What type of work is available?
We can have over 400 temporary workers undertaking assignments in the University, its colleges and affiliated institutions at any one time. We specialise in office support work such as secretarial, clerical, reception, administrative, PA and EA and finance assistant posts. We also fill posts in IT, event planning, catering, cleaning, gardening and general maintenance.
Many of the assignments we are asked to fill are full time, but we do also get requests for part time assignments. Working hours are usually between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.
Each temporary work assignment can vary in length, lasting from a few hours up to a maximum of 9 months in the University itself and a maximum of 8 weeks in the University's colleges and affiliated institutions. Those registering with and working through TES should not expect to work in any one department/institution for any longer than 9 months, or to work for any longer than this without a break between assignments. This would not be compatible with the service that we provide, the status of temporary workers or our policy:
Temporary workers are engaged to undertake ad-hoc or short-term work on a casual basis. This means that:
- Working through TES does not constitute an employment relationship with the University;
- Temporary workers are not obliged to accept work and the University is not obliged to provide it;
- There may be periods where no work is available; and
- Either party may terminate an assignment at any time without the need for notice.
If you are seeking employment with the University rather than temporary work, please visit the University's jobs pages at www.jobs.cam.ac.uk.
Please note: If you have recently left an employed position with the University, you are welcome to apply to register with us, however, we will not be able to start you in an assignment until after 4 weeks from your last day of employment. This is in order to maintain a clear distinction between employment and temporary work.
What we can offer you
- The opportunity to gain a range of experience in different roles while contributing to the work of one of the world's leading universities
- Engaging and varied working environments including, in office, hybrid and remote working.
- The flexibility to let us know when you are and are not available for temporary work assignments - whether that's fitting part time work around child care or needing a break between assignments to go travelling
- Competitive rates of pay with hourly rates matched to employee rates from day one and the Real Living Wage as a minimum hourly rate. Typically hourly rates range between £12.00 and £17.81 per hour, plus holiday pay.
- An approachable and professional service
- Access to a bank of online skills training
- Entitlement to be paid for antenatal appointments from day one
- Access to a contributory pension scheme
98% of our temporary workers would recommend TES to others - TES worker survey, 2017
What we are looking for
The key things we look for when assessing applications to register as a temporary worker include:
- Previous relevant experience in administrative and/or financial support roles
- Availability to work at short notice
- Reliability
In addition, you must have or obtain the right to work in the UK in order to register to work through TES.
The skills, knowledge and experience that we are seeking for a particular assignment will vary according to the nature of the work required by the department/institution.
FAQs
Please see our prospective candidate FAQs for further information
How to apply
Please read our Apply to join TES web page, or go straight to the registration form.