E.9 SALARIES AND APPOINTMENT/RETIREMENT OF STAFF

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1 E.9 SALARIES AND APPOINTMENT/RETIREMENT OF STAFF E.9.1 Appointment of Staff Heads of Colleges may only request staff appointments that are part of approved University Policy. Before any proposed appointment can be advertised, details of the appointment must be submitted to the Director of Human Resources for verification and approval and to the Director of Finance for confirmation of funding. The Director of Human Resources may not initiate University recruitment procedures until funding has been confirmed by the Finance Department. E.9.2 Contracts of Employment All letters of appointment or variations in conditions of service must be issued by the Director of Human Resources through the Human Resources Department. The Director of Human Resources shall be responsible for keeping the Director of Finance informed of all matters relating to personnel for payroll purposes. E.9.3 New Members of Staff 1. All new members of staff should submit the following to the Payroll and Pensions Section as soon as possible after taking up their post: i) P45 (staff not having a P45 will be asked to sign a P46 which confirms whether this is their only or main job for Inland Revenue Purposes); ii) Bank or Building Society details; iii) National Insurance Number; iv) Forms relating to the relevant Pension Scheme where applicable (see later section on Pensions for further details). v) Copy of Birth Certificate or Passport in order to verify date of birth. 2. Removal Expenses Removal expenses up to a maximum of 2,700 will be paid to members of staff appointed on contracts of three years or more. In exceptional circumstances, the Vice Chancellor has executive authority to approve the reimbursement of expenses up to a maximum of 8,000. For details of the scheme please see section E Sickness Pay Scheme The University has an extensive sick pay scheme. Full details are given to staff on appointment. 4. Maternity Pay, Maternity Leave, Paternity Pay and Paternity Leave Full details are available from the Human Resources Department. 5. Holidays The annual leave year is from 1st January to 31st December. The entitlement is made up of six days on dates determined by the University (i.e. at Christmas and before the end of the Easter vacation), eight public and statutory days and annual leave dependent upon category of staff, etc. Further details are available from the Human Resources Department.

2 6. Leave of absence and sabbatical leave If the absence is for more than three days during term, a leave of absence form (or sabbatical leave form if appropriate) should be completed. Where appropriate a Request for Approval to Travel Overseas form, (see Section E.8.3.1), must also be completed and retained in the department. 7. Advances of Salary Exceptionally, new members of staff may be eligible for an advance of a proportion of the first month s salary; this will amount to no more than one half of one month s net salary. Advances can be repaid at the end of the first month of employment or spread over a period of 3 months. Advances are granted at the discretion of the Director of Human Resources. Enquiries concerning advances should be directed to the Human Resources Department. Advances will not be drawn for any other reason except in exceptional circumstances. E.9.4 Pensions This section should not be considered to be a complete summary, or an alternative to the scheme guides produced by each provider, a copy of which is available from the Finance Department (Payroll and Pensions Section). At present four schemes are in operation in the University: i) the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) - this is the national scheme serving all UK universities for academic and academically related staff ii) the Swansea University Pension Scheme (SUPS) - (this was closed to new members on 31 st December 2011 and has been replaced by the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) see below) iii) the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) which is applicable to all other categories of staff iv) the National Health Service Pension Scheme which is available for academic clinical members of staff. 1. USS The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) is available to Academic & Academically Related Staff over age 18. USS has two sections, The Final Salary Section and The Career Revalued Benefits Section. The final salary section of the scheme is closed to new members, although persons who were a member prior to joining Swansea University may be able to continue membership. This will be determined upon appointment. Contributions to the Final Salary Section of the Scheme are 7.5% Employee 16% Employer. The Career Revalued Benefits Section of USS is available to Academic & Academic Related staff who joined the University after 1 st October 2011 and who have no prior membership of USS. Contributions to the Career Revalued Benefits Section are 6.5% Employee and 16% Employer.

3 All new members of staff who are eligible to join USS and who satisfy certain criteria, will be automatically enrolled into the Career Revalued Benefits Section of the scheme on joining. If it is later determined that the member should be in the Final Salary Section they will be transferred and contributions will be adjusted accordingly. Unless, the person appointed completes a USS opt-out form he/she will automatically become a Member, and will be required to complete the necessary forms, from the start of his/her employment and contributions will be deducted accordingly. The person appointed will, however, be able subsequently to change to a Personal Pension or to the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) by completing a USS opt-out form. If this is done within 3 months of the date of the commencement of employment, withdrawal from the Scheme will have retrospective effect to that date and the person appointed will be deemed never to have been a member of USS. In that event any contributions he/she and this Institution, as employer, have made to USS will be repaid by USS and any necessary adjustments in National Insurance will be made, with appropriate adjustments to Income Tax (PAYE) deductions. A decision to withdraw from USS later than three months after the date of commencement of employment requires the completion of a USS opt-out form.. Please note that for a period of voluntary unpaid leave, life cover is not provided for USS members unless USS contributions are maintained. For further information about USS in general, please visit 2. Swansea University Pension Scheme Swansea University Pension Scheme closed to new entrants on 31 st December 2011, although it is still active for current members. Under this scheme, members of staff contribute either 6.35% or 8.35% of their salary and the University will add an amount equal to 25% of the salary. Members who contribute 6.35 will accrue a pension at 1/80 th and those who contribute 8.35 will accrue at 1/70 th. The Pension Scheme is contracted out of the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme. For more information please refer to the Finance website or contact the Pensions Officer. Members of staff of the University and the Trustees of the Pension Scheme are under a legal obligation to consider making a report to the Pensions Regulator if they become aware of a breach of the legal requirements that govern the Scheme. Details of the procedure to be followed are included at F-E.9.4. Full details of the SUPS are described in the booklet Guide for Members, which can be obtained from the Pensions Office or from the Department of Human Resources. 3. National Employment Savings Trust All other members of staff will be automatically enrolled into the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) subject to certain criteria. NEST has replaced the Swansea University Pension Scheme for eligible staff. NEST is a workplace pension scheme which is contracted into SERPS. A member s NEST account is not limited to one employer; therefore the employee can transfer between employers and retain their membership throughout their career.

4 Contributions to NEST are Employee 4.0%, with a further 1% from HMRC. The Employer will contribute 5.0%. For more information please visit the NEST website: 4. National Health Service Pension Scheme Certain members of clinical staff may be able to retain membership of the National Health Service Pension Scheme. In order to do this they must have been a member of the NHSPS immediately prior to joining the University or have contributed to the scheme within the previous 365 days. They must also be employed within a clinical department. Eligibility to retain membership of the NHSPS will be determined via Human Resources. Should a member of the NHSPS choose to opt out of the scheme they will not be able to rejoin the NHSPS during their employment with the University; they may however be eligible to join USS or NEST. 5 Pension+ USS, NEST and SUPS all operate under Pension +. Pension + is a salary sacrifice scheme where the employee sacrifices the amount of their pension contributions and the employer pays these to the scheme for them. This is a more efficient way of paying pension contributions which saves national insurance for both the employee and employer. Further details of Pension+ are available from the Pension Officer and from Human Resources. All eligible new staff are deemed to be members of Pension+ when they join the relevant pension scheme. To opt out of Pension + they should contact the Pensions Officer. E.9.5 Payment of Salaries All University employees shall be paid in accordance with scales approved by Council. The Remuneration Committee determines the salaries of staff paid on professorial or equivalent scales. National salary awards shall be reported to Finance Committee for confirmation. The Vice Chancellor shall have executive authority to implement such scales. Other than as stated in E.9.9, no payment will be made unless authorised by the Human Resources Department or by an authorised person delegated by the Director of Human Resources. Any such payment should be covered by a letter of appointment. The Director of Finance shall be responsible for making all payments of salaries to staff, including payments for overtime worked. No payments are to be made to staff other than via the Finance Department. In particular no payments to staff are to be made via petty cash or via reimbursement through the expenses system. The Director of Finance shall be responsible for keeping all records relating to payroll, including those of a statutory nature. The Payroll Section of the Finance Department is responsible for the payment of all Salaries within the University and is also responsible for making statutory and other payments to the HMRC, and DSS. Its Conditions of Service, interviewing and staff selection are the responsibility of the Human Resources Department.

5 All staff are paid by direct credit to a UK bank or building society account via the BACS system. The only exception is for late appointments whose details are unavailable and are paid by crossed cheque as a temporary measure. No members of staff are paid by cash. Any member of staff due to receive a cheque should collect it from the Payroll Section. Cheques are not sent out via the internal post. Members of staff who require payment of salary to be made overseas should arrange a transfer of funds through their UK bank account. There are currently two payrolls in existence, one of which is for casual payments (see Section E.9.8). The Main monthly payroll is used for all contracted staff. In addition, payments are also made for the SUPS pensioners. Monthly salaries are credited to employees accounts on the last working day of each month. December salaries are usually paid several days early to allow for any queries to be resolved before the Christmas break. All amendments for monthly salaries should be sent to the Payroll Section, according to the deadlines as published on the Finance website. Any amendments received after this date will be actioned in the following month s payroll. Payslips are available to view via the University intranet 48 hours prior to payday. E.9.6 Notification of Changes Any changes in personal circumstances can be made via the self service module of ABW. However, they can be notified to the Payroll Section. These include: i). ii). iii) Change of address; Change of bank details. Notification of a change in Bank details must be submitted in writing to the Payroll Section. Changes of bank details received directly from the bank or building society will not be actioned without written confirmation from the employee. i. Change of bank details Form F.E.9.6. ii. Letter or from ac.uk address. A married woman paying reduced rate NI contributions must notify the Payroll Section if any of the following happens:- i. She gets divorced or her marriage is annulled; ii. She remarries. The Payroll Office will accept an as a change of bank details, but the can only be from the employee account. This must contain such verifications as Date of Birth, Payroll number and National Insurance Number and previous bank details. E.9.7 Payment for work carried out beyond normal duties Additional payments will not be made for work which may be regarded as part of the normal duties of an employee regardless of source of funding. The procedures for processing additional payments are included at F-E.9.7. E.9.8 Casual Payments An individual who works for an employer under a contract of service is regarded as an employee and is to be distinguished from someone providing a contract for services, who is to be regarded as of self-employed status. The legal definition of an employee is not very clear and is defined in the Employment Rights Act 1996 as someone with a contract of employment, which is itself defined as a contract of

6 service. Common Law is more helpful, but it becomes clear that there is no definitive list of necessary and sufficient conditions for the identification of a contract of employment. It is best to consider eligibility for employee status as a cluster concept, any combination of which conditions may produce a contract of employment. These conditions will include the following: i. Who has the right to control the worker? I.e.Who determines the hours when the person will work, the duties that will be undertaken, how they are to be undertaken and where they are to be undertaken? ii. iii. iv. Who provides the facilities, tools and/or equipment for the worker? Does the worker provide a personal service and could the worker hire someone else to undertake the duties? The degree of financial risk, if any, undertaken by the worker; v. Does the worker take any responsibility for investment and/or management? vi. vii. Does the worker profit directly from good work? Eligibility to work in the UK. Once any combination of the above has been established, a contract of employment must be issued by the Human Resources Department. The Human Resources Department will reach a decision on employment status based on a sensible balance of probabilities as the University is legally obliged to make PAYE deductions on any amount earned by anyone who is employed and there are severe penalties if it is assessed incorrectly. The above considerations will not affect the casual payments now made by Swansea University for external examining for research degrees, nor will it affect the case of a genuine one off visiting lecturer. Departments seeking to make a casual payment must complete the form in F-E.9.8 and forward it to the payroll office. If the payment is for more than 787 or more, the form should be forwarded to the Human Resources Department.for processing. The casual payroll is run once monthly; details of the dates by which payments should be received in the Payroll Section for payment in that month can be found on the Finance Department Website. Forms received after the due dates will not be processed until the following month. E.9.9. Payments for casual/occasional/temporary employment Claims must be made within three months of the work being carried out. Claims submitted after three months will not be reimbursed. Claims for payment must be made on form F.E.9.8. The casual payroll is run once monthly, details of the dates by which payments should be received in the Payroll Section for payment in that month can be found on the Finance Department website. Payments are made via BACS directly into a bank account. Forms received after the due dates will not be processed until the following month. E.9.10 Copy Payslips, Duplicate P60s and Statement of Earnings A charge is levied for copy payslips, duplicate P60 s and Statement of Earnings.

7 For copy payslips there will be a nominal fee of 1.00 per copy. For duplicate P60 s and Statement of Earnings there will be a fee of 3.00 per copy. The Payroll Section will require payment before the documents are issued. E.9.11 External Examiners Payments to External Examiners will be made via the Casual payroll in accordance with the deadlines outlined on the Finance website. Claim forms must be submitted and authorised accordingly with receipts attached. Claims must be made on Form F.E.9.10 or F.E.9.10a. Evidence of eligibility to work in the UK must be provided; details of acceptable documentation can be found at F-E.9.8. E.9.12 Voluntary early severance Policy From time to time, the University has a policy of enabling staff to take voluntary severance, where the severance is clearly in the interest of the University. This is normally determined by the achievement of ongoing savings from the non-replacement of the member of staff concerned. Benefits The benefits available from the severance scheme are determined by the Remuneration Committee. Procedures The Directors of Finance and Human Resources will be responsible for costing and contractual issues respectively. When agreement has been reached with a member of staff a standard proforma will be completed to record the decision. The proforma will include the following information: i. Personal details ii. iii. Agreed benefits Approval of Head of College - the Head of College will be required to provide the following information: iv. Confirmation that the early retirement is in the interest of the University; v. An assessment of the impact of the early retirement on the department s ability to deliver its strategic objectives; vi. The key responsibilities of the post held by the retiring member of staff; vii. Where the individual is to be re-employed on a part-time basis, the duties of the parttime post. viii. Recommendation of Registrar Approval With the exception of staff earning in excess of 70,000 per annum, the Vice Chancellor may approve all early retirements falling within the scheme. All exceptions to the scheme and all voluntary early retirements of members of staff earning in excess of 70,000 per annum require the prior approval of the Remuneration Committee. Implementation When a proposal for voluntary severance has been approved the following action is required:-

8 i. A copy of the completed proforma and associated correspondence from the Head of College will be forwarded to the Director of Human Resources who will arrange for the issue of an appointment letter if the individual is to be re-employed; ii. iii. iv. the copy of the proforma and correspondence will be filed on the individual s personal file in the Personnel Department; a copy of the completed proforma will be forwarded to the Superannuation Officer who will arrange for a Settlement Agreement document to be signed; the Superannuation Officer will notify the relevant superannuation scheme. Monitoring The Director of Finance will present an annual report to the Finance Committee on the operation of the scheme. Flexible Retirement There is a flexible retirement scheme available to members of USS and SUPS details of this can be obtained from the Human Resources website or from the Pensions Office. E.9.13 Termination of appointments Following the withdrawal of waiver clauses relating to redundancy payments in all new fixed term contracts from 1 st January 2000, the University is required to pay redundancy pay on the termination of such contracts. The procedure for approving redundancy payments is set out in Section F. Payments will be charged to a budget held by the Department of Human Resources, in the first instance. Where compensation is awarded to an employee or to a contractor, the cost will be charged to the College/School/Department concerned.