The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employment Policies and Procedures Electronic Rostering and Attendance (ERA) Version No.: 4.0 Effective Date: 23 January 2017 Expiry Date: 23 January 2020 Date Ratified: 16 January 2017 Ratified by: Executive Group 1 Introduction This policy sets out the rules and guidelines that apply to the operation of the Electronic Rostering and Attendance (ERA) system. 2 Policy Statement 2.1 The key purpose of the ERA system is to: - facilitate effective and efficient management of staffing levels, rostering, and time and attendance monitoring - support the deployment of staff according to service needs - achieve safe and appropriate staffing levels and skill mix for all wards and departments - support compliance with the European Working Time Directive 2.2 The components of the ERA system include: a) Rostering where areas can use existing arrangements to create a roster b) Absence management c) Registering attendance at work d) Payroll e) ERA reports which can facilitate staffing and service management decisions 3 Aim of Policy The aim of this policy is to provide guidance to managers. The policy sets out guidance on: - Responsibilities - Key principles including roster responsibilities, general roster management, staffing levels, payroll - Rules and guidelines for the use of the ERA system - How rosters can be managed including shift duration, gaps in rosters - Guidance on roster methodology including registering attendance, shifts and working patterns, management of working time and leave. Page 1 of 13
4 Scope This policy applies to all staff (excluding Medical & Dental staff) from the date they are enabled within the ERA system. 5 Duties (Roles and Responsibilities) 5.1 The Executive Team is accountable to the Trust Board for ensuring Trust-wide compliance with policy. 5.2 Directorate Managers and Heads of Department/Service are responsible to the Executive Team for ensuring policy implementation. 5.3 The policy identifies ward/department managers (or appointed deputy) as responsible for making decisions relating to rostering and absence management in accordance with related HR policies. Managers are responsible for ensuring policy implementation and compliance in their area(s). 5.4 This policy provides guidance to all staff on rostering and absence management guidelines. Staff are responsible for complying with policy. 5.5 The Human Resources Department is responsible for the on-going management of the ERA system. 5.6 The ERA Team is responsible for supporting all aspects of electronic rostering and the ERA system. 6 Key Principles 6.1 Overview The Electronic Rostering and Attendance (ERA) system is a time and attendance, and e-rostering system that allows staff working time to be recorded electronically. The system also enables rosters to be compiled, leave to be requested and authorised, absences to be recorded and enhancement payments and overtime to be calculated. Managers who are responsible for staff attendance and e-rostering will be supported by the ERA team to effectively and accurately use the ERA system including training and staff support. The authorisation hierarchy is available at appendix A. The ERA system has a bi-directional interface with the Trust s electronic staff record system (ESR) so that information about employment, attendance and leave are shared between the two systems. Any fraudulent activity must be reported and will be subject to formal action. Page 2 of 13
6.2 Roster Responsibility Managers are responsible for the allocation of staff to ensure the effective delivery of services with due consideration of: a) Service needs/demands b) The health, safety and welfare of patients and staff c) The Nurse Staffing Strategy that helps inform planned staffing levels 6.2.1 Managers are responsible for completing and publishing a roster. Ideally the roster should cover a period of 6 weeks and be published at least two weeks in advance. 6.2.2 Managers are responsible for ensuring appropriate arrangements are in place for roster changes to be administered and approved.. 6.2.3 Prior to the completion and publication of the roster the manager needs to review planned staff/rostered hours against contracted hours. The manager must ensure all employees fulfil their contracted hours. 6.2.4 Staff must not authorise or change their own exceptions, annual leave, TOIL, overtime or clocking times or changes. Audit processes are in place to check for self-authorisation. 6.2.5 Managers should ensure staff are aware of SMART e-employee for electronically entering shift preferences and/or making annual/study leave requests, and/or checking shift and annual leave balances. This practice reduces workload for managers. Shift and absence requests cannot be guaranteed and will be granted at the discretion of the appropriate manager. 6.3 Roster Management and Staffing Levels 6.3.1 The allocation of staff will include movement within and across Directorates/Departments where appropriate (e.g. in cases of overstaffing) 6.3.2 Where a roster cannot be covered and the roster manager has exhausted all reasonable steps to address it, the Matron/Head of Department must be informed immediately and action taken to ensure an appropriate level of service is delivered. 6.3.3 Rosters must be auditable and retained in accordance with Trust policy (see Non-Health Related Records and Documents Retention Schedules ). 6.4 ERA Payroll All non-medical staff are now live with electronic payroll through ERA. All additional basic hours, overtime, on-call payments and enhancements are Page 3 of 13
recorded by the relevant manager in ERA and paid automatically via an electronic link to Payroll Services. All areas live with electronic payroll must complete the Payroll authorisation process each month within the designated payroll approval window. Payroll authorisation must be in accordance with the Trust s Corporate Governance Manual: Scheme of Delegation i.e. the authorised signatory should normally be at level 2 [Directorate Manager/Head of Department] or above) 6.4.1 All additional payments to basic pay must be recorded in ERA. Paper timesheets are not permitted. These payments are: Payment Additional Hours Enhanced [Unsocial] Hours Overtime On-Call On-Call: Work Done Waiting List Initiative Definition Hours worked by part-time staff over and above their normal contracted hours, but less than full time hours Hours worked per week within full-time hours (37½ per week) between 8.00pm and 6.00am Monday to Friday, and all hours worked on a Saturday, Sunday or Bank Holiday (midnight to midnight). (NB Enhanced hours cannot be claimed during overtime or work done whilst on-call) Hours worked in excess of standard (full time) hours i.e. more than 37½ per week. (Part-time staff cannot claim overtime rate until they have exceeded 37½ per week) Payment for each occasion an employee is available on-call AND any advice given by telephone during that time subject to agreement by the manager Hours worked having been called in to work whilst available on-call (Refer to Trust s On- Call Agreement for more details) Payment for hours worked as part of approved Waiting List Initiative activity 6.4.2 Managers are required to review and authorise additional payments using payroll reports and the two-stage completion (manager) and approval (senior manager) process. All payment of additional hours, enhancements and overtime is the responsibility of the ward/department manager and their line manager. Appointed deputies have a role to play in maintaining their skills in using ERA, particularly when deputising during the payroll period. All managers involved with the ERA Payroll authorisation process should refer to the How To Complete Monthly Payroll Guide for further information on the processes. 6.4.3 Managers should use the monthly payroll authorisation process as an opportunity to ensure the details displayed in ERA are correct. Managers Page 4 of 13
should pay particular attention to contracted weekly hours, pay band and to ensure new starters have been added and all leavers removed (taking into account both the timescales for the interface with ESR and payroll deadlines). Any errors should be notified to the ERA team in the first instance. Managers are reminded that leavers must be notified to the Human Resources Department immediately when it is known a person is leaving see Staff Leaving The Trust procedure on the intranet. 6.4.4 The ERA team will prompt managers when the monthly electronic payroll process is due (on the 1st of the month or nearest working day) and when the process is due to close (payroll information is submitted by the ERA team on approximately 8 th of the month or nearest working day). 7 Rules and Guidelines 7.1 Rostering 7.1.1 The person in charge of a group of staff must have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to manage time, attendance and absence on ERA. It is important that managers appoint a trained deputy to manage ERA records in their absence. 7.1.2 Rosters should be created using the agreed minimum skill mix for each shift to ensure the appropriate level of service is maintained, and staff should be allocated evenly across the week to provide continuity. 7.1.3 In deciding the most appropriate level of cover, due consideration should include: service need; knowledge, skills and experience required; continuity; cost; and Working Time Directive. 7.1.4 Rosters should comply with the educational/developmental needs of learners. 7.1.5 A manager that feels a service cannot be covered appropriately should contact their Directorate Management team for further advice. 7.2 Gaps in rosters and best use of resources Managers are expected to apply the use of additional basic hours, overtime and/or Bank/ agency/locum staff only where necessary and with due consideration of patient safety, service need and staff health and wellbeing (see also point 7.5.1). All additional basic hours, overtime and/or temporary (shortterm) staff cover is subject to approval in advance by the appropriate manager (e.g. Directorate Manager, Matron, Clinical Director or *Patient Services Coordinator (* out of hours only)). Page 5 of 13
7.2.1 Gaps in rosters should be covered in the first instance by asking part-time staff to work additional time provided their total hours do not exceed full time. Additional hours worked within full time hours must be paid as additional basic units, or given back as time off in lieu (TOIL). Where additional hours are worked during unsocial hours (i.e. between 20:00 and 06:00 Monday to Friday, and any hours worked on a weekend or Public Holiday) the unsocial hours are payable at enhanced rate in accordance with NHS Terms and Conditions of Service. TOIL is payable at plain time only. 7.2.2 Hours worked in excess of full time is overtime and shall be paid at overtime rate, or given back as TOIL in accordance with NHS Terms and Conditions of Service. Where overtime is worked during unsocial hours (i.e. between 20:00 and 06:00 Monday to Friday, and any hours worked on a weekend or Public Holiday), staff cannot receive unsocial hours payments and overtime for the same hours worked. TOIL is payable at plain time only. 7.2.3 Where an employee holds more than one contract of employment with the Trust, the two contracts should be treated entirely separately i.e. no account should be taken of the total hours (of the two contracts together) for the purposes of overtime. 7.2.4 Any remaining gaps should be filled by Bank/agency/locum staff. 7.2.5 Long term placement of temporary staff (Bank/agency/locum) requires prior approval from the Recruitment Control Group (RCG). 7.2.6 Overtime shall not be authorised where it is to cover annual leave. 7.3 Shift duration 7.3.1 Shifts should be allocated and worked in accordance with the Working Time Regulations policy, taking notice of the required rest and maximum working hours. The following apply: a) A standard early or late shift should be 7½ hours (excluding breaks), and in any event, no shorter than 6½ hours and no longer than 8½ hours (excluding breaks). b) A long day shift will be greater than 8½ hours (excluding breaks). c) No shift should be longer than 12 hours (excluding breaks). d) The maximum number of consecutive 12-hour day shifts an employee can be required to work is three. Managers should use the ERA system to monitor this. Page 6 of 13
e) The maximum number of consecutive night shifts an employee can be required to work in any two-week period should be no more than eight. 7.3.2 In clinical areas, three standard (early or late) shifts, or their equivalent (a total of 22½ hours) should be assigned per week where a student nurse and mentor are working together. Students must be flexible to comply with this requirement. Nurses undertaking preceptorship will be rostered to work with their preceptor for a minimum of two standard (early or late) shifts, or their equivalent (a total of 15 hours) per week, for six weeks. 7.4 Staff registering attendance 7.4.1 The ERA system s biometric hand readers are the default method for all employees to register their attendance at work. All staff based on Trust sites where biometric hand readers are installed should use them to clock in and out for every shift, unless other adjustments are required, due to individual need 7.4.2 Electronic timesheets should only be used by staff who have no access to biometric hand readers these are available to staff via SMART e- Employee but should only be used where biometric hand reader access is unavailable (community sites; staff regularly starting or finishing shifts offsite). Staff using electronic timesheets should enter clocking information in an accurate and timely fashion. If a member of staff who is authorised to use the electronic timesheet is unable to record their time immediately due to finishing work off-site or having no access to a PC, then they should record their time as soon as possible on the next available working day. Staff should never enter any clocking information for shifts that have not yet occurred. Any staff using the electronic timesheet to record times in advance may be subject to disciplinary action. 7.4.3 In cases where a biometric hand reader is faulty, staff should make every effort to find the nearest alternative hand reader to use. In cases where a staff member is unable to clock in using a hand reader due to technical issues they should inform their line manager who will manually enter an accurate time in the ERA system for them. 7.4.4 In some cases, with agreement by the manager, PC clockings can be enabled as an alternative method of registering attendance. This should however be reviewed annually by the management team and discussed with the ERA team. Managers who are uncertain about which method to use should contact the ERA team for advice. 7.4.5 Staff must register their attendance in good time at the nearest working hand reader to their place of work so they are ready to start at the beginning of their shift, and must register the end of their shift at the nearest working hand reader on leaving their work area. For staff required to wear a uniform, it is their responsibility to change before the shift Page 7 of 13
commences and after it finishes staff are not entitled to changing time within working time. 7.4.6 Managers have the ability to monitor which hand readers are being used to record attendance. Clockings are subject to audit. 7.5 Shifts and working patterns 7.5.1 Shifts and the working pattern of shifts should reflect service needs. Managers requesting the creation of new shifts or shift patterns must be able to demonstrate this and provide clear justification of its requirement for the needs of the service. 7.5.2 Shifts at night, weekends and Public holidays should normally be covered by permanent staff wherever possible to ensure experienced cover during the hours when senior support is at a minimum. It is recognised that some temporary staff may have relevant experience and this should be taken into account when rostering such shifts. 7.5.3 Staff in clinical areas on permanent night duty will work a minimum of two consecutive weeks on day duty every six months to enable them to keep up to date. 7.5.4 Clinical areas should have no more than three handovers in a 24-hour period, and the handover period should not normally exceed two hours. 7.6 Leave Management 7.6.1 Employees should request annual leave using the SMART e-employee system. Annual leave requests will be authorised by the manager using the SMART ehl Roster Management system. 7.6.2 All requests for leave are subject to approval by the appropriate manager in advance of the time off requested and must be in accordance with the Trust s Annual Leave policy. 7.6.3 Each department will set the minimum and maximum level of annual leave allowed per week to ensure service needs are met and there is opportunity for staff to take their entitlement. 7.6.4 A request for annual leave shall not be granted where it would incur additional cost to cover, for example, additional basic hours/overtime/temporary/agency/locum/bank staff (see point 7.2.6 above). 7.6.5 Employees should review their outstanding annual leave entitlement on a regular basis (can be viewed via SMART e-employee) and plan their requests as far ahead as possible to ensure they take their entitlement before the end of the leave year and help ensure rosters can be covered at all times. Page 8 of 13
7.6.6 If staff do not ask to take their annual leave in a timely fashion and/or the manager considers the amount of outstanding annual leave will put rosters at risk of not being covered, staff will be required to submit a request to take some or all of their remaining leave (on available dates) without delay. If an employee fails to make a request, the manager will consult with them with a view to allocating some or all of their outstanding leave. Managers reserve the right to allocate dates on which leave must be taken. In such circumstances, no more than two consecutive weeks will be allocated at any one time, and notification of the date(s) will be given at least four weeks in advance. 7.6.7 Annual Leave entitlement for a term-time employee is calculated based on contracted (actual working hours) and not paid hours. Annual leave must be recorded in ERA based on contracted hours, not paid hours. Staff on term-time contracts should request from their manager (via electronic annual leave requests in e-employee) which school holidays they would like to take as annual leave rather than as days off in line with their annual leave entitlement. Requests should be actioned by the manager in ERA. Incorrect recording of annual leave for term-timers who work unsocial hours is likely to result in under or over payments and so managers must ensure ERA remains up to date. 7.6.8 All absences should be recorded by managers in the ERA system. The only exceptions to this are: paternity leave maternity leave adoption leave suspension from duty career breaks Time off for recognised trade union duties and activities which are recorded by HR 7.7 Management of Time Accrued or Worked Short of Contracted Hours The Trust does not operate a flexi-time system whereby staff can voluntarily work hours in excess of their contracted hours to accrue time to take off in addition to their annual leave entitlement. However, other flexible working arrangements are available under the Trust s Flexible Working Arrangements policy. Fixed shifts 7.7.1 Time accrued is defined as hours from when an employee was required to work in excess of their contracted hours. It excludes overtime, work done whilst on-call, compensatory rest, and additional hours an employee was not required to work. Page 9 of 13
7.7.2 Any time accrued, or worked short of contracted hours should whenever possible be authorised in advance by the appropriate line manager. The amount of credit (TOIL) or debit time owing must be administered using the ERA system. 7.7.3 Time will accrue if an employee is required to work more than 30 minutes before their shift is due to start or 15 minutes after their shift is due to finish. 7.7.4 Time accrued or worked short of contracted hours should be cleared within 4 weeks of occurring. 7.7.5 When time accrued (TOIL) is taken, or when time worked short of contracted hours is made up, it is subject to approval in advance by the appropriate line manager. Corporate standard shifts 7.7.6 Staff working on corporate standard shifts have an hours worked balance applied by ERA based on their clockings. This may result in an hours +/- balance, but is not time accrued as the balance includes every minute of preparation time and natural over-run rather than additional time worked for the needs of the service. Managers should be aware of this balance and manage it appropriately (if necessary) on a monthly basis. The hours worked balance will automatically reset at the start of each month, however managers can carry over an allocation of this balance at their discretion using a manual adjustment to reflect any agreed additional time worked due to the needs of the service or any hours worked under contracted hours that the employee needs to work back. 7.8 On-Call Shifts For all guidelines on On-Call shifts please refer to the Trusts On-Call Agreement. When called onto a Trust site, the employee should use the biometric hand scanner when arriving at and leaving the shift; the manager will make a manual adjustment on ERA to allow for travel time. When called onto a non-trust site, the employee s manager will make a manual adjustment on ERA for the shift. 8 Training All users of the ERA system will receive appropriate training: ERA managers ehl Management (classroom training via IT Training Department). This training is a requirement for those managing attendance, annual leave, rosters and payroll processes on ERA. Consideration must be given to where training takes place. 9 Equality and Diversity Page 10 of 13
The Trust is committed to ensuring that, as far as is reasonably practicable, the way we provide services to the public and the way we treat our staff reflects their individual needs and does not unlawfully discriminate against individuals or groups on any grounds. This policy has been properly assessed. 10 Monitoring Compliance with the policy Breach of this policy may be subject to action under the Disciplinary Procedure. Records held on the ERA system will be used (as appropriate) as part of any investigation. Standard/ Process/ Issue Monitor the compliance of Wards / Departments with the rostering policy Monitoring and Audit Method By Committee Frequency Annual sample audit ERA Team Heads of Annually of areas to be Reporting Human determined by Resources Human Resources Meeting 11 Consultation and review of this policy This policy has been reviewed in consultation with the Employment Policies and Procedures Consultation Group. 12 Implementation of the policy (including raising awareness) Details of the policy will be circulated to all Trust managers following implementation. Further advice and guidance will be available from the ERA Team and Human Resources. 13 References Nurse Staffing Strategy Annual Leave Policy Flexible Working Arrangements Policy Working Time Regulations Policy NHS Terms & Conditions of Service Handbook NUTH On-Call Agreement Recognition Agreement Page 11 of 13
Appendix A Authorisation hierarchy for the Electronic Rostering and Attendance system (ERA) Standard Operating Procedure Purpose This document indicates the Trust recommended authorisation hierarchy for dealing with absence, overtime and exceptions in the ERA System. Clinical Directors (or designated PA. (The PA must receive authorisation from the Clinical Director to act on their behalf in this capacity, e.g. PA to email the CD prior to each monthly payroll run to seek consent)) Approve/acknowledge exceptions for Directorate Managers Approve/reject annual leave for Directorate Managers Record sickness for Directorate Managers Approve/reject study leave for Directorate Managers Directorate Managers, Heads of Department and Corporate Leads Approve/acknowledge exceptions for Matrons/Senior Managers Approve/reject annual leave for Matrons/Senior Managers Record sickness for Matrons/Senior Managers Approve/reject study leave for Matrons/Senior Managers Other key duties: Approve payroll file Matrons/Senior Managers Approve/acknowledge exceptions for Sisters/Charge Nurses/Department Managers Approve/reject annual leave for Sisters/Charge Nurses/Department Managers Record sickness for Sisters/Charge Nurses/Department Managers Approve/reject study leave for Sisters/Charge Nurses/Department Managers Other key duties: Approve payroll file Sisters/Charge Nurses/Department Managers Approve/acknowledge exceptions for staff Approve/reject annual leave for staff Approve/record sickness Approve/reject study leave for staff Other key duties: Keep roster up to date daily Complete payroll file monthly Page 12 of 13
There are some service areas in which ERA responsibilities are delegated to band 2/3 supervisors/administrators The Roster Management (supervisor) Standard Operating Procedure (see link below) sets out the role of such supervisors and clearly states the boundaries of their responsibilities and those of their department managers Useful documents: For all ERA related documentation go to the ERA pages on the Trust Intranet: http://nuth-vintranet1/ittraining/child%20pages/under%20child/era.htm Page 13 of 13
PART 1 The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Equality Analysis Form A This form must be completed and attached to any procedural document when submitted to the appropriate committee for consideration and approval. 1. Assessment Date: 17 th September 2. Name of policy / 2015 strategy / service: Electronic Rostering and Attendance (ERA) 3. Name and designation of Author: Ms K Pearce, HR Manager Projects 4. Names & designations of those involved in the impact analysis screening process: Michelle Musgrave, HR Officer Projects & Samantha Cardwell, ERA System Administrator 5. Is this a: Policy Y Strategy Service Is this: New Revised Y Who is affected Employees Y Service Users Wider Community 6. What are the main aims, objectives of the policy, strategy, or service and the intended outcomes? (These can be cut and pasted from your policy) The key purpose of the ERA system is to: - facilitate effective and efficient management of staffing levels, rostering, and time and attendance monitoring - support the deployment of staff according to service needs - achieve safe and appropriate staffing levels and skill mix for all wards and departments - support compliance with the European Working Time Directive 7. Does this policy, strategy, or service have any equality implications? Yes No x
If No, state reasons and the information used to make this decision, please refer to paragraph 2.3 of the Equality Analysis Guidance before providing reasons: See below
8. Summary of evidence related to protected characteristics Protected Characteristic Race / Ethnic origin (including gypsies and travellers) Evidence, i.e. What evidence do you have that the Trust is meeting the needs of people in various protected Groups The Trust is committed to ensuring that, as far as is reasonably practicable, the way we provide services to the public and the way we treat our staff reflects their individual needs and does not unlawfully discriminate against individuals or groups on any grounds. Does evidence/engagement highlight areas of direct or indirect discrimination? If yes describe steps to be taken to address (by whom, completion date and review date) Does the evidence highlight any areas to advance opportunities or foster good relations. If yes what steps will be taken? (by whom, completion date and review date) Sex (male/ female) Religion and Belief Sexual orientation including lesbian, gay and bisexual people Age Disability learning difficulties, physical disability, sensory impairment and mental health. Consider the needs of carers in this section Gender Re-assignment Marriage and Civil Partnership Maternity / Pregnancy As above As above As above As above As above Where an employee has a physical disability which prevents them from using the biometric handreader devices, other arrangements are available e.g. using the back of the left hand, or electronic methods where needed. As above As above As above Trust has established a Disability staff network. Staff side representatives are members of the staff networks 9. Are there any gaps in the evidence outlined above? If yes how will these be rectified? No 10. Engagement has taken place with people who have protected characteristics and will continue through the Equality Delivery System and the Equality Diversity and Human Rights Group. Please note you may require further engagement in respect of any significant changes to policies, new developments and or changes to service delivery. In such circumstances please contact the Equality and Diversity Lead or the Involvement and Equalities Officer.
Do you require further engagement? Yes No x 11. Could the policy, strategy or service have a negative impact on human rights? (E.g. the right to respect for private and family life, the right to a fair hearing and the right to education? No PART 2 Name: Karen Pearce Date of completion: 16 October 2015 (If any reader of this procedural document identifies a potential discriminatory impact that has not been identified, please refer to the Policy Author identified above, together with any suggestions for action required to avoid/reduce the impact.)