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This webpage contains information about the changes required to the way institutions manage casual workers, including specific actions for:

  • Heads of Institution and line managers with responsibility for casual workers in their area (including academic staff); and
  • Departmental Administrators (and equivalent) and other users of UPS2.

An update is also provided about the new University system for managing casual workers that is anticipated to be launched in mid/late 2022 (date to be confirmed).

Please click on the relevant drop-down menus below:

 
Background

The University engages approximately 4,000 workers in an average year, and they make a significant and valuable contribution to the University. As well as ensuring compliance with relevant legislation, the University is committed to ensuring these individuals receive fair and consistent treatment.   

The current processes for managing and paying casual workers are largely decentralised, providing limited management information. To address this, we need to transform the way we manage our casual workforce, which includes implementing a new IT system to replace the UPS2. The system will collect more comprehensive information about the work, pay and hours of our casual workforce. This will enable the University to make better informed decisions about these individuals and the work undertaken, as well as ensuring it is: 

  • carrying out Right to Work/Visa checks in a timely manner;   
  • ensuring individuals are engaged on the most appropriate contractual arrangements; 
  • providing details of terms and conditions to all workers on or before the day work commences to comply with new legislation under the Government’s Good Work Plan (see below); and
  • accurately recording the number of hours worked on payslips to comply with HMRC regulations.

Related actions and an update on the system development are provided in the sections below:

Actions: Heads of Institution and line managers (including academic staff) with responsibility for casual workers

Actions

  1. Early notification of casual work – with immediate effect, please ensure that arrangements for casual work are made as far in advance as possible and that you inform your Departmental Administrator (or equivalent) immediately when casual work is arranged. This is important to ensure that the University meets the legal requirement to provide a written statement of terms setting out specified information to all workers, on or before the day their work commences, regardless of the length of their assignment. 
  2. Working hours of students on a Tier 4 visa – A new temporary manual process is being introduced until the new IT system is in place, to mitigate the risk that a student on a Tier 4 visa works more than the limit of permitted working hours across the University. With immediate effect, please provide your Departmental Administrator with the number of hours any student on a Tier 4/Student visa has worked in a given week. By recording this information centrally, the University can ensure the limit on the number of hours students on Tier 4/Student visas are permitted to work across the University is not breached.

Other important updates

  • New casual worker system - A new IT system for managing casual workers is anticipated  to be launched in mid/late 2022 (date to be confirmed). You will be kept updated about the timeframe for the launch and will be provided with supporting documentation. An overview of how it will operate differently to UPS2, together with the key benefits, can be found in the ‘New system for managing casual workers’ section below.
  • Costing Review - A review of workers who are teaching on a regular and ongoing basis is being carried out in those departments that engage the highest number of casual workers. This information will be used to estimate the cost of moving all such individuals to the most appropriate contractual arrangements in future and will inform the business case for additional funding to implement these changes University-wide.  A further update will follow in due course. 
Actions: Departmental Administrators (and equivalent) and other users of USP2

Actions

  1. Early notification of casual work –  Please encourage the relevant staff in your department to make arrangements for casual work as far in advance as possible and that you are informed immediately when any work is arranged. This is important for two reasons.  Firstly, it will ensure that the University meets the legal requirement to provide a written statement of terms setting out specified information to all workers, on or before the day their work commenced, regardless of the length of their contract.  Secondly, it will ensure that we check the right to work status of all workers in advance of a work assignment, in line with government legislation.
  2. Information on working hours of students on a Tier 4 visa – A new, temporary manual process is being introduced until the new IT system is in place to mitigate the risk that a student on a Tier 4 visa works more than the limit of permitted working hours across the University.   The current process for engaging a Tier 4/Student visa holder is that departments must complete the HR35A and submit this to the Compliance Team before work commences. The HR Compliance Team then authorises the number of hours the student can work. With immediate effect, departments will be required to continue to follow these steps, with one addition to ensure the University is able to demonstrate visa compliance.  The full process will be:
  1. Complete the HR35A and submit to: ComplianceTeam@admin.cam.ac.uk before the work commences.
  2. Receive confirmation of the number of hours the student visa holder can work each week.
  3. *NEW TEMPORARY MEASURE* Every week that the Tier 4/Student visa holder works, departments should enter the total number of hours worked in that week in a custom Microsoft Form, which you will submit to the HR Compliance Team via this MS Form. This will aid the HR Compliance Team to monitor the working patterns of Tier 4/Student visa holders across all departments in the University.

If you have any queries, please contact Graeme Ross, Immigration and Compliance Manager: graeme.ross@admin.cam.ac.uk.

Update: New system for managing casual workers

A new IT system has been selected to manage casual workers, replacing UPS2. In due course, we will:

  • inform you of the timeframe for going live with the new system;
  • invite you to a demonstration to see first-hand the changes and benefits it will bring and how it will impact the way you work;
  • aske you for specific departmental information to help to configure the new system; and
  • provide training and supporting documentation for you and your staff.

An overview of how the new system operates differently to UPS2 and the key benefits can be found in the ‘New system for managing casual workers’ section below.

New IT system for managing casual workers

The new system for managing casual workers in the University will replace UPS2 in mid/late 2022 (date to be confirmed).

It operates differently to UPS2 in the following ways:

  • Departments will book work on the system which workers will be invited to accept.
  • Workers will register for work (via their mobile phone/PC/laptop).
  • Departments will carry out right-to-work checks on the system before work is offered.
  • Payments will be made automatically once work has been authorised via the system.
  • The system will calculate holiday pay which will be added automatically to payments for work.

The key benefits of the new system include: 

  • More efficient processes for engaging, paying and managing casual workers, reducing the amount of time institutions spend on administration.
  • Enabling demonstrable compliance with immigration and employment legislation.
  • A more strategic approach to planning and managing our casual workforce. 
  • A suite of reports to provide detailed information about work, pay and hours against which to make decisions about our casual workforce.
  • A seamless single initial registration for workers (including a single right-to-work check across the University), automation of timesheets and authorisation.  

Further updates will be provided in due course.

Questions and further information

If you have any queries, please email the team on casualworkforceproject@admin.cam.ac.uk

Further information about the casual workforce project can be found here