Casual Teaching
This section is directed to those of you who are either students, visitors from other departments, or are planning to undertake casual teaching in different departments e.g. lecturing, demonstrating, teaching.
Individuals engaged to provide temporary teaching support (typically in the form of an ad hoc series of lectures, classes, or seminars, but may also include ad hoc demonstrating or invigilation) for periods of less than 1 year are subject to the arrangements for casual teaching.
A right to work check (RTW) is a Home Office process to establish that each employee/casual worker has the right to work in the UK.
Under the 2006 Immigration, Nationality and Asylum Act the University has a duty to prevent illegal working by carrying out document checks to confirm that a person has the right to work in the UK. All employees, casual workers, and Tier 5 sponsored visa holders must have their right to work checked before they start work at the University. In addition, those with time-limited right to work in the UK (i.e. those who hold a ‘List B’ document such as a visa) must have a repeat check before their visa/document is due to expire.
Please remember - it is ESSENTIAL that any Casual Teacher goes to Admin in Biochemistry, BEFORE they start work, with their passport for RTW to be carried out. Any Demonstrator/ Lecturer won't be paid for classes they have done unless there is an update in the system or RTW check done.
A new casual contract will be required for each Academic year - please remember we are required by new Legislation to issue an individual with a contract covering the casual work before they undertake that work.
Please note that a new Right to Work check will have to be carried out regardless of whether this has been done in another department(s) or College(s).
IMPORTANT UPDATE: The Home Office have announced that the temporary adjustments to right to work (RTW) checks due to COVID-19, which allows a check to be undertaken remotely, can continue until 5 April 2022.
This means that from 6 April 2022 Divisions, Departments and Faculties are required to conduct RTW checks under the original RTW rules. This may require the check to be conducted ‘face to face’, rather than have a quick Teams call (as it happens currently).
- For EU/EEA staff with Settled/Pre-Settled visas or those staff with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP cards) it is possible to conduct a RTW check via the new Home Office online RTW portal which allows remote checks.
- For staff who do not fall in this category, RTW checks can still be conducted remotely by original RTW documents being sent recorded postal delivery to the person conducting the RTW check.
Fees for demonstrating
Rates for Demonstrating should be set as an hourly rate at the appropriate grade as determined by HERA job evaluation.
- Demonstrators have been evaluated at Grade 5
- Senior Demonstrators have been evaluated at Grade 6
Fees for occasional lectures
Internal lecturers should be paid an hourly rate with reference to the University pay spine at Grade 7. It is expected that preparation time of at least 30 minutes per hour of lecture is included in the number of hours paid.
External Lecturers should be paid at an hourly rate with reference to HERA job evaluation and the University pay spine, and taking into account the expertise of the external lecturer. Departments should agree the rate in advance and should take into account preparation time of at least 30 minutes per hour of lecture.
"Payments for services
As with any engagement, an assessment should be undertaken as to whether the work should be treated as employment. If so, the student should be paid via payroll and treated in the same way for tax and National Insurance purposes as they are any other employee. In some cases, if the student is self-employed, it may be appropriate to pay via an invoice."
"Monthly payroll is paid on the last but one working day of every month, with pay dates published in advance for each year.
Submission of forms
All payroll instructions, new starters, changes to pay, leavers must be approved in CoreHR and be received by the payroll team by close of business on the deadline dates. Any instructions received after this date cannot be guaranteed for payment in the current month."
You should contact your Biochemistry Teaching Supervisor prior to any work. For undergraduates and graduates those are different people, so please make sure you are contacting the correct person. The teaching supervisor will confirm the amount and subject of your work and also will act as a liaison between you and University. They will submit the work form to Biochemistry Administration who will then forward it to University Finances.
You can expect to be paid at the end of the next month you did work in, or even two months later- depending on the date of submission of the form.
If you are a returning casual (after 12 months or longer):
- please make sure that a Right to Work check has been carried out, prior to commencing any form of casual teaching;
- please contact the Teaching supervisor and Biochemistry administration if any of your details have changed (e.g. address, bank account, surname);
- you should receive a new contract each year BEFORE you start any work for Biochemistry
- the contract you receive is for the Department of Biochemistry only; we are unable to provide you any information regarding other casual teaching you did in different departments or colleges
If you are new to casual teaching:
- contact your Departmental Teaching Supervisor for more details - you should know the details of your agreement, such as the subject, payment dates, etc., BEFORE you agree to do any work;
- provide the Biochemistry HR team with your starter form ;
- please use HR Self-Service to complete equality and diversity data online - guidance on obtaining both a Single Sign-On account and VPN are available on the HR Self-Service webpage, along with support documents and FAQs to help staff use the system and understand their data;
- make sure that a Right to Work check has been carried out, prior to commencing any form of casual teaching;
- it is in your interest to arrange the RTW check appointment ASAP with Biochemistry HR prior to any casual teaching, otherwise, you won't be paid for work you did!
- you should receive a new contract each year (or term) BEFORE you start any work for Biochemistry;
- the contract you receive is for the Department of Biochemistry only; we are unable to provide you any information regarding other casual teaching you did in different departments or colleges.