The following rules apply to all posts. However, for staff funded from suspense accounts, external accounts, or any other posts not funded from the salaries budgets there will, as now, be no allocation from the central reserve fund (see below).
The general principle is that budget holders have the freedom to determine the best way of utilising their salaries budget to achieve their strategic and operational plans within institutional People Directorate policies and procedures.
Vacant posts
For Support staff posts, as well as academic posts, Heads are able to determine whether they wish to replace the member of staff temporarily and if so, by what means.
Prior to starting the recruitment process for a post the Dean of Faculty/Director will need to ensure that there is sufficient budgetary provision. The People Directorate standard form will contain an additional space for the Finance Assistant to certify that the salaries budget is capable of absorbing the expenditure. This procedure will also apply to the creation of new posts (see below).
In the process of recruiting staff Deans of Faculties/Directors continue to be bound by the provisions of the University’s Recruitment and Selection Policy and procedures, which incorporate the principles of the Equal Opportunities Policy.
Temporary and casual staff
Deans of Faculties/Directors will have the authority to determine whether and when temporary or casual members of staff are employed within the overall salaries budget.
However, under legislation almost all employees must have a contract of employment. This means that the majority of existing hourly-paid lecturers, casual employees, and temporary staff have to be issued with contracts of employment.
For all temporary and casual Support staff, as well as part-time lecturers, the People Directorate must be informed of the details of the member of staff to be employed through the appropriate application form so that the contract can be issued if necessary.
Temporary members of staff will be issued with the standard contract of employment. Casual staff will be issued with a contract giving the statutorily required information as well as detailing the pay rates and method of claim. The claim forms should be sent to the Directorate of Human Resources after certification in the Faculty/Directorate. Forms which are not completed correctly or properly authorised will be returned to the Faculty/Directorate. The People Directorate will forward the forms to the Payroll Section for payment.
Agency staff and support secretaries
The costs of agency temporaries will be charged to Faculty/Directorate salaries budget.
Overtime
Deans of Faculty/Directors have the authority to determine how much, if any, overtime is worked and in what circumstances within the overall salaries budget provided the appropriate conditions of service for payment are met. The existing conditions of service for Support staff on the rates of pay for overtime cannot be changed. Lecturers who undertake additional hours to cover e.g. sickness or maternity absences, can be paid extra only if they have exceeded the limit on hours set out in the national agreement on their contract of employment.
Overtime claim forms should be sent directly to Payroll. Forms, which are not completed correctly or properly authorised, will be returned to the Faculty/Directorate.
Creation and deletion of posts
Within the overall salaries budget Deans of Faculty/Directors may decide on the creation and deletion of posts. The creation of a new post will need the prior confirmation of the relevant Finance Management Accountant to the effect that there is sufficient budgetary provision. Additionally in the case of posts funded from project accounts the project costing form must be completed.
Deans of Faculties/Directors will need to comply with institutional policies on these issues. Most importantly these are currently the Recruitment and Selection Policy, the Policy on Staffing Changes, and the need to have the grading's of new posts approved by the People Directorate on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor.
It is open to Deans of Faculty/Directors to determine whether a new post is to be temporary or permanent within the general principle that a post is made temporary only because the funding for it is for a defined period or is uncertain.
If it is decided to delete a post, the People Directorate must be informed so that it can ensure the staffing records are accurate for statistical purposes.
Staffing cover for maternity absences
The central reserve fund will compensate Faculties/Directorates for paid maternity absences. Unpaid absences are automatically compensated for by the fact that there is no expenditure against the salaries budget.
As with long-term sickness, there will be an addition to Faculties/Directorates salaries budget to cover the cost of actual replacement staffing while a member of staff is absent on paid maternity leave (normally 18 weeks).
In order to ensure that Faculties/Directorates receive this additional budget Deans/Directors must ensure that the Directorate of Human Resources is notified at the time that the temporary or casual member of staff employed is maternity staffing cover for paid maternity leave.
The Statutory Maternity Pay [SMP] received for the member of staff will automatically be credited to Faculty/Directorate salaries budget. Details of the rates of pay of SMP can be obtained from the People Directorate or Payroll Section.
Regradings
The cost of regrading for Support staff and lecturers are met from staffing budgets. This includes the operation of career grade, performance appraisal and staff development schemes; and regrading's for increased duties and responsibilities.
Conclusion
The devolution of the salaries budgets gives Deans of Faculties/Directors considerably more flexibility to match staffing needs to operational requirements within financial and People Directorate policies.
All payments to staff and any changes in salaries or other remuneration must be approved by a member of the Senior Management Team or the People Directorate. Regrading's, accelerated or merit increments, honoraria and any other additional payments are included, but this is not an exhaustive list. The reason for this procedure is not to inhibit Deans of Faculty/Directors from exercising flexibility within their budgets, but to exercise a reasonable degree of institutional consistency and to comply with the Financial Regulations of the University.