37 MODES OF EMPLOYMENT

A fixed-term or continuing staff member may request to vary her/his mode of employment for a fixed period as agreed between the staff member and the supervisor.  Requests to vary a staff member’s mode of employment must be considered for approval by the relevant Dean or Director.

37.1 Full-time employment

Full-time employment means all employment other than part-time.  A staff member may be employed full-time on either a continuing or fixed-term basis in accordance with Clause 38 (Categories of Appointment).

37.2 Part-time employment

37.2.1 Part-time employment means employment for less than the normal weekly ordinary hours specified for a full-time staff member for which all entitlements are paid on a pro-rata basis calculated by reference to the time worked. 

37.2.2 The minimum proportion of full-time applicable to a part-time appointment is 0.2 of a full-time appointment.

37.2.3 A staff member may be employed part-time on either a continuing or fixed-term basis in accordance with Clause 38 [Categories of Appointment].

37.2.4 Staff employed on a part-time basis will receive the salary and non-salary conditions of a full-time appointment calculated on a pro-rata basis. 

37.3 Sessional Employment

37.3.1 Sessional employment means employment for a specified period during the year, which is normally related to a teaching session as set out in the University calendar.  It means employment for a fixed period in the year which is less than 52 weeks.

37.3.2 Appointment to a sessional position will be made on a continuing or fixed-term basis in accordance with Clause 38 [Categories of Appointment] and will be made in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and relevant university policies. 

37.3.3 The contract of employment will specify the length of the contract (if fixed-term), the nature of the duties to be performed, the period during the year to be worked and proportion of full-time during the period.  In accordance with Clause 33, the contract may specify a reasonable probationary period that is directly related to the nature of the work to be carried out.

37.3.4 Staff employed on a sessional basis will receive the salary and non-salary conditions of a full-time appointment calculated on a pro-rata basis.  This includes, but is not limited to:

• incremental progression
• all forms of leave (on a pro-rata basis)
• workload allocation in accordance with the Faculty workload policy
• participation in performance review and development
• eligibility for progression from Associate Lecturer to Lecturer, and for Promotion
• eligibility for PEP
• superannuation (in accordance with Clause 13), depending on whether the sessional academic staff member is employed on a fixed-term or continuing basis
• severance or redundancy provisions, depending on whether the sessional academic staff member is employed on a fixed-term or continuing basis.

37.3.5 Staff employed on a sessional basis will not necessarily be required to perform the full range of academic responsibilities.  Workload will be determined in accordance with Clause 34 [Academic Workloads].

37.3.6 The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) will review the application of this mode of employment during the life of this Agreement.

38 CATEGORIES OF APPOINTMENT

UTS shall employ staff on terms that correspond with one or other of the types of appointment prescribed in this Clause.

Nothing in this Clause prevents a staff member engaging in additional work on a casual appointment in work unrelated to, or identifiably separate from, the staff member's normal duties.

Nothing in this Clause shall limit the number or proportion of staff that UTS may employ in a particular type of appointment.

A staff member employed on a continuing or fixed-term basis may be employed in a full-time, part-time or sessional capacity.

38.1 Continuing appointment

38.1.1 A continuing appointment is made for an indefinite period.  A continuing appointment would be made where the nature of the work is on-going.

38.2 Fixed-term appointment

38.2.1 A fixed-term appointment is made for a specified term or ascertainable period.  The contract for this employment will specify the starting and finishing dates of that employment, (or in lieu of a finishing date, will specify the circumstance(s) or contingency relating to a specific task or project, upon the occurrence of which the term of the employment will expire). 

38.2.2 For the purpose of determining the entitlements of staff employed on fixed-term appointments, breaks between fixed-term appointments of up to two times per year and of up to six weeks on each occasion shall not constitute breaks in continuous service. 

Notice and Severance Pay

Fixed-term appointments may be subject to notice and/or severance pay in accordance with the following:

38.3 Provision of Notice

38.3.1 UTS will provide to a fixed-term staff member written notice of the intention to renew or not to renew employment upon expiry of the appointment in accordance with the following table. 

38.3.2 In addition to this notice, a staff member over the age of 45 years at the time of the giving of notice and with not less than two years continuous service shall be entitled to an additional week’s notice.

38.3.3 Where, because of circumstances relating to the provision of specific funding to support employment, external to UTS and beyond its control, UTS is not reasonably able to give the notice required by this sub-clause, it shall be sufficient compliance with this sub-clause if UTS:

(a) advises those circumstances to the staff member in writing at the latest time at which the notice would otherwise be required to be given; and

(b) gives notice to the staff member at the earliest practicable date thereafter.

38.3.4 Except by reason of sub-clause 38.3.3 above, where employment is not renewed upon expiry of a fixed-term appointment and notice in accordance with the above cannot be provided, the University will provide pay in lieu of notice.

38.3.5 If the University decides to continue a position on a fixed-term basis, the incumbent staff member will be offered further employment in the fixed-term position if the staff member was employed through a merit selection process and there has been satisfactory performance in the position.

38.4 Severance pay

38.4.1 A fixed-term staff member whose contract of employment is not renewed in circumstances where he/she seeks to continue the employment shall be entitled to a severance payment in accordance with sub-clause 38.4.3 or 38.4.4, except in the following circumstances:

(a) the staff member was employed on a first fixed-term contract unless the duties of the kind performed in relation to the work continue to be required but another person has been appointed, or is to be appointed, to the same or substantially similar duties; or

(b) the staff member was replacing another staff member on leave or secondment from the workplace; or

(c) the staff member was performing duties of a vacant position for which recruitment action has commenced; or

(d) the staff member was on a pre-retirement contract; or

(e) the position was one specifically designated for students; or

(f) the staff member was engaged for up to three years in response to a sudden and unanticipated increase in student enrolments; or

(g) the staff member was engaged for up to three years in a new organisational area to perform functions or teach in program/s that had not been performed or taught previously, the prospective need or demand for which is uncertain or unascertainable at the time of establishment of the unit; or

(h) the staff member was employed in a disestablished organisational area.

38.4.2 Where a staff member is entitled to severance pay and UTS advises the staff member in writing that further employment may be offered within six weeks of the expiry of a period of fixed-term employment, then:

(a) Payment of severance benefits may be deferred for a maximum period of four weeks from the expiry of the period of fixed-term employment.

(b) The general severance payment or retrenchment benefit payment prescription may be varied by agreement with the affected staff member if the University obtains acceptable alternative employment for the staff member.

38.4.3 Where a staff member is entitled to severance pay in accordance with sub-clause 38.4.1, severance payment entitlements will be calculated for a period of continuous service in the amounts below where the staff member’s fixed-term position is:

(a) funded from an identifiable funding source(s) external to UTS, not being funding that is part of an operating grant from the government or funding comprised of payments of fees made by or on behalf of students; or

(b) a research only position; or

(c) for a specific task or project.

‘Week’s pay’ means the ordinary time rate of pay for the staff member concerned.

38.4.4 Where a staff member is entitled to severance pay in accordance with sub-clause 38.4.1, severance payment entitlements will be calculated for a period of continuous service in the amounts below for all fixed-term positions other than those specified in sub-clause 38.4.3.  The severance payment entitlements provided below apply to fixed-term appointments which commence after the date of lodgment of this Agreement.

Where severance is payable in accordance with this sub-clause, staff with five or more years of continuous service shall also be entitled to payment in lieu of pro-rata long service leave, calculated in accordance with sub-clause 23.1.

38.5 Casual appointment

Casual employment shall mean a staff member engaged in accordance with the provisions of Clause 40 of this Agreement.

39 CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

Upon employment, UTS will provide to the staff member a contract of employment which stipulates the type of appointment and informs him/her of the terms of employment in relation to:

39.1 for staff other than casual staff, the classification level and salary of the person on commencement of the employment, and the hours or the fraction of full-time hours to be worked

39.2 for a fixed-term staff member, the term of the employment, the length and terms of any period of probation, and the reason the appointment has been made on a fixed-term basis

39.3 for any staff member subject to probationary employment, the length and terms of the probation

39.4 other main conditions of employment including the identity of the employer, or the documentary, or other recorded sources from which such conditions derive, and relating to the duties and reporting relationships to apply upon appointment.

40 CASUAL ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT

Purpose

40.1 This Clause outlines the conditions for the appointment and employment of casual staff who are employed on the relevant hourly rates contained in this Agreement.

Appointment

40.2 Casual staff will normally be drawn from a pool of applicants, which may be obtained through a variety of recruitment options, including external and internal advertisement, unsolicited applications, and associations with business and/or professional organisations.  Recruitment by invitation may also occur in the case of UTS research degree students and recent UTS graduates or in emergency situations.

40.3 Selection of casual appointees will be based on a systematic assessment of each applicant’s experience, skills and qualifications using information gathered from the application and/or curriculum vitae, interview, skills testing (if applicable) and references.

Employment contract

40.4 The contract for casual staff will specify the duties, the amount of time expected for each, the appropriate rate/s of pay, and the position of the casual staff member’s supervisor.

Rates of pay and activity descriptors

40.5 The rates of pay and activity descriptors for casual staff are described in Schedule 2 and Schedule 4, respectively of this Agreement.  The rate of pay includes a loading in lieu of Agreement benefits for which a casual staff member is ineligible including some leave entitlements (eg annual leave, sick leave, etc).  The rates of pay include a casual loading of 23%.

40.6 Casual staff will be paid at the rate specified for ’other academic activity‘ for required attendance at the lectures and teaching activities presented by other staff and at meetings and briefings with academic staff where attendance is required.

40.7 The hourly rate of pay for lecturing, tutoring and undergraduate clinical nurse education contained in Schedule 2 will encompass the following activities in addition to the delivery of lectures and/or tutorials:

(a) preparing lectures or tutorials

(b) up to 20 minutes of marking for each hour of teaching

(c) administration of relevant records of the students for whom the casual employee is responsible and

(d) consultation with students.

40.8 Casual staff will be paid the relevant marking rate for marking, other than the marking deemed to be already included in the hourly rates for lecturing, tutoring or undergraduate clinical nurse education.  Additional paid marking hours will be paid at the appropriate hourly marking rate as set out in Schedule 2 calculated having regard for the number of students for whom the casual staff member is responsible and the time required to mark the assessment item for each student.   Academic areas, in consultation with academic staff, will each establish a time formula for marking in relation to different types of assessments within the academic area.  Variation to this arrangement will only occur where it can be demonstrated that there is no loss of entitlement for affected casual academic staff.

40.9 Casual staff performing subject coordination duties will be paid at the rate specified for ’other academic activity – subject coordination‘ as provided in Schedule 2.  The number of hours for subject coordination activities will be set out in the casual contract and will be determined having regard for factors contributing to the complexity and/or the magnitude of such activities including but not limited to the number of students enrolled in the subject.  Additional hours should be made available for subject coordination duties where a subject is offered for the first time.

Teaching evaluation and academic career development

40.10 Casual staff participation in teaching evaluation will be in accordance with Clause 36 [Evaluation of Teaching].

40.11 The University is committed to providing support for casual staff who wish to develop an academic career.  A casual staff member will be entitled to apply to their supervisor for support in career development activities from a University fund to support such activities.  The University will consider a range of factors in relation to any career development request by a casual staff member, including:

(a) the casual staff member’s period of employment at the University

(b) whether the casual staff member is enrolled as a student, or is primarily employed by an organisation external to the University

(c) the relevance of the career development activity to the casual staff member’s discipline or academic career development.

Provision of resources

40.12 Adequate provision will be made for casual staff to carry out their duties.  This provision will include access to office space (shared or unshared), an appropriate area for student consultation, photocopying facilities, a telephone, a location for receiving mail and appropriate computer facilities.

Termination of employment

40.13 Casual staff will be given two weeks notice or the balance of the contract period, (whichever is the lesser), or payment in lieu of notice, should the University wish to terminate their employment.

40.14 Reasonable efforts by both parties will be made to agree on alternative teaching in that same semester.  If employment involving identical hours or hours which are acceptable to the casual staff member is provided and there is no gap in their employment, sub-clause 40.13 will not apply.

40.15 Sub-clauses 40.13 and 40.14 will not apply where a casual staff member is guilty of misconduct, unsatisfactory performance or other action which would, in the case of a continuing staff member, warrant dismissal.

Reference

40.16 Casual staff will be entitled to receive a written reference from the University upon completion of any contract.  The reference will state the period of employment and the duties performed.

Superannuation

40.17 Casual staff will receive employer superannuation contributions in accordance with the relevant legislation, industrial award or agreement.  The University will inform casual staff of their entitlement and will regularly inform casual staff of contributions made by the University and the scheme into which such contributions have been made.

Time of payments

40.18 The University will pay casual staff within two weeks of the conclusion of the pay period in which duties were undertaken. This is subject to the staff member completing and submitting a signed contract prior to the commencement of employment.

Placement on payroll

40.19 Casual staff, where practicable, will be placed on and normally paid through the University payroll system.

41 EQUITY

41.1 Anti-discrimination

41.1.1 In accordance with relevant anti-discrimination legislation, the University will not discriminate and will work to help prevent and eliminate any such discrimination.

41.2 Pay equity

The University will continue to monitor pay equity issues within UTS, and is committed to the development and implementation of appropriate strategies to remedy any identified problems.

41.3 Career equity

41.3.1 Selection, tenure and promotion criteria will value and represent the skills and experiences of women and members of other EEO groups (see Clause 42 Indigenous Australian Employment).

41.3.2 The University will implement and monitor procedures to ensure that all selection, tenure and promotion committees are aware of and apply such criteria.

41.3.3 The University will progressively implement strategies designed to overcome career path obstacles for all staff but with particular emphasis on redressing points of disadvantage experienced by women and members of other EEO groups.

41.3.4 The University will periodically report to staff on existing and proposed strategies designed to equalise career opportunities for all staff, but with special reference to the position of women and other EEO groups at UTS.

41.3.5 The governance and committees of UTS will be based on best practice with regard to gender balance, as monitored by the University's Equity and Diversity Unit. The University will continue to implement mechanisms for achieving gender balance in University governance and all committees in UTS within the life of this Agreement.

41.4 Access and equity for staff with disabilities

The University is committed to making reasonable accommodation for staff with disabilities to enable them to perform their duties.  The University will continue to monitor and report on access and equity for staff with disabilities and is committed to the development and implementation of appropriate strategies to remedy any identified problems.

42 INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAN EMPLOYMENT

For the purposes of this Clause “Indigenous Australian person” means a person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island descent who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island person and is accepted as such by his/her community.

42.1 Objectives

The University is committed to the objective of increased employment and development opportunities for Indigenous Australians inside the University.  This objective is a desirable end in itself and forms part of the University’s commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous Australian people as well as being a necessary pre-condition for improving Indigenous Australian student participation throughout the University. 

42.2 Guiding principles

In pursuit of this objective the following principles will apply:

42.2.1 the University gives respect and consideration to the cultural, social and religious systems practised by Indigenous Australians; recognises Indigenous Australian knowledge as a significant contribution to all other bodies of knowledge, and acknowledges the knowledge base that Indigenous Australian staff bring to the University. As far as possible, the University will actively promote and recognise Indigenous Australian cultural practices and identity. The application of this principle recognises the diversity of Indigenous Australian culture

42.2.2 the University acknowledges that participation of Indigenous Australians in cultural or ceremonial activities enhances the effectiveness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.  Provision for participation in ceremonial or cultural activities is therefore of direct benefit to the University.

42.2.3 the University recognises that a supportive working environment for Indigenous Australians requires the redress of past social injustice, exploitation and employment inequity.  Consistent with principles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Self-Determination, social and restorative justice, and cultural affirmation, the University is therefore committed to strategies which seek to:

• maximise staff development along with the transfer of job skills and information in order to increase Indigenous knowledge, independence, remuneration, job security and self sufficiency
• increase, encourage and foster Indigenous employment and participation at all levels of work activity particularly continuing full-time and part-time positions through continued support of the Wingara Indigenous Employment and Professional Development Strategy, monitor and measure outcomes so that the strategy can be evaluated
• facilitate and encourage the direct involvement of each Indigenous Australian staff member in determining their own career strategies, goals and objectives. 

42.2.4 The University and staff shall maintain as their goal a continued improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of their work consistent with these principles.

42.3 Strategies

Consistent with the objectives and guiding principles, the University makes the following commitments:

42.3.1 To facilitate the Wingara Indigenous Employment and Professional Development Strategy, the University affirms its commitment to the provision of funding for an Indigenous Employment Manager (IEM) as an identified indigenous position.  The IEM shall contribute to the development, implementation and monitoring of the Wingara Indigenous Employment and Professional Development Strategy and will work with UTS managers to facilitate meeting such targets as are set for employment through the Strategy.  The Wingara Management Committee is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the employment strategy and advising the Vice-Chancellor on the setting of targets.

42.3.2 To develop a program of support to facilitate the professional development of Indigenous staff.  The program will be developed in consultation with Indigenous Australian staff and other stakeholders and will include consideration of targeted development provided through a mentoring approach and study support. 

42.3.3 To establish an Indigenous Australian staff support network to facilitate communication with and between Indigenous Australian staff on matters relating to their employment and professional development at UTS.  Participation in the network will be voluntary but all Indigenous Australian staff will be eligible to participate in the network.  The University will use the network as a mechanism to consult with Indigenous Australian staff on matters including the development of the professional development program (refer to sub-clause 42.3.2).

43 INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM

43.1 The University is committed to act in a manner consistent with the protection and promotion of intellectual freedom within the University.

43.2 Staff members have the right to:

(a) pursue critical and open inquiry

(b) research and publish

(c) participate in public debates and express opinions, including unpopular or controversial opinions about issues and ideas

(d) participate in an appropriate form in decision-making processes and structures germane to their field of expertise and onus of responsibility within the University

(e) teach, assess and develop curricula within agreed collegial Faculty processes; and

(f) participate in professional and representative bodies, including unions and engage in community service;

without fear of harassment, intimidation or unfair treatment.

43.3 Notwithstanding the rights expressed in sub-clause 43.2, staff members do not have a right to harass, vilify or intimidate.

44 PROVISION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

44.1 A staff member may wish to access leave or tailored workload arrangements (refer to sub-clause 34.3) in order to accommodate their personal, family and carer’s circumstances in accordance with the procedures provided in this Agreement.  The staff member must disclose sufficient information relevant to these circumstances to enable the University to determine whether there are good and sufficient reasons for the University to approve access to leave and tailored workload arrangements. 

44.2 Staff are normally expected to discuss their relevant personal circumstances with their supervisor, however, staff may choose to discuss such matters with the Director, Human Resources instead. 

44.3 Where the staff member chooses to discuss personal information with the Director, Human Resources instead of their supervisor, the Director, Human Resources will only disclose general information about the staff member’s situation to the staff member’s supervisor sufficient to allow the supervisor to fulfil their decision-making responsibilities.