Casual Employment
Do you wish to engage casual staff?
There are various types of casual engagements; please contact the HR team to discuss your needs at the earliest opportunity to ensure that we secure the right type of engagement. The main types we use are as follows;
- Casual Workers, for example a casual research assistant – please note that these appointments are restricted to engagements of no longer than 12 weeks (they may be re-engaged, but only after there has been a six-week break)
- Casual Teachers, for example tutors and TAs
- Student Ambassadors
- Casual Examiners and Assessors
- External Supervisors
It is really important to note the following points before offering any type of casual engagement, so please read the information below carefully before proceeding.
- No one is able to undertake any work, paid or unpaid, until they have undertaken a Right to Work check - anyone who does so will be working illegally.
- All requests for casual staff must be approved in advance by the Head of Administration.
- It is not possible to pay individuals a lump sum. Workers must be paid an hourly rate, against weekly hours. The rate of pay should be matched to the University’s casual pay spine.
- Payments are made monthly, in arrears, into a UK bank account (it isn't possible to make payments by cheque)
- Is your worker a Tier 4 visa holder? If they are they will be limited in the number of hours they are able to work. Tier 4 student visa holders will have restrictions on the number of hours they are permitted to work each week during term time (if they are an undergraduate student), or year round (if they are a postgraduate student). The permitted total hours they are allowed to work is 20 hours per week. Paid and unpaid work within the University, for colleges, and for external organisations counts towards the permitted weekly hours. Tier 4 visa holders will be asked to complete a declaration to ensure that they are not working in breach of these conditions
Setting up an engagement
Once you have identified the type of contract you wish to offer, please complete and return a Casual Staff request spreadsheet to @email. This must be submitted in advance of any work being commenced so that we can set up their appointment - and avoid any delays in getting them paid!
The HR Team will contact the individual with the appropriate letter of engagement and to carry out the right to work check; the individual will be asked to complete and return a payroll pack. Casual_worker_payroll_pack-310822.pdf
Once these steps have been completed work can be commenced in line with the agreed start date. In the event of a change to a casual engagement that requires a replacement or an additional engagement, a new request must be submitted.
Payment process
There are two ways for payment to be requested:
- Timesheet. If the individual is required to provide timesheets these should be approved by the supervisor/manager before being forwarded to @email for payment processing.
- Casual payment submission sheet. All other payment requests should be submitted using the casual payment submission spreadsheet. The sheet includes an example line and a set of guidance notes to help you complete the form correctly.
All payments will be processed using the University’s central casual payment process.
Payroll cut off dates and submission deadlines can be found here Payroll cut off dates 2023.pdf