Hiring in Higher Education: Sign the pledge

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Hiring in Higher Education Pledge

By signing this document I agree to support the following principles for the hiring and management of research, academic and academic-related staff across the Collegiate University, and to apply these principles in those employment practices which are under my own control. I also agree to advocate for adherence to these principles throughout academic and employment structures at the Collegiate University.

  1. All staff who do not already hold a secure employment position in the Collegiate University should be given the option of an employment contract, and not only offered a worker contract. Short-term employment contracts should be proposed in preference to worker contracts under the Temporary Employment Service(1).

  2. Open-ended contracts with proper redundancy processes should be favoured over fixed-term contracts(2).

  3. Every effort should be made to retain staff at risk of redundancy including through training in transferable skills to support redeployment.

  4. Where there is a compelling reason to use a fixed-term contract, such contracts should be of at least 12 months’ duration. 9-month contracts to cover only the teaching period of the academic year are never acceptable. The only exceptions to this would be where an appointment is to cover a shorter period of parental leave or for students working over a vacation.

  5. Annual pay progression should be ensured for all staff by linking their pay to the HE Single Pay Spine(3).

  6. Where staff do not hold another secure employment position in the Collegiate University (or elsewhere, for visitors), fractional contracts should be offered in place of hourly-paid arrangements. If variable-hours contracts are used, these should include a guaranteed minimum number of hours(4).

  7. Employment contracts should be offered to postgraduate students doing lecturing, supervision or demonstration.

  8. All staff in the Collegiate University should be paid at a level equivalent to the Cambridge Living Wage set by Cambridge city council (£10 per hour). This is set higher than the Real Living Wage overseen by the Living Wage Commission(5).

  9. Non-EU staff should have Tier 2 Visa costs and associated immigration health surcharges paid for (or at worst reimbursed) by their employer(6).

Endnotes
(1) Employment contract versus worker contract: At the University of Cambridge staff hired via the Temporary Employment Service are on a worker contract, while staff hired with fixed-term and open-ended contracts are on an employment contract.
(2) Redundancy processes in open-ended and fixed-term contracts: If a short-term contract ends after two years of continuous service, the employee will be entitled to the same redundancy rights as employees on open-ended contracts.
(3) HE Single Pay Spine: The HE pay spine is a scale showing the rates of pay for employees working at each level in Higher Education. It also shows the increases in pay an employee gets when they spend a certain length of time at a particular level. As an example, here is the annual salary at the University of Cambridge set on 1st August 2017 for each level on the scale. If an employee is not graded on this scale, it means they don’t have the opportunity to progress through the scale.
(4) Fractional contracts versus hourly-paid arrangements: Hourly-paid staff are paid with a rate associated with the task they are undertaking. These arrangements are associated with unpredictable hours, precarious employment, uncertain income, low pay and heavy workloads and also lack of career progression. Fractional contracts are part-time open-ended contracts that are used when an employee is contracted for anything less than the basic full-time hours.
(5)  Living Wage : The Real Living Wage is calculated by the Living Wage Foundation according to what employees and their families need to live. It is higher than the government's National Living Wage, which replaced the National Minimum Wage for employees over 25 in April 2016. The Real Living Wage is £9 an hour outside London, and £10.55 in London. The Cambridge Living Wage was set by Cambridge city council at £10 an hour to account for the higher cost of living in Cambridge.
(6) Tier 2 Visa costs and associated immigration health surcharges for non-EU staff: In 2018 Tier 2 Visa costs ranged from £610 to £1314 depending on the situation (all details can be found here). Applicants also have to apply for a healthcare surcharge of £200 per year.

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Endnotes

  1. Employment contract versus worker contract: At the University of Cambridge staff hired via the Temporary Employment Service are on a worker contract, while staff hired with fixed-term and open-ended contracts are on an employment contract.
  2. Redundancy processes in open-ended and fixed-term contracts: If a short-term contract ends after two years of continuous service, the employee will be entitled to the same redundancy rights as employees on open-ended contracts (more detail about fixed-term contracts on acas).
  3. HE Single Pay Spine: The HE pay spine is a scale showing the rates of pay for employees working at each level in Higher Education. It also shows the increases in pay an employee gets when they spend a certain length of time at a particular level. As an example, here is the annual salary at the University of Cambridge set on 1st August 2017 for each level on the scale. If an employee is not graded on this scale, it means they don’t have the opportunity to progress through the scale.
  4.  Fractional contracts versus hourly-paid arrangements: Hourly-paid staff are paid with a rate associated with the task they are undertaking. These arrangements are associated with unpredictable hours, precarious employment, uncertain income, low pay and heavy workloads and also lack of career progression. Fractional contracts are part-time open-ended contracts that are used when an employee is contracted for anything less than the basic full-time hours.
  5.  Living Wage : The Real Living Wage is calculated by the Living Wage Foundation according to what employees and their families need to live. It is higher than the government’s National Living Wage, which replaced the National Minimum Wage for employees over 25 in April 2016. The Real Living Wage is £9 an hour outside London, and £10.55 in London. The Cambridge Living Wage was set by Cambridge city council at £10 an hour to account for the higher cost of living in Cambridge.
  6.  Tier 2 Visa costs and associated immigration health surcharges for non-EU staff: In 2018 Tier 2 Visa costs ranged from £610 to £1314 depending on the situation (all details can be found here). Applicants also have to apply for a healthcare surcharge of £200 per year (all details can be found here).

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