1. Introduction
Faculties and non-faculty areas will establish small groups to review the status of fixed-term staff employed for more than 4 years in their areas and to consider requests from Heads of Departments to transfer staff to indefinite contracts.
2. Membership
Review Groups will consist of:
Faculty Dean or Director (Chair), 2 senior academics or administrators from within the Faculty or non-faculty area, Faculty HR Officer, Faculty Administrator or other nominated person (Secretary).
3. Terms of reference:
Review Groups will meet at least termly to:
- Confirm whether or not the further use of fixed-term contracts beyond 4 years can be objectively justified.
- Consider ad-hoc proposals from HoDs to transfer fixed-term staff to indefinite status.
- Propose cases for transfer to the Budget Review Group.
4. Procedure
Review Groups will:
- receive written comments from members of staff whose contract is to be reviewed in support of a case for transfer to indefinite status
- invite Head of Departments to discuss their case for the continued use of a fixed-term contract or transfer to indefinite status
- confirm decisions to offer fixed-term contracts to the Head of Department and the member of staff
- provide feedback and advice to the Head of Department and the member of staff when a case for transfer to indefinite status may become supportable in the future and set a further review date
- if a fixed-term contract is judged to be no longer appropriate, instruct a Head of Department to bring forward a case for transfer
- forward supported cases for transfer to BRG.
5. Review
The above mechanism will be subject to review by UMAG and within the Joint Consultative Committee.
Colin Clements
May 2005