Northumbria University Main Statement of Terms and Conditions of Employment Academic Staff (Grades 6 to 8) This document sets out the main terms and conditions of employment for Academic staff employed by Northumbria University and should be read in conjunction with the individual letter of appointment and the University s employment policies and procedures. The terms and conditions set out below have been agreed by collective bargaining and may be subject to variation by agreement with the relevant recognised trade union. They may also be modified by the effect of changes in employment legislation, the University s Human Resources policies and procedures, and agreements which may be approved by the Board of Governors, from time to time. 1
DATE OF COMMENCEMENT AND CONTINUOUS EMPLOYMENT 1. Your date of commencement is stated in your letter of appointment. 2. Continuous service with other HEFCE institutions, Universities or Further Education establishments will be counted in calculating sickness and maternity entitlements. In the case of redundancy, payment will be calculated in accordance with the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government, etc.) (Modification) Order 1999. 3. Your continuous service will differ depending on the purpose for which it will be used. a. Sickness entitlements / Maternity entitlements. Service, immediately prior to your engagement, with other HEFCE institutions, Universities or Further Education establishments will be counted. b. Redundancy qualifying service. Only service with Northumbria University will be counted. c. Redundancy payments. Service with any organisation, immediately prior to your engagement, which are covered by the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government, etc.) (Modification) Order 1999 and as amended will be counted for the calculation of redundancy payments. d. Notice period / Annual Leave /Probationary Period. Only service with Northumbria University will be counted. PLACE OF WORK 4. The primary location of your appointment is stated in your letter of appointment. 5. You may be required to travel inside and outside of the University from time to time to undertake certain aspects of your duties, for which you will receive travelling and subsistence expenses in accordance with the University's Financial Regulations. DUTIES 6. You are required to undertake a range of duties related to your primary role as a member of academic staff. Those duties include teaching and tutorial guidance, research and other forms of scholarly activity, examining, curriculum development, administration and related activities. 7. The make-up of your duties will be determined from time to time by your Head of Department, in consultation with yourself, and under the guidelines contained within the University Academic Workload Planning Scheme. Your duties will be reviewed regularly through the Performance and Development Appraisal scheme. 8. You are expected to work flexibly and efficiently, and to maintain the highest professional standards in discharging your responsibilities, and in promoting and implementing the corporate policies of the HOURS OF WORK 9. You are expected to work such hours as are reasonably necessary in order to fulfil your duties and responsibilities under a professional contract of employment, in a normal working week of 37 hours and a 52 week working year. 10. Your formal scheduled teaching responsibilities should not exceed 18 hours and not normally be more than 16 hours in any week, or a total of 550 hours in the working year. 11. The above provisions will be prorated for staff on a fractional appointment. 2
12. You are expected to teach in any week of the working year in which teaching is required based on the Faculty s and/or University s operational requirements. The maximum number of teaching weeks for an individual member of academic staff is 36 and a teaching week is defined as a week in which formal scheduled teaching and/or assessment is undertaken. You will not (except with prior agreement) be required to undertake more than 14 consecutive weeks teaching at any one time. 13. There is an expectation that you will use your professional judgement to manage the achievement of objectives and outputs related to other work activity during the teaching weeks and across the working year. Any significant variation to your pattern of work will only be made by your line manager, following consultation with yourself, as part of your overall workload discussions. 14. Any significant variation to the pattern of the normal academic calendar in the University will only be made after consultation with staff and the recognised trade unions. RESEARCH, SCHOLARSHIP AND ENTERPRISE 15. Your time outside teaching and administrative activity will be devoted, primarily, to research, scholarship and enterprise, which will be principally selfmanaged and may be taken throughout the year and be integrated into the overall pattern of your work or as an agreed block of time outside of teaching weeks. The type of activity as defined in the Academic Workload Planning Scheme, together with the nature and extent of this (and the relationship with your other duties) will be considered as part of your Performance and Development Appraisal, under which your objectives for the coming year (or other appropriate period) will be identified and agreed. The University undertakes to give you such support as is reasonable in the circumstances in order to help you realise your objectives. HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENT 16. The annual leave year runs from 1 September to 31 August. 17. The full-time entitlement is 35 days paid annual leave in any one leave year. 18. There are a total of 11 days (occasionally 12) of fixed holidays for Bank/Public, extra statutory and institutional holidays. The days are for Christmas day; Boxing Day; New Year's Day; two extra statutory days between Christmas and New Year; one and occasionally two institutional days fixed between Christmas and New Year; Good Friday; Easter Monday; early May Bank Holiday; late May Bank Holiday; late August Bank Holiday. 19. If you work part-time or part-year, you will be entitled to annual leave and Bank/Public, extra statutory and institutional holidays, on a pro-rata basis. 20. Annual leave not taken by 31 August may not be carried forward into the next leave year, except when allowed for under statute, or as agreed, in exceptional circumstances, by the 21. Staff starting or leaving during the year will receive a proportionate entitlement of annual leave. 22. The timing of your annual leave is subject to the agreement of your line manager and, detailed holiday schedules for individual staff will be agreed as soon as reasonably practicable after the beginning of each academic year, based on local operational requirements and personal 3
circumstances, wherever possible. The normal expectation is that annual leave will be taken throughout the working year. You may request a period of leave which exceeds 4 weeks to be taken in one block and this will not be unreasonably refused. LEAVE OF ABSENCE 23. The detailed provisions for all other types of leave and time off, including maternity, paternity and adoption leave are contained in the relevant University Policy and Procedure and are published on the Human Resources web pages. SICKNESS AND SICK PAY 24. Sickness absence is subject to the provisions of the University Sickness Absence Management Policy. If you are absent from duty because of illness or injury, you will receive either full, or half salary or no pay in accordance with the University sick pay scheme. REMUNERATION 25. Your grade and salary on appointment is detailed in your letter of appointment. Salary is paid monthly in arrears by direct credit transfer (BACS) to a UK bank account designated by you. 26. You will be entitled to receive increments within the scale to the maximum of the grade. Details of salary scales and the incremental progression procedure are available on the Human Resources web pages. 27. In determining your salary review the Board of Governors will refer to national recommendations arising from negotiations between Universities and Colleges Employers Association and the recognised trade unions. DEDUCTIONS FROM PAY 28. For the purposes of the Employment Rights Act 1996 you authorise the University to deduct from your salary any sums due to the University including, without limitation, any overpayment of salary and any advances or loans made to you by the The University will seek to agree with you the timescales for repayment, taking into account the reasons why the overpayment occurred. 29. In the event of such sums being due to the University on the termination of your employment, and if your final salary payment is insufficient to allow for the whole of any such deduction, you will be required to repay the outstanding amount due to the University within one month of the date of the termination of your employment. PENSION 30. You are entitled to participate in the Teachers Pension Scheme and you will be automatically enrolled in this scheme on commencement of employment, unless immediately prior to commencing your employment at the University, you are contributing to the Universities Superannuation Scheme, in which case your membership of this scheme will continue. 31. Should you wish to opt out of either occupational pension scheme, you must contact the relevant pension scheme administrator directly. PROBATION 32. The first 22 months of your employment will be the probationary period if you are a new entrant to higher education. If you have held a previous lecturing post in higher education, your normal probation period will be no longer than 12 months. 33. You shall be entitled to four weeks notice during your probationary period. The University reserves the right to extend your probationary period, as appropriate. 4
34. During your probationary period your performance will be monitored in accordance with the University Probation Policy and Procedure. PERFORMANCE AND DEVELOPMENT APPRAISAL 35. You are required to participate in the University Performance and Development Appraisal scheme approved by the Board of Governors. CAPABILITY PROCEDURE 36. The University recognises that unsatisfactory job performance and incapability should not be treated as disciplinary offences, therefore, if you are unable to maintain a satisfactory level of performance, this may result in action being taken under the capability procedure. CONDUCT AND BEHAVIOUR 37. The University Code of Conduct provides a framework of behaviours and standards within which employees are expected to conduct themselves. 38. The University expects high standards of conduct, performance and attendance at work and requires you to follow its procedures and policies. Where there are serious concerns about these matters they will be raised with you and may result in action being taken under the disciplinary procedure for matters relating to misconduct. 39. The University, through its managers, will behave towards you in a respectful manner and which is in line with the University s principles and values. Correspondingly, the University requires that you behave towards your managers and colleagues in a manner that is respectful and which is in line with the University s principles and values. 40. If you feel you are being treated in a way which is not respectful, or is inconsistent with the University s 5 principles and values, you are entitled to make use of the relevant policies and procedures, as appropriate to the particular situation. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE 41. If you have a grievance relating to your employment you are entitled to make use of the Grievance Procedure to seek to resolve the situation. EXCLUSIVITY OF SERVICE 42. External work, which is supportive of your professional responsibilities, is encouraged by the Before you enter into an obligation to undertake external work, you must discuss the matter with your Executive Dean. By way of exception, this requirement does not apply to the following: external examining; acting as an assessor or moderator; the production of scholarly works such as books, articles and papers. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 43. Intellectual Property Rights include patents, rights to Inventions, copyright and related rights, trademarks, trade names and domain names, rights in designs, rights in computer software, database rights, rights to preserve the confidentiality of information (including know-how and trade secrets) and any other intellectual property rights, in each case whether registered or unregistered and including all applications (or rights to apply) for and be granted, renewals or extensions of, and rights to claim priority from, such rights and all similar or equivalent rights or forms of protection which may now or in the future subsist in any part of the world. 44. You acknowledge that ownership of all Intellectual Property Rights subsisting (or which may in the future subsist) in all such Inventions and works made by you in the course of your employment
shall automatically, on creation, vest in the University, subject to the terms of the University s Intellectual Property Policy. To the extent that they do not vest automatically, you agree to hold them on trust for the You agree promptly to execute all documents and do all acts as may, in the opinion of the University, be necessary to give effect to this clause. 45. For the avoidance of doubt, course materials produced by you in the course of your employment for the purposes of the curriculum of a course run by the University and produced, used or disseminated by the University, and outcomes from research specifically funded and supported by the University, shall belong to the COPYRIGHT 46. The copyright on: all records, documents and other papers relating to the finance and administration of the University; course materials produced by you in the course of your employment for the purposes of the curriculum of a course run by the University and produced, used or disseminated by the University; outcomes from research specifically funded and supported by the University, shall belong to the 47. The copyright in any work or design compiled, edited or otherwise brought into existence by you as a scholarly work produced in furtherance of your professional career shall belong to you. The copyright in any material produced by you for your personal use and reference including as an aid to teaching, shall also belong to you. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 48. You shall not, except as authorised by the University or required by your duties gain, use for your own benefit or divulge to any persons, firm, company or other organisations whatsoever any confidential information belonging to the University or relating to its affairs or dealings which may come to your knowledge during your employment. 49. All confidential records, documents and other papers (together with any copies or extracts thereof) made or acquired by you in the course of your employment shall be the property of the University and must be returned to it on the termination of your employment. 50. Confidential information must be determined in relation to individual employees according to their status, responsibilities and the nature of their duties. However it shall include all information which relates to the commercial and financial activities of the University, the unauthorised disclosure of which would embarrass, harm or prejudice the It does not extend to the information already in the public domain, unless such information arrived by unauthorised means. 51. Notwithstanding the above the University affirms that academic staff have freedom within the law to question and test received wisdom, and to put forward new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions, without placing themselves in jeopardy of losing their jobs and privileges they have at the DATA PROTECTION 52. You agree to allow the University to collect and retain personal data about you for the purposes of calculating remuneration and maintaining records of attendance, equality and diversity monitoring, health, discipline and grievances such as are necessary for the performance of the contract of employment, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. 6
53. Data will also be used in an anonymous format to provide statistics and management information that will enable the University to monitor the effectiveness of its policies and procedures; both internally and through the supply of data to external bodies such as the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA). HEALTH AND SAFETY 54. The University will ensure, as far as practically possible, the health and safety of staff, students and members of the general public. You are also expected to carry out your duties without endangering the health and safety of yourself, your colleagues, students, and the general public. You must comply with instructions on health and safety, all statutory requirements and all local codes of practice. the earliest opportunity and, in any event, not later than one month after the change. 59. The University will implement policies and procedures, from time to time, in consultation with the recognised trade unions and these will not constitute legally binding terms and conditions of your contract. These will be published on the Human Resources website. 60. This contract may be varied with the agreement of both parties. 55. The main documents relating to health and safety in the University are available on the Campus Services web pages. NOTICE TO TERMINATE EMPLOYMENT 56. Your appointment shall be terminable, except in the case of probation or dismissal for gross misconduct, by giving the University two months notice in writing or by the University giving you three months notice in writing. CHANGES TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS 57. Your conditions of service are negotiated through collective bargaining between the University and recognised trade unions. Staff are encouraged to join a trades union. 58. Agreements reached as a result of national or local negotiations between the University and the recognised trade unions shall, after acceptance by the Board of Governors, be automatically incorporated into your contract. These agreed changes to terms and conditions will be notified in writing at 7