This document incorporates relevant legislation and the guidelines covered by the Joint Agreement between the unions and the Association of Colleges (of which CCBH is a member). It forms the main part of our proposals for a new policy for the treatment of sessional staff at City College and covers most of the points on which we shall be negotiating with the Principal. Your comments and input would be very welcome - but don't leave it too late, talks are happening now and we hope to have the policy finalised and published by September 4th.
1. In accordance with the Joint Agreement on the Guidelines for the Employment of Part-Time Employees in Further Education Colleges (April 2008) section 14, fixed term and temporary contracts “should only be used for transparent and objective reasons where there is a genuine fixed-term need. The list below describes general considerations that may make it appropriate to offer fixed-term contracts for periods of less than four years. This is not an exhaustive list but is indicative of a genuine short-term need:
· the work is of a specialist short-term nature;
· the work is of a discrete nature and does not form part of a wider ongoing learning programme;
· the area requires a degree of specialist knowledge not available from within the college establishment;
· the requirement is of a temporary nature to cover for employee absence, such as maternity leave;
· the work is externally funded for a fixed period of time.
The list above does not constitute a collective agreement on objective justification for the use of fixed-term contracts for a period of longer than four years.”
2. The terms and conditions in variable hours contracts should be the same as for comparable permanent full-time or fractional staff, except that there is some flexibility in the hours of work built into the contract.
3. Variable hours contracts should specify a guaranteed minimum number of hours work per year.
4. There should be agreement at what % of an FTE would trigger a move to secure a permanent, non-variable fractional contract. This % should be as low as possible to maximise the opportunity for staff to move to permanent, pro-rata (non-variable) contracts.
5. The guaranteed minimum should be based on a realistic expectation of the work load. This could be assessed by looking back over a number of years to calculate the average hours and use that as the minimum. The minimum should not be set so low as to be, in effect, a zero hours contract.
6. Guideline percentage flexibility is likely to be within 5% - 20%. This should be negotiated between the College and the UCU branch after consultation with all affected hourly paid staff.
7. Any agreement should ensure that part-time and hourly-paid staff on variable hours contracts are entitled to a review of their guaranteed minimum contracted hours. Such a review should be at least annual but should be earlier in certain circumstances.
8. If total average hours actually worked are in excess of the original minimum hours, staff should have the right to have their minimum hours increased accordingly.
9. No agreement on variable hours should allow for the employer to reduce the member of staff's working hours to less than the guaranteed minimum hours without triggering redundancy procedures.
10. All other guidelines contained in the Joint Agreements should be adhered to with regards to objectives, pay, holidays, working hours, professional support and development, sick leave and sick pay, maternity leave and maternity pay, parental leave and time off for dependants, pensions, discipline and grievance procedures, collective agreements, time off for union duties, and other policies and procedures.
N.B. Note: as per section 11 of The Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000:
Liability of employers and principals
(1) Anything done by a person in the course of hers/his employment shall be treated for the purposes of these Regulations as also done by hers/his employer, whether or not it was done with the employer's knowledge or approval.
(2) Anything done by a person as agent for the employer with the authority of the employer shall be treated for the purposes of these Regulations as also done by the employer.
(3) In proceedings under these Regulations against any person in respect of an act alleged to have been done by a worker of hers/his, it shall be a defence for that person to prove that s/he took such steps as were reasonably practicable to prevent the worker from -
(a) doing that act; or (b) doing, in the course of her/his employment, acts of that description.
Alison Kelly ak@ccb.ac.uk
UCU Branch Secretary
City College Brighton and Hove
16th July 2009
