UniWorkforce administer casual work assignments for the University of Southampton, ensuring workers have the right to work in the UK, are set up for payment through the payroll and are paid equitably.
UniWorkforce administer casual work assignments for the University of Southampton, ensuring workers have the right to work in the UK, are set up for payment through the payroll and are paid equitably.
Casual work assignments can be either:
Casual work assignments are processed by UniWorkforce and agreed in the terms of engagement for each authorised assignment.
Assignments for longer than 12 weeks need to go through the University’s standard staff recruitment process. Requests to extend an existing assignment beyond 12 weeks will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, this is due to assignments lasting longer than 12 weeks triggering additional rights for the worker including equal pay and automatic pension enrolment.
It is a criminal offence to engage a worker who does not have the right to work in the UK. The law requires us to verify all workers’ right to work in the UK by checking and retaining copies of certain documents. This requirement applies to all workers, irrespective of their nationality. A follow-up check will be required if an individual’s right to work in the UK is time-limited.
Casual workers must be registered with UniWorkforce and their worker status will be set in eRecruit (initially this will be red until a right to work check has taken place) showing the worker and manager if they are ready to work and any visa restrictions which apply.
For more information go to Manager information - Home (sharepoint.com)
UniWorkforce offers temporary short-term and ad hoc assignments in a variety of roles, across diverse departments and faculties. Assignments provide flexibility depending on what you are looking for, and can be a great opening to a more permanent role at the University.
If you are studying with us register with UniWorkforce to receive information on student friendly jobs. Enjoy some financial freedom and independence, all whilst gaining valuable work experience to help you kick start your career after graduation.
If you are a PGR student and will be demonstrating take a look at our information pages PGR Student Demonstrator with UniWorkforce - Home (sharepoint.com)
There are three steps to take before you can start work:
It’s important that you do not work before you have completed the right to work check as this breaches UKVI legislation, and you will not be able to be paid.
Before being offered any work and being set up on payroll you will need to register for an account on eRecruit, the University’s jobs website.
Once registered login to your account, go to casual work, click on “Register with UniWorkforce” to join one or both of the mailing pools. This does not mean you are ready to work but sets you up to be emailed opportunities, or selected for assignments through the mailing pools.
There are two mailing pools that you can join, and you can set each as available, unavailable or withdraw completely.
Before starting any assignment offered, you will need to provide evidence of your right to work in the UK, normally by showing your passport, or if you have a visa or settled status, you can do the check online. Your details will be held in the eRecruit system, and you and your manager will be able to see your status for work and any limitations you may have on a visa. See UniWorkforce | Human Resources | University of Southampton right to work for details.
Registering for UniWorkforce pools does not mean you are ready to work. You need to have a right to work in the UK check completed prior to any assignment taking place, and you must accept the offered assignment by completing a short form online, via a link emailed to you, which provides details for your payroll record.
To organise a right to work check, once you have an assignment offer, see UniWorkforce | Human Resources | University of Southampton
For instructions on how to view your casual worker status, please see Guidance - Accessing your information in eRecruit
You will be paid the rate set for each assignment, which is based on the type of work and skills required. Pay is aligned to the University’s pay scales to ensure equity across the workforce.
Once you have received your casual worker pay number from UniWorkforce, complete the Payroll new starter checklist and send to payroll. Without this your pay will not be able to be credited to your bank account. Do not send this form until you have your casual worker pay number as payroll will not be able to match with your record.
If you don’t have a national insurance (NI) number, then you can apply online. Details are on the GOV.UK website Apply for a National Insurance number - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Fill out a timesheet each month you work, this can be accessed via the Documents area. Follow the instructions on the timesheet and remember to save it with your casual worker permit pay number, last name, and claim period (eg 2345678 – Smith - Jan.xlsx). Once complete forward by email to your hiring manager/supervisor for authorisation. If you work on more than one assignment you will need to complete a separate timesheet for each one.
If you hold a visa, you must enter all the hours you have worked, both paid and unpaid, for the University and other employers, for the whole period you are claiming.
It is essential that you complete and submit your timesheet(s) for authorisation each month you work, so that we can pay you correctly and on time. Breaks are unpaid, so you should ensure that claimed hours reflect this.
Please take note of the timesheet submission dates published on the Documents area. Timesheets received after the submission date will be processed in the following month.
Any purchases that you are required to make during your assignment should be requested through the Purchasing team (buy@soton.ac.uk). If, for any reason, you need to incur personal expenses (agreed by your line manager in advance), add details to your timesheet on the “Expenses” tab along with receipts.
Purchases that are made outside the University’s policy will not be reimbursed. If you are claiming for expenses through a research grant this must be accompanied by original receipts.
Subject to the steps above, payment is made at the end of the month following the claim period. For example, work carried out in October will be paid at the end of November. Please refer to the timesheet submission dates for more details, in the documents tab. Any work carried out prior to your right to work check will not be paid.
The cut off for timesheets to be paid is three months following the work being carried out. If you submit a timesheet prior to your right to work check you will not be paid. All claims must be made within three months of the work being undertaken.
If you meet the criteria for auto enrolment you will be enrolled in NEST. Further details are available Nest Casual Worker Information.
Terms of engagement apply to all casual workers and you will be asked to agree these when you register with UniWorkforce. A copy is available from the Documents tab.
If you are a visa holder there may be limitations on the type of work and/or weekly hours you can undertake. Specific restrictions are detailed on your visa and will show on your casual worker status in eRecruit. You and your line manager are responsible for ensuring you do not breach your visa restrictions as this may invalidate your visa and the Home Office could request you to leave the country.
Any breach by students will be reported to Student Services following the Tier 4 / Student Visa Breach Guidelines.
Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act, the University can only engage workers who are legally permitted to work in the UK. The law requires us to verify all workers’ right to work in the UK by checking and retaining copies of certain documents, and by undertaking regular re-checks if an individual’s right to work in the UK is time limited. This requirement applies to all workers, irrespective of nationality.
Casual workers cannot work until they have provided documents which prove their right to work in the UK.
There are two types of right to work checks depending on your nationality. Details are below with a links to booking.
You will need to use this method of providing your right to work evidence if you are a British or Irish citizen holding a valid passport (or Irish passport card).
Please click on the link to either book an in-person check or provide details on section 2 to book a virtual right to work check instead: https://forms.office.com/r/1un0sPpuBR
Once registered and the right to work check has been completed, you will receive confirmation from UniWorkforce and you will be able to see your worker status in eRecruit, which will confirm that you are ready to work and any restrictions on your visa (where relevant). Your manager will also be able to see your status to ensure work is undertaken in line with any restrictions.
You will need to use this option if you hold any of the following:
You will need to prove your right to work using the Home Office online right to work check service, available via Prove your right to work to an employer - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Click on the link below to provide details required to book a Teams Video call as part of this online check. Remember to include the share code you are provided with from the Home Office service, which should start with ‘W’ for ‘Work’.
Form link: https://forms.office.com/r/A7kg5hXJ1Y
When UniWorkforce receive your details, you will be asked to send a scan of your passport to verify your date of birth and nationality before the Teams Video call.
If you are unable to use the Home Office online check system, please advise UniWorkforce via UniWorkforce@soton.ac.uk as soon as possible.
To assist managers with completing the Casual Worker Request OSRF form, we have provided two short video guides:
Video 1 – demonstrates how to access the casual worker request form (OSRF)
Video 2 – demonstrates how to complete the casual work request form (OSRF)
To assist workers and managers with timesheets and expense forms we have provided four video guides which can be accessed here:
If you are unable to open the timesheet and you are using Chrome, please try an alternative browser such as Edge or Firefox. If the problem persists, please contact UniWorkforce via email uniworkforce@soton.ac.uk
Time sheet completion video guide Timesheet and Expenses video guide
Timesheet Submission Dates 2022-2023
UniWorkforce Terms of Engagement
Please familiarise yourself with the policies below: