Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessment), use the request form as usual and select ‘Other’ to tell us what you need.

Contact for support

If you’re unsure about the ordering process or need help with your current device, please contact IT Services.

Service commitments

Your responsibilities and policies

The centrally funded part of this service (also known as the ‘End-to-End IT service’ within IT Services) applies to any University-owned device that is a staff member’s primary device (for eligible departments). 

For full policy and procedures, please see: End-to-end service terms and conditions.

The following are not covered by the service:

  • Devices attached to specialist equipment
  • Devices in study areas
  • Staff member’s secondary device (with the exception of secondary devices issued to meet an accessibility requirement)
  • Externally funded specialist devices, ie from a research grant
  • Devices for students

It is the responsibility of the department to source funding for replacement costs of devices procured outside of this service. The devices will still be audited by IT Services’ process and recorded in the asset management system. 

Faults and damage:

  • If a fault develops with any devices you should report it to IT Services.
  • In the event of a fault that cannot be fixed by IT Services, we will liaise with the supplier for a repair or replacement. We hold a small stock of laptops, which we can loan out to users if required. 
  • In the result of damage (accidental or due to misuse) we will recharge the cost of repairs to the user’s department.

Reuse and recycling:

  • Hardware that can be reused will be stored or deployed elsewhere. 
  • Hardware that has no further use to the University will be handed to our recycling partner who will process it in accordance with WEEE regulations. The University may receive a rebate on the residual value of such item. IT Services will use this to either provide student facing IT, cover operating costs or donate to charity. We will ensure our recycling partner has a zero landfill policy and robust ethical guidelines.
  • To arrange for waste IT equipment disposal, departments should follow the recycling old equipment guidance.

Staffing changes:

  • The majority of staff will be allocated a standard laptop. If a member of staff changes roles, the device and peripherals will stay with them when they change roles.
  • The exception is where a staff member has been provided with a non-standard device based on the specific needs of a technical role and they move to a role which requires a standard laptop. In this scenario the non-standard device will stay within the existing team and a new/repurposed standard device will be provided for the new role.

New staff:

For new starters who are joining from outside of the University:

  • If the incumbent has moved to another department within scope of End-to-End, a new or repurposed device will be provided for the new starter.
  • If the incumbent has left the University the new starter is expected to use the incumbent's device.
  • For new posts, where there is no existing device, a new or repurposed device will be provided.
  • Devices should not be transferred from one user to another without intervention from IT Services; this is to ensure the device is appropriately cleaned and the asset register and user details updated. Please contact IT Services to ensure the device is allocated to the correct user.

Leavers:

  • Where staff leave and are not being replaced, their IT equipment must be returned to IT Services for reuse. Staff are not permitted to purchase and retain any equipment when leaving the University.
    If someone leaves or changes role and no longer needs their laptop it will need to be reset before it can be used by anyone else.
  • Devices should not be transferred from one user to another without intervention from IT Services; this is to ensure the device is appropriately set up for the next user. It will require resetting before it can be used by another staff member. If someone is leaving or you need help, please contact IT Services.

Multiple devices:

  • There will be instances where a staff member has multiple devices assigned to them. In such cases, only one of these will be considered as their primary device. All other listed devices will be marked as non-E2E eligible. At the time of renewal IT Services may contact an individual with a view to consolidating equipment and so reduce the IT estate and support overheads.

IT equipment to support health, including occupational health (OH) and display screen equipment (DSE) assessments:

  • We provide IT equipment to support OH and DSE recommendations. This is limited to the usual hardware types provided by the service (such as laptops, monitors, keyboards and mice).
  • We will consider requests where a DSE assessment has not been carried out, but an end user has found certain hardware beneficial to their health and wellbeing at a previous workplace, at home etc.
  • When requesting equipment recommended as part of an occupational health (OH) assessment, we may be in touch for further information and/or clarification on requirements. We may also offer suggestions based on our knowledge of available products and technologies.

Requests for non-standard devices, multiple devices and peripherals:

  • In general devices will be matched to role requirements. Requests for higher specification devices (such as MacBook Pro) will be considered. The requester may be required to provide top-up funding from a research or local department budgets to cover the additional costs
  • Non-standard equipment will be scoped on a requirements first basis, looking at the hardware requirements of a given task or set of tasks a role requires. The service will then request options from the supplier(s) and decide on an offering. These will be evaluated and approved on a case-by-case basis.
  • Non-standard devices must be procured through the University’s preferred suppliers. 

The following policies apply to all IT services provided by the University.

Service performance

Availability

Delivery and installation

Converge holds stock of our recommended models only. To reduce our carbon footprint, we have one consolidated delivery to the University every Thursday. If your order is urgent we can, by exception, arrange for next day delivery. Typical turnaround for other specifications is around four weeks.

IT Services will contact you upon our receipt of the order to obtain delivery details. We aim to have devices available for delivery within five working days of receipt of the delivery details.

Support

  • This service is managed by IT Services.
  • We are responsible for monitoring, identifying and fixing faults.
  • Support is available during our opening hours.

Standards

  • Our service performance and standards have been produced in consultation with our customers. We regularly monitor the delivery, performance and availability of facilities and services.
Feedback and complaints

We appreciate feedback as it helps us review and continually improve our service.

Page last reviewed: 22 July 2025