Q. Will it be the responsibility of the department to contact individuals to register on the new system or will this come from UPS?
Yes. We will provide the information required by a worker to register on Dashboard. A webpage will contain the user guide, some short videos and the link to Dashboard. As departments know who the workers will be, you are best placed to send this link to workers.
Q. Will this process (registration, right to work check) need to be done for each department a worker does work for?
No. Once a worker has registered and has been approved, which includes the right to work (RTW) check, they are approved for all departments and can be searched for by all departments. The other departments will be able to see the RTW documents and all information about the worker but won’t have to do any further checks.
Q. Is there a field on the Worker's profile to record disabilities?
There is a mandatory field where a worker can declare any disabilities. They may also choose to declare the nature of their disability.
Q. Will Workers be required to re-do their registration periodically? Currently we do the right to work (RTW) process once a year, unless a visa requires it to be more often.
We are currently suggesting that for workers who have been inactive (i.e. not booked for any work) for a period of time will be required to reactivate their account and check their right to work documents and tax details are still correct. If a worker is regularly undertaking work, there will be no need for us to re-do checks as the system will automatically deactivate any worker whose RTW documents have expired. You will have to undertake a new RTW check if this is the case.
Q. With regards right to work, I'm mindful from 6 April 2022 biometric cards won't be accepted as part of that process - does the proof of right to work section allow for free text (not just upload of image types) so the applicant can send their share code to the online checker for verification?
We will ensure that the system is configured to enter the relevant information we have to keep on file as part of the Right to Work checks.
Information about online right to work check can be found here.
Q. Do departments need to upload a signed copy of the RTW document after the RTW meeting?
The system approval will be sufficient to mark that you have verified that the RTW document is verified, without needing to upload another copy that has been signed. The system will log who approved it and on what date. A signature is not in itself a legal requirement for RTW checks. We only need to demonstrate that the check was done by a staff member at the University and not by a third party. Digitally recording this on the system is therefore sufficient to meet the legal obligations.
Q. Will there be a field for the type of RTW and the expiry date?
Yes, for all documentation types.
Q. Is there an easy way to complete the RTW compliance process for multiple workers at the same time? For example, if the same member of staff checks several workers' RTW on the same date.
No, you will have to complete separate RTW checks for each worker to comply with the legal requirements of conducting a RTW check.
Q. How does Dashboard apply to current casual workers (e.g., those who already do work for us each year)? Do they need to register as shown?
Yes, all current workers will need to register on Dashboard for the first time when we go live. This is to ensure that they understand how to use the system and become familiar with it. We will also need to ensure that the information we need to gather is still current and accurate.
Q. Is there a mechanism to move individuals across from UPS or will everyone have to sign up to Dashboard?
The system does allow bulk uploads of workers but we want to ensure that workers become familiar with the system and upload all of the required information (some of which you may not hold on the workers at present). We will consider how to handle workers in live assignments on go live date in due course.
Q. Is it possible to create a booking after the date has passed?
It is possible via and ‘After the Event Booking’. It is important that you encourage a cultural shift in departments to ensure that workers have their workers agreement BEFORE they conduct work. Therefore, only our central team will have permissions to enter After the Event bookings. In these scenarios, you will have to contact Casual.Workers@admin.cam.ac.uk who will be able to enter the booking for you.
If departments have specific scenarios where scheduling ahead of time appears impossible, please contact the team who will support in deciding how best to implement Dashboard locally.
Q. Can bookings be made for a session (/number of sessions) where specific dates/times are still to be agreed with the Worker at the point the agreement is made?
Yes this can be done via a ‘Draw down’ booking where you can input the total hours and the worker can submit timesheets for the specific hours worked later on. You can also amend bookings as required.
Q. What if we don't know the date/time for the teaching?
This would be done via a ‘Draw down’ booking where you can enter the total number of hours and can specify the actual timings via the timesheets.
Q. Can the set rates for the pre-determined roles, e.g. demonstrators, be modified manually?
No. Once you have selected a job title from the list, you cannot amend the hourly rate. This is to ensure consistency across the university and ensure we meet National Minimum Wage regulations. You will be able to set up a new role via the central team by contacting Casual.Workers@admin.cam.ac.uk
Q. I'm going to have quite a few 'after the event' worker agreements, as we employ a few people to do supervisions, but we don't know how many until after the term ends and I understand that the worker agreement is supposed to nail down exactly how many hours are to be delivered. I was advised that I would need to issue a backdated worker agreement to cover this. Is this still correct?
If you know who these workers/supervisors are, even if you don’t know exactly when they may work, you can issue them a worker’s agreement in advance via a ‘Draw down’ booking. You can put in an estimate for the number of hours to complete and the worker can then submit the actual hours worked throughout the term. We can discuss this scenario in more detail to ensure we are meeting the legal requirements for the workers in this case. Issuing a backdated worker agreement is something we want to avoid wherever possible.
Q. If teaching is planned well in advance is there a possibility for 'bulk upload' of events/teaching dates into the system?
Yes, you can bulk upload bookings and create multiple bookings for multiple workers for the same job easily on the system.
Q. If booking lots of demonstrating sessions against a worker, will the worker get a worker assignment for every single booking?
If you input all of the demonstrating as separate bookings, yes the worker would receive multiple worker assignments. Instead, you can set up the booking to repeat weekly if required in a single booking (meaning only one worker’s agreement will be sent). Or you can set up the booking as a ‘Draw-down’ booking to repeat work over a number of weeks or months so the worker can submit timesheets for their actual hours worked.
Q. Are the system pay rates excluding holiday pay?
Yes. The pay rates you see in the system exclude the holiday pay. This will be added to the worker’s payslip as a separate payment so it’s easy to see what their entitlement was.
Q. Will it be possible to enter bespoke payment rates? Or will we only be able to use the pre-loaded ones?
You will be able to have bespoke payment rates but you will have to request that the central team upload this on your behalf to ensure consistency across the University.
Q. Examiners are engaged in specific Departments where exams are carried out, and then claims are submitted to education services for payment from the Exams admin fund. How will the new system work in this case? Will the specific departments be able to process bookings, and examiners able to submit timesheets to education services for authorisation?
We are liaising with Education Services on this to ensure there is a clear process for departments when handling examination payments to workers. A clear process will be published in the guidance.
Q. Is there an assignment agreement generated or would workers only receive an email?
A worker’s agreement will be auto-generated in the system and sent to the worker via email. The email will contain all of the relevant information and T&Cs via links to webpages. You will no longer have to draft word documents containing this information.
Q. Do we still generate a worker’s agreement as a word document?
No. The system will create this for you by sending an email to the worker containing the specific details of the work and linking the worker to the specific terms and conditions for your institution.
Q. Can the bookings cover a time period rather than just a single date each time?
Yes, there is a booking type known as a Draw-down booking which will allow you to enter a booking over a period of time so you can have a worker working a number of times in one assignment.
Q. How do you compare the timesheet being approved with the original assignment?
You can review the original booking on the system. The system will make it obvious on the timesheet screen if changes have been made by the worker by highlighting the timesheet in a red dotted line.
Q. Will there be a monthly cut off date to approve timesheets like with the current UPS system?
Yes. Just like with employee payroll cut off deadlines, there will be a similar cut off date for approving timesheets for workers in Dashboard for payment. Workers will be paid monthly on the 15th of the month. N.B. Workers who are also employees will be paid on the 26th of the month in line with their salary.
Q. If a submitted timesheet is incorrect or needs cancelling how easy is that to do?
If a worker has submitted a timesheet in error, they should contact their administrator who can cancel/delete the timesheet before approval and submission to payroll by clicking a button. If an administrator has approved a timesheet in error, they will have to contact the central team on Casual.Workers@admin.cam.ac.uk to prevent it from progressing further or supporting in the actions needing to be taken if a worker has received too much payment.
Q. Are the timesheets exportable? We need to check the details with others, having to copy down the details of each row for each person would be really time consuming.
You can either give access to Dashboard to those who will need to review the timesheets. Or you can review the information via reporting tools.
Q. Can there be multiple timesheet approvers - for example a University Lecturer and administrator?
Yes, you can add as many timesheet approvers as is reasonable for your departments. You will need to decide how best to distribute timesheet access based on the roles in the system and in your department.
Q. Do we need to use this system for paying students their grants?
This is unlikely as a student receiving a grant would not usually be classed as a casual worker. We would need to support you to look at the specific scenario. Dashboard is proposed to replace any payments made by UPS2 at the moment but there are some payments being processed through UPS2 which should not be. We will support departments to agree the best route for payment.
Q. Does this system cover University employees, carrying out casual work in a different department? Would this process be the same for internal and external workers (those already on University payroll and those who are not)?
Yes, you can pay an existing employee through Dashboard for additional casual work they have undertaken. It is important that the work they have done paid through Dashboard is separate and different to their employment contract and job description.
Q. Does Michaelmas Term 2022 align with main term dates at Uni? Some of our courses start in late September / early October.
We do not plan to roll out Dashboard at the start of a term. This will mean there are some workers you have already engaged under the current processes. We will work with departments to understand how many workers you are likely to have live on Dashboard launch date and agree the processes and steps you’ll need to take for these workers.
Q. If studentships will not be routinely covered through this system (as they currently can be through UPS3), will a revised system be advised alongside the launch of Dashboard to avoid leaving students/departments in limbo with this?
The processing of payments to students is being considered as part of the wider HR Transformation Process. There will not be a replacement for UPS3 ready at the same time as the launch of Dashboard.
Q. Will there be no option to use UPS2 - if administrator away and other staff members not trained going forwards - is there a cut off time for UPS2?
UPS2 will be turned off at the same time that Dashboard launches. It is therefore very important that you train the right people in your department later this summer and ensure you have selected enough people. Dashboard allows any person in the department with the appropriate permissions to view all workers, bookings and timesheets for that department. Therefore, if someone in the team is off sick, other people can handle the processing in the system.
After launch of the system, Dashboard will become one of the University’s HR IT Systems and therefore will be supported by the HR Systems Service Desk (CHRIS.Helpdesk@admin.cam.ac.uk) and full training sessions and user guides will be delivered by the HR Systems Training Team (training@uis.cam.ac.uk).
Q. Would we be able to use this system for summer interns?
This depends on the nature of the work they will be undertaking. Please discuss these cases with the central team closer to launch date.
Q. Will a User Guide be provided to Workers and Administrators before the launch?
Yes. We will ensure that there are user guides available for all users.
Q. Do you envisage any risks with depts using the dashboard in the future rather than TES?
Dashboard should be used for all workers who undertake casual work that is not administrative. TES should continue to be used for administrative casual/temporary workers. We will be able to regularly audit use of Dashboard to ensure that departments are using the correct systems. Please note that Dashboard does not have the functionality to allow the worker to book their annual leave and the TES system does.
Q. Is UPS1/3/4/5 unaffected for student maintenance and other payments?
Yes
Q. If employees will be paid via Dashboard will the Chris 82 process no longer exist?
No. If an employee has conducted additional work which is part of their employment contract and job description, you should still pay them for the additional time via the CHRIS/82 process. If the work they have undertaken is different to their employment contract, you should pay them as a worker via Dashboard.
Q. If workers are paid a flat fee (e.g., for delivering a module), do they really have to fill in a time sheet?
Dashboard will pay workers based on an hourly rate. We will have to translate fee payments into hourly rates for payment on Dashboard. The worker will then have to complete the timesheet to confirm that they have undertaken the work.