Do you engage or administer casual workers in your department?

What is happening?

We are looking for staff with experience of engaging and paying casual workers to join our Project User Group. Members will help us design and test new processes as part of the Casual Worker Compliance Project.

The aim of the project is to provide new arrangements for the hiring, management and payment of casual workers at York in a way that ensures compliance with UK legislation while improving the experience of staff and workers. Implementation is due to begin in Autumn 2018.

How to get involved

We have already contacted department managers to identify a 'lead contact' for each part of the University.

Departments wanting to join the User Group should provide two representatives:

• one person who typically acts as a 'hiring administrator' and hires casual workers, books them and processes/approves subsequent pay claims
• one person who typically acts as a 'hiring manager' and actually makes use of casual workers (for example an academic who has Graduate Teaching Assistants to support teaching or an Admissions specialist who has Student Ambassadors to support their marketing work)

Benefits of joining the group include networking opportunities, helping shape and influence the future of the process, and supporting professional development and knowledge.

The time commitment for 'hiring administrator' is about 2-3 days during 2018. The commitment for 'hiring managers' is a lot less - about 2-3 hours.

If we get a lot of applications for the User Group, please be aware we may not be able to include all the staff who are nominated.

What is the Casual Worker Compliance Project?

The project's aim is to ensure compliance with government legislation for all casual workers at York. At the same time, we want to reduce time and effort spent on managing casual workers and free up more time for supporting teaching and research activities.

By introducing a new system and processes for engaging, paying and managing casual workers we aim to ease the pressure on hiring managers and administrators, who are on the front line of compliance.

The project will deliver a robust method for collecting, storing and monitoring Right to Work evidence, supported by HR Services. Casual worker engagements will be booked in advance so their hours can be monitored if necessary. Data and information about casual workers will be more easily accessible and auditable. Our casual workers will benefit from easier initial registration, a single point of evidence validation and faster payments.

Detailed work is starting now and the aim is to have the first departments live and running in Autumn 2018 with a full implementation across the University completed by December 2018. A project timeline is available.

Why is it being done?

The current processes are...

• not a good experience for staff or casual workers
• time consuming
• not transparent or consistent

Reduce the risk of non-compliance with government legislation...

• Right to work (R2W)
• National minimum wage
• Tier 4 student visa rules
• General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

Who is involved with the project?

The project is being delivered by a cross-departmental team including HR, Finance, Careers and IT Services.

Joss Ivory, Director of Human Resources, is the Project Sponsor, and Darren Geary, IT Services, is the Project Manager. A Steering Group has also been established.

Where do I find out more?

Contact Darren Geary, Project Manager at darren.geary@york.ac.uk or on extension 3802.