Inserting a break in employment is now no longer evidence that it is not
continuous employment: the criterion is the pattern of employment. Thus,
for example, if you are employed for 3 10-week periods each year, that is
continuous employment. Yes, there are redundancy costs and one scheme that
some HEIs operate for PT tutors etc is to make a redundancy payment every 2
years. This allows for a series of small payments rather than redundancy
mounting up.

Part-time/"casual" workers now have much more protection from unfair
actions by employers and all HR depts should be aware of their rights and
responsibilities.

ATB

Claire



--On 05 August 2003 14:24 +0100 Bernard Doherty <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> It may be enough to satisfy the HR department in your institution, but
> not the law. Clare's people describe the situation accurately,
> although why anyone should have the task of finding ways of getting
> around offering staff reasonable job security and decent working
> conditions is another matter. There have been comparable arguments put
> forward by the inhuman exploitation team at APU; the counter-argument
> that the chief problem is retaining experienced staff in low-paid but
> demanding and responsible positions has been continually ignored so
> that the competent are always looking out for 'proper jobs'. The
> cost of advertising for, interviewing and training new staff is also
> ignored. This is the result of a business ethic being applied
> by people who can't do sums or draw up a proper balance sheet.
>
> Meanwhile, perhaps the HEIs who actively seek out these routes to
> circumvent the human rights of those working for them might like to
> explain how this fits in with the often expressed desire to be socially
> responsible employers.
>
> Ah, that's better; just felt like sharing.
>
> Regards, Bernard
>
>
> On Tue, 5 Aug 2003 13:22:02 +0100 Geoffrey
> Morris <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Continuous employment is one thing but is usually got around by
> inserting a week or month break between the contracts, i.e one contract
> finishes on 30th June, the next commences on the 1st of August. This
> is usually enough to satisfy the Human Resouces people. > >
> -----Original Message----- > From: Clare Davies
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: 05 August 2003 1:08 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: employing support workers > >
>> How to other HEIs deal with recruitment of support workers such as
> note-takers and study facilitators? > > At UCN we have been emplyoying
> note-takers and study facilitator via payroll, as casual/temporary
> staff, to avoid the problems associated with self-employment or asking
> the student to act as employer. I advertise for such staff on a
> relatively informal basis, and keep details on a register after an
> informal interview, to enable us to respond quickly to requests from
> students for such support. This overcomes the difficulty predicting
> requirements in advance and allows me to appoint individuals quickly,
> as required. > > Students often ask to continue using a support
> worker with whom they have built up a good working relationship, and I
> want to be able to re-appoint people who have developed the required
> skills. This has been particularly important if we have provided
> training, eg note-takers for deaf students. > > However Human
> Resources has now introduced a maxium 12-month time limit for
> temporary/casual staff, to prevent them acquiring employment rights
> such as redundancy pay. Apparently subsequent contracts can count as
> continuous employment, despite breaks in contract during the summer
> vacation. The recruitment process for staff on longer-time contracts,
> takes a minimum of 4 months and it is difficult to obtain senior
> management approval for such appointments. > > I would appreciate
> information about how other disability support services have dealt with
> similar siuations. > > Clare Davies >
>> >
>
> ----------------------
> Bernard Doherty Student Adviser
> ACCESS Centre
> Anglia Polytechnic University
>
> Tel: 01223 363271 x2534
> Fax: 01223 417730
> Minicom: 01223 576155
> [log in to unmask]
>



----------------------
Claire Wickham,
Director: Centre for Access and Communication Studies
University of Bristol
Union Building
Queen's Road
Clifton
Bristol BS8 1LN

Tel: 0117 954 5710/5705
Textphone: 0117 954 5715
Fax: 0117 954 5714

[log in to unmask]