UNIVERSITY OF SUNDERLAND
GUIDE TO THE EMPLOYMENT OF VISITING LECTURERS
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This document provides guidance on the employment of Visiting Lecturers and is intended for internal use only.
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GUIDE TO THE EMPLOYMENT OF VISITING LECTURERS
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CONTENTS
SECTIONPage
Eligibility for Visiting Lecturer Work2
Appointment Requests2
Recruitment and Selection Procedure2
Terms and Conditions of Employment2
Duration of Contract of Employment3
Variation of Contract of Employment3
Continuous Employment3
Budgetary Control3
Visiting Lecturer Target Hours4
Hours of Work4
Submission of Claims for Payment4
Payment4
Leave Entitlement4
Adjustments and Absences4
Monitoring of Contracts4
Sickness Absence5
Maternity / Paternity Leave5
Staff Induction, Development and Training5
Cancelled Classes5
Travelling Expenses5
GUIDE TO THE EMPLOYMENT OF VISITING LECTURERS
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Eligibility for Visiting Lecturer Work
Full time University academic employees will not normally be granted Visiting Lecturer contracts. If there are exceptional circumstances, each case will be considered on its own merits by the Dean of School and the appropriate member of the Executive.
Appointment Requests
It is important that all Visiting Lecturer appointments are authorised by the Dean of School.
Recruitment and Selection Procedure
In cases of short-term appointments of less than three months duration, where it may not be appropriate to follow the full Recruitment and Selection Procedure, the advice of Personnel Recruitment should be sought as to the most appropriate cost-effective method of filling short-term requirements.
For appointments which are likely to be of more than three months duration, appointments must be made in accordance with the University Fair Recruitment and Selection Procedure. Once, interviewed, successful candidates may be entered onto the School or Department’s list of suitable Visiting Lecturers until a suitable vacancy arises.
Further guidance can be found in the University Fair Recruitment and Selection Procedure which is available on the Personnel website.
Terms and Conditions of Employment
It is Personnel responsibility to ensure that regular reviews are carried out of the contractual documentation used for Visiting Lecturers to ensure compliance with changes in employment law.
All work undertaken by Visiting Lecturers must be covered by a fixed-term Contract of Employment. The Contract of Employment comprises of the following documentation:
i)Offer Letter;
ii)Visiting Lecturer Statement of Particulars (including Acceptance Sheet);
iii)Schedule(s) of Activity.
Details of the offer of employment must be discussed with the Visiting Lecturer and must be agreed by the Dean of School. Once agreement has been reached, a Contract of Employment and additional information must be issued to the Visiting Lecturer as soon as possible. This should contain the following:
i)Offer Letter;
iv)Visiting Lecturer Statement of Particulars (including Acceptance Sheet);
v)Schedule(s) of Activity;
vi)Visiting Lecturer Staff Handbook.
vii)Staff Details for Wages Form and Teachers Pension Booklet;
viii)P46;
ix)Health Questionnaire & Envelope (contracts of three months or more)
The Visiting Lecturer must receive two copies of the Statement of Particulars, one copy for them to sign and return to the School, the other copy for them to retain.
If the Visiting Lecturer commences work for the University, he/she has accepted the terms and conditions specified within the formal Contract of Employment. However, it should be ensured that a signed copy is received by the School or Department before the Visiting Lecturer commences employment.
Duration of Contract of Employment
It is acceptable to issue one Contract of Employment covering a semester or, if appropriate, the full academic year, providing that the Visiting Lecturer is to be paid at the same hourly rate for the duration of that Contract.
Visiting Lecturers who are re-employed the following semester or academic year must receive a new Contract of Employment.
The Statement of Particulars, which forms part of the Contract of Employment, contains details of the start and end dates of the contract and the hourly rate of pay applicable. All other details are contained within the Schedule(s) of Activity, and may be varied accordingly throughout the duration of the Contract.
Variation of Contract of Employment
An existing Contract of Employment can be varied only with the agreement of both parties. Therefore, all variations will be specified on revised Schedule(s) of Activity which should be notified to the Visiting Lecturer in writing, agreed and signed by them. The Schedule(s) of Activity will form part of their Contract of Employment. It will not be necessary to issue a new Statement of Particulars if the variation occurs within the dates of the contract.
However, if a Visiting Lecturer is to be employed on a different hourly rate of pay or under a different cost centre, they would require a new Contract of Employment (i.e. Visiting Lecturer Statement of Particulars, Offer letter, Schedule of Activity).
Continuous Employment
Visiting Lecturers who are re-employed the following semester or academic year may be eligible to accrue continuous service and this must be reflected in the Statement of Particulars. Continuous service grants rights against unfair dismissal and redundancy, so it is important that it is recorded accurately. Personnel can provide advice in this regard.
Budgetary Control
Each School or Department employing Visiting Lecturers is allocated an annual budget agreed with the Director of Finance and the Pro-Vice Chancellor. The budgets are initially compiled by the Heads of School and are based on a number of factors such as prior year expenditure, projected staffing levels etc. All expenditure relating to Visiting Lecturers is allocated to this budget to allow expenditure to be monitored.
Budget holders will be responsible for monitoring and managing Visiting Lecturer budgets to prevent significant overspends.
Visiting Lecturer Target Hours
It is the responsibility of the School to monitor its total contracted Visiting Lecturer hours against the annual target hours allocated to the School at the start of each academic year by the Executive.
Hours of Work
Visiting Lecturers will not normally be expected to work more than 13 hours per week and should not exceed 550 hours in any one academic year.
The normal working week for the contracted periods should be shown in the attached Schedule(s) of Activity.
Submission of Claims for Payment
All claims for payment should be checked and authorised by the Team Leader and/or Dean of School before being submitted to the Payroll Department.
All Visiting Lecturers should be provided with a Salary Claim Form upon commencement of their employment.
With effect from 1st January 2007 new VL staff and current staff moving to VL employment will be automatically included in the Teachers’ Pensions scheme, unless they opt out. Details of the scheme are available from Human Resources.
Payment
The hourly rate of pay per hour will be as specified in the Statement of Particulars.
Payment will only be made for hours worked by Visiting Lecturers as specified in the Schedules of Activity.
Leave Entitlement
The hourly rate includes pay for holiday leave entitlement. The holiday payment, incorporated within the hourly rate, can be calculated by multiplying the hourly rate of pay by 0.15.
Adjustments and Absences
It is the responsibility of the School or Department to ensure that accurate records of attendance are kept to ensure that Visiting Lecturers are paid correctly. All absences and other adjustments must be notified to Payroll as soon as practicable.
Monitoring of Contracts
It is the responsibility of the School or Department to monitor the number of hours worked and claimed by the Visiting Lecturer in comparison to the total hours issued within the Contract of Employment.
Sickness Absence
Visiting Lecturers should be advised that they are required to notify the relevant School office as soon as possible, if they are going to be unable to attend a class due to sickness.
Subject to the provisions of the Sick Pay and Sick Leave Scheme, Visiting Lecturers are contractually entitled to time off with pay if they are absent from work due to illness or injury. The amount paid will not exceed the pro-rata equivalent of the full-time entitlements, details of which are included in the Visiting Lecturer Statement of Particulars.
Sickness absence must be notified to the Payroll department in the normal way.
Maternity / Paternity Leave
All female Visiting Lecturers qualify for 18 weeks statutory Maternity Leave. Maternity benefits may also be available, depending on the Visiting Lecturer’s length of service and average weekly pay.
Visiting Lecturers who have completed one year’s continuous service by the eleventh week before their baby is due are entitled to additional Maternity Absence and improved benefits under the University scheme.
All male Visiting Lecturers are eligible to take 5 days Paternity leave, pro-rata, on request.
Full details may be found in the relevant policies which are available from Personnel.
Staff Induction, Development and Training
All new Visiting Lecturers should receive a School or Departmental Induction to familiarise themselves with the School and University.
Visiting Lecturers should have access to the University Staff Development Programme (USDP) and can attend relevant courses. In keeping with procedure, all such attendance should be agreed with Team Leaders in advance. There will normally be no remuneration for attendance except where attendance is deemed mandatory, as defined and authorised by the Dean of School. The rate for attendance in these circumstances will be APT&C salary scale point 17.
Cancelled Classes
If a Visiting Lecturer has to cancel a class for any reason other than sickness, personal difficulties or inclement weather, when the University is still officially open, payment will not normally be made to the Visiting Lecturer.
Where a class is cancelled by management and not rearranged, payment will normally be paid to the Visiting Lecturer.
Travelling Expenses
Travelling expenses are not payable for travel from home to the place of work or for journeys between city centre University buildings. Authorised journeys outside the centre will be reimbursed at the appropriate rate in accordance with the University Business Travel Expenses Information and Guidance Pack.
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