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.
*Assignments which last longer than 12 weeks may trigger 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, 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 their nationality.
Casual workers must be registered with UniWorkforce before starting work to ensure that appropriate right to work checks are conducted.
Once registered, all casual workers will have their worker status set in eRecruit showing the worker and manager if they are ready to work and any visa restrictions which apply.
Students sponsored on a visa (Tier 4 or Student) on courses at degree level or above must not work for more than 20 hours per week in term time, except in the case of an agreed work placement which forms part of the course.
Specific restrictions are detailed on their casual worker status in eRecruit and, as line manager, you need to ensure you are aware of and manage these restrictions. Any breach of restrictions may mean that the student’s visa is withdrawn, and they need to leave the country.
Go to jobs.soton.ac.uk and log in with your normal University username and password. Follow the guidance found Casual Worker Request (sharepoint.com).
If you know who you want, you can search and select them in the system providing they have registered for work with UniWorkforce.
If the candidate you want to use has not registered, ask them to sign up using the link https://jobs.soton.ac.uk/uniworkforce.
Remember you must not offer work, and the individual may not start work, until the correct right to work checks are in place.
Casual workers are paid monthly in arrears by submitting a timesheet to you for authorisation. Breaks are unpaid, so you should ensure that claimed hours reflect this.
Timesheets are currently an Excel spreadsheet which is completed by the worker and emailed to you as an attachment.
Check the timesheet is accurate, complete the subproject code information and enter the Job ID OSRF number so that any queries can be followed up quickly.
When fully checked, email as an attachment to casualpay@soton.ac.uk confirming that you are the budget holder or hiring manager and approve the attached timesheet(s) for processing.
To demonstrate compliance with visa restrictions, casual workers on a visa are required to declare hours they have worked on other assignments or for other employers, whether paid or unpaid. The timesheet gives you a warning if the hours claimed are over the individual’s limit. In this instance do not authorise the timesheet, send it to UniWorkforce@soton.ac.uk, who will undertake the relevant checks.
The University is responsible for ensuring that individuals working through their own limited company or partnership (known as a personal service company or PSC) pay the correct tax and NI.
University staff who engage contractors or consultancy services to provide services can find information on the following link Off Payroll Workers (IR35) and should check with procurement supsetup@soton.ac.uk, before work commences, if they can be paid by invoice or should be paid through the payroll.
Any assignment that has some or all the work being undertaken overseas requires authorisation from Payroll, Corporate Tax and Insurance before commencement.
The process is to state on the OSRF that overseas working will take place and to complete the checklist below sending it to the relevant people to agree and sign off.
Once this is complete, and you have authorisation that overseas working can take place, upload the document to the OSRF and submit in the normal way; the assignment will then be confirmed. Without a fully authorised overseas checklist the OSRF will be rejected.
For more information and documents you require:
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 for student friendly jobs. Enjoy some financial freedom and independence, all whilst gaining valuable work experience to help you kick start your career after graduation.
You will need to register for an account on eRecruit. Once registered login to your account and go to casual work, click on “Register with UniWorkforce” and apply online.
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 and, if you have a visa, your BRP card. Your details will be held in the system and you and your manager will be able to see your status for work and any limitations you may have on a visa.
You will be paid the rate set for each assignment, which is set 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 pay number from UniWorkforce, complete the Payroll new starter checklist 2021 and send to payroll. Without this your pay will not be able to be credited to your bank account.
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, this can be accessed via the Documents area. 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.
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.
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.
The cut off for timesheets to be paid is three months following the work being carried out. If you submit a timesheet after three months you will not be paid.
If you meet the criteria for auto enrolment you will be enrolled in NEST. Further details Nest Casual Worker Information.
Terms of engagement apply to all casual workers and you will be asked to sign 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 will be reported to Student Services following the Tier 4 / Student Visa Breach Guidelines.
Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, 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. Details on right to work checks are available Right to work checks | Human Resources | University of Southampton.
You have three options, depending on your circumstances:
Available for anyone with a biometric residence permit/card, pre-settled or settled status under EU Settlement Scheme, Visa under the points-based immigration system, British National Overseas (BNO) or holds a Frontier Worker Permit.
You will need to provide your right to work by completing an online check Prove your right to work to an employer - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
If this is your preferred option, please click on the link to provide details required to book a Teams Video call, remember to include your share code in question 7. You will be asked to send a scan of your passport to verify your date of birth and nationality before the Teams Video call - https://forms.office.com/r/CGidaqr5hQ.
This can be used for anyone with a UK passport, UK Colonies or Irish passport.
If this is your preferred option, please click on the link to provide details required to book a Teams Video call https://forms.office.com/r/CGidaqr5hQ. You do not need to add a share code in the last section as this does not apply to a virtual check.
HR Reception is temporarily closed for in-person checks in response to the Government's request to work from home where possible from 12th December 2021.
Please select one of the remote options, 1 or 2 above.
For anyone with a UK passport, UK Colonies or Irish passport, biometric residence permit/card, Visa under the points-based immigration system, British National Overseas (BNO).
Please book an appointment using the link below and bring your original Right to Work document(s) to be verified by a member of the HR Team.
The check will involve you visiting Building 26 on Highfield Campus.
Book your appointment with this link https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/UniversityofSouthamptonRighttoWorkChecks@sotonac.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/
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:
You will need to register for an account on eRecruit. Once registered login to your account and go to casual work, click on “Register with UniWorkforce” and apply online.
Payroll New starter checklist (must be completed and submitted to enable payment).
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.
Timesheet Submission Dates 2021-2022
UniWorkforce Terms of Engagement (2021)
Please familiarise yourself with the policies below: