University C
Introduction
University C is a post-92 university in England. The University employs around 3,000 staff on
open-ended and fixed-term contracts. The University recognises UCU and UNISON for collective
bargaining and consultation purposes. Catering and cleaning services, together with other
facilities management activities are contracted out to a wholly-owned subsidiary.
There are two categories of staff that fall within the hourly-paid and casual category – hourlypaid lecturers and ‘staff associates’ who are members of the University’s Staff Bureau. The terms
and conditions of hourly-paid lecturers were agreed with UCU in the summer of 2011, following
on from amendments to National Framework Agreement procedures (also in 2011). The terms
and conditions of staff associates are set out in management guidance. The University engages
over 2,000 individuals under these arrangements, but the full-time equivalence of this work is
less than 250 FTE. Hourly-paid lecturers represent 6.2 per cent of total FTE while engagements
through the Staff Bureau comprise 4.8 per cent of the total.
Hourly-paid lecturers
Hourly-paid lecturers are employed to teach regular hours throughout the year, to teach specialist
modules over a block period, and to provide emergency cover for sick leave or other unplanned
activities. At the end of 2014 there were 800 active hourly-paid lecturers which equates to approx.
120 FTE The vast majority of these lecturers are employed on open-ended contracts although
there are a smaller number employed on fixed-term contracts where they are employed to cover
short-term cases (e.g. maternity cover).
The advantages to the University of using hourly-paid lecturers is that they provide short- term
cover for staff absence such as union facilities time, sickness absence or teaching that has been
bought out to enable a permanent lecturer to undertake research. The arrangement also enables
the University to bring in expertise from practitioners such as architects or musicians and to
support the flexible delivery of courses where student numbers may vary. The benefit to the
hourly-paid lecturers themselves, the University believes, is the flexibility to arrange teaching
hours around other professional commitments or self-employment.
From August 2011, hourly-paid lecturers have been entitled to convert to a fractional contract of
at least 0.2 provided they:
have four years’ continuous service, with 244 hours worked in the fourth year, and any
·
hours worked in the previous three years
meet three of the following four criteria
·
of pedagogy, e.g. lecture preparation and delivery
evidence
possess
a
doctorate or equivalent professional experience and standing
provide evidence of having personally developed and led at least one module, or
can
equivalent level of independent curriculum responsibility
provide evidence of effective academic commitment and success in terms of research/
can
scholarship, knowledge transfer or professional practice.
are available for the normal range of academic duties commensurate with their
·
fractional appointment (e.g. exam boards and open days).
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m
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There is an annual review to consider the possible conversion of hourly-paid lecturers who meet
these criteria. This used to be held in April, but now takes place in September, which means that
hours worked up until the preceding July can be taken into account. According to the UCU,
meeting the requirements for conversion has become challenging in recent years (see Section 4
below).
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The pay of hourly-paid lecturers is mapped to the Grade 8 lecturer pay scale which runs from pay
spine point 33 to point 36 on the New JNCHES 51-point pay spine with an additional regional
allowance. Hourly rates are calculated based on the pay spine point plus the regional allowance
divided by 365, multiplied by seven and then divided by 37 (hours). They receive the same holidays
(35 days plus eight bank holidays) and sick pay (up to six months’ full pay and six months’ half
pay after one year’s service) as substantive academic staff (on a pro-rata basis). The pro-rata
leave allowance is 10 minutes per hour (rounded from 9.92 minutes). Hourly-paid lecturers can
request to take leave during the year wherever practical. They are automatically enrolled into the
Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) which is the same scheme provided to academic staff on openended and fixed-term contracts. Parental leave and pay arrangements are equivalent to those for
substantive staff.
Tariffs include an additional 1.25 hours’ preparation time for each one hour lecture and 0.75
Table 1: HPL Hourly payment tariffs
Activity
Tariff
Hours worked
Lecture
1 hour delivery
1.25 hours preparation
2.25
Class
1 hour delivery
0.75 hours preparation
1.75
Studio
1 hour delivery
0.5 hours preparation and evaluation
1.5
Marking
0.5 hours per student per 15 credit
module
Variable
Student
support,
guidance and
feedback
10 minutes per 15 students per CATS
point
Fixed time, but amount varies by
student numbers and CAT points.
The agreement states that hourly-paid lecturers undertake teaching and related activities and are
not expected to undertake the full range of academic duties. For example, there is no requirement
to undertake research and produce research outputs, to take part in exam boards or to attend
clearing or other activities taking place in holiday periods.
When recruitment campaigns are managed by HR, the recruitment process is very similar to that
for substantive posts, but managers recruiting locally are not obliged to follow the same process.
The agreement states that a formal process must be adhered except in cases of short-term or
emergency cover. Induction and appraisal processes and training opportunities for hourly-paid
lecturers should also be similar to those for permanent staff, though this is often not the case, the
unions believe. Hourly-paid lecturers are given a 12-month probation period during which time
help and support is provided, particularly in respect of teaching duties. HR commented that the
main challenge faced by the University in managing hourly-paid lecturers is ensuring that good
management practice is followed by managers responsible for these engagements.
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Hours of work are scheduled at the beginning of each academic year and this is confirmed in a
letter from the University. Hourly-paid lecturers are subject to a three-month notice period and
are entitled to statutory redundancy pay where they qualify.
The HR team are making arrangements to review the current HPL agreement and approach.
Staff Bureau
The University established an internal employment agency called the Staff Bureau more than 10
years ago. This provides short-term employment for students and others in support, administrative
and clerical roles, including graduation support, student ambassadors and junior library staff.
Some 80 per cent of Staff Bureau members are students. Staff Bureau workers are used more
widely and on a more ad hoc basis than hourly-paid lecturers. As noted by the statement of
terms for staff associates, the distinction between a staff associate working on assignments and
a substantive member of staff is that:
The staff associate may undertake a more limited range of functions/carry a smaller range
of responsibilities. In other cases the range of tasks/responsibilities/duties required of the staff
associates will be recognisably different from those of substantive staff.
According to the statement of terms, members of the bureau are ‘not per se employees of the
University, although they are treated as such when they work, and might be regarded as such by
an Employment Tribunal’. There is no obligation to accept work assignment offers; but once an
individual has accepted a work assignment they are required to be available for work as agreed.
There is no time limit on Bureau membership but membership lapses after 12-months without an
assignment.
Pay rates for some Staff Bureau roles are aligned with those of substantive staff but this is not
the case where roles have no equivalent within the grading structure. The University does not
recognise any trade unions for the negotiation of pay or conditions of service for staff associates
but trade unions are informed of changes in pay rates and conditions. The guidance for managers
states that where work would otherwise be undertaken by a member of staff and is identical
in terms of responsibilities undertaken and the qualifications/ competencies required, the staff
associate should receive the same rate of pay as the substantive employee, enhanced for holiday
at the rate of four weeks per year, pro rata – 10.77 per cent per hour. Staff associates do not receive
occupational sick pay so only statutory provisions apply. However, if possible, staff associates
are allowed to work the hours at another time rather than lose the work altogether through
sickness. There is no occupational maternity scheme for staff associates. Staff Bureau workers can
join the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), which is the scheme offered to other support
staff, and are auto-enrolled if they meet the earnings requirement.
Staff Bureau Assignments are limited to a maximum of 37 hours per week and no more than 48
weeks in any 12-month period, regardless of the number of hours worked each week. Assignments
of fewer than 15 hours per week worked on no more than three days per week must not exceed
a total of 100 days worked in any 12-month period. One day’s work is when any work is done
on any one day. Assignments of 15 hours or more per week should not be for longer than 12
weeks. This can be extended for a further 12 weeks providing the individual takes at least one
week’s leave plus a further eight days in between. Assignments of more than 15 hours per week
worked irregularly and totalling no more than 100 days per academic year can be offered with
leave taken out of term time. Where a staff associate’s assignment exceeds these limits they may
become eligible for temporary or substantive employment status.
The need to provide students with opportunities to experience recruitment and employment
processes and provide reliable student employability statistics has coincided with strong
encouragement from HR to tighten up procedures. At the moment, recruitment is undertaken
locally by line managers liaising directly with students but the University is investigating the use of
an assessment centre to formalise the recruitment of students into the Staff Bureau. Induction and
basic training are the responsibility of the Faculty/Department but formal induction and appraisal
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are rare, given the short term nature of much of the work. HR says that the primary challenge
of managing the Staff Bureau is the scale of the undertaking and the level of decentralisation.
Automation may help to minimise the resources required to deliver and manage casual work.
Currently, all Staff Bureau assignments are processed and reviewed by HR when they are added
to the HR system.
According to the University, the advantages of using the Staff Bureau is that agency fees are
avoided and work opportunities can be offered to students of the University. Students also
benefit because the pay rates are better than those offered for other roles commonly undertaken
by students, such as retail and hospitality work. However, Unison is pressing for all Staff Bureau
workers to be paid the London Living Wage. UNISON says that Staff Bureau work may be the
only route into a job and that although there are a few people who like the flexibility such
arrangements provide, most people would prefer a more regular and reliable source of work and
income than casual work provides.
Trade union involvement and perspectives
UCU negotiated the 2011 agreement covering the employment of hourly-paid lecturers. Local
representatives of the UCU are pleased with the contents of the agreement, but have concerns
about the way it has been implemented. The University says that even though all those eligible
were written to and invited to apply for a fractional contract, fewer than five per cent of hourlypaid lecturers in 2011 applied for conversion, and that the proportion doing so has, if anything,
decreased since then. UCU says this is because it is difficult to meet the criteria for conversion. The
critical period is the fourth year, and UCU claims either that hours are cut below 244 in this year or
because hourly-paid lecturers are either not allowed to lead modules, or the payment for doing
so is not identified as for module leadership, it is difficult for them to provide evidence that they
have indeed led a module. This is happening when hourly-paid lecturers have led modules for
the three previous years. Also, when a titular module leader is installed, the hourly-paid lecturer
is required to do, without payment, the administration, which could be for 100 students.
Other concerns raised by UCU are the need for hourly-paid lecturers to do formative assessments.
As these are informal, they do not count as marking and are unpaid, but records still need to be
kept and students chased up. UCU accepts that the teaching experience gained from being an
hourly-paid lecturer is useful for PhD candidates, but does not support using hourly-paid lecturers
instead of staff on substantive contracts which it says has happened in the past.
Although there is no union agreement covering Staff Bureau members, UNISON recognises
that it can be beneficial for workers and the University to have the flexibility that casual work
provides. The union is keen that the University moves people onto fixed-term contracts where
work is regular and long term, and would like more clarity and transparency around pay rates
– particularly inconsistencies in the way people are paid. UNISON would also like details of Staff
Bureau work advertised so that all Staff Bureau members could apply for the available work.
Both UCU and UNISON would like to be given the details of casual staff so that the unions could
contact them individually. UNISON says that, with HR’s permission, it communicates with Staff
Bureau members through the University’s ‘all staff’ channels and through notice boards. Both
unions commented that they used to be invited to induction events, but this is no longer the case.
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