Appendix 3: Engagement & Management of Demonstrators

1. Introduction

1.1        The University of Glasgow is committed to providing students with the opportunity to carry out demonstrating as part of their early career development and to providing the necessary training and support to fulfil these important duties.

1.2        This document complements the Extended Workforce Policy and offers more specific guidance on the engagement and management of Demonstrators.

1.3        A standard Demonstrator job description can be found in the Extended Workforce Policy Appendix 2 – Extended Workforce Examples & Options Available for Postgraduates to Contribute to Teaching

2. Engagement

2.1        Where the level of available work justifies an employment contract, such roles will typically be offered as Fractional/Part-time Fixed Term Contracts. The number of hours in the contract should be as many as can be confirmed and guaranteed.

2.2        For multi-year contracts the hours will cover those in year one and may be revised for years two and three. All contracts will include a clause allowing for the variation of hours in future years (either up or down following consultation with the individual). For contracts extending over more than one year, these should be reviewed when planning for each new academic year in liaison with the individual and if the hours are to decrease, or significantly increase, local P&OD will issue a variation letter. This creates a mutual commitment between the individual and the University. Additional ad-hoc hours may be offered, worked and paid but the aim is to include as many guaranteed hours as possible (subject to any visa restrictions) to deliver a mutual commitment to these. In offering additional hours a system must be in place locally to ensure no individual exceeds the maximum number of permitted hours in any single week.

 

2.3        Hours should include known contact time and associated preparation, training and meetings where these are known. Please refer to the table within section 5 below. For Demonstrators, the assumption is that staff will work all the hours included in the contract. Holiday entitlement is therefore added to these. This is done automatically by the Payroll system based on the hours claimed and holiday is deemed to be accrued and therefore paid in the month the hours are completed. Individuals will see this as a separate item on their payslips.

2.4        Recruitment and Selection is managed at a local level and School Administration should work with their local P&OD team to agree the appropriate contracts and number of hours to offer.

2.5        School Administration are responsible for carrying out the pre-employment/right to work checks and should seek advice from the Recruitment Team as required. In line with these controls, if the individual is on a visa it must be ensured that they are not scheduled to work more than the number of hours allowed by their visa (typically 20 in any single week). Note that this is not an average and includes all work they may undertake (including with any other employer). It is therefore essential that individuals are asked whether they have other work, particularly if that is at the University, and agreement should be reached on how to manage their total hours. Subsequently, the person responsible for scheduling the work must be made aware of these restrictions.

 

2.6        The recruitment process for Demonstrators is managed via adverts on People XD. Further guidance is provided via Recruitment and Onboarding however the key steps are as follows:

 

Process NoAction RequiredDetailsActioned By
1 Staff Request raised

One staff request per School, per role type is raised via PeopleXD, (i.e. one for Demonstrators)

 School Administrator or LRC
2 Staff Request is approved

Vacancy Numbers are provided to the relevant School Administrators.

 LRC
3 Students to apply

School Administrators provide the students with the vacancy number and ask them to apply via the recruitment portal.

 School Administrator & Student
4 Interview

Hiring managers make a decision on who to appoint and inform the School Administrators of the outcome.

 Hiring Manager
5 Students Status updated

School Administrators check if an extension or a new contract is required. If a new contract is required, School Administrators conduct Right To Work checks. School Administrators update the successful candidates’ status on the system and specify the start & end dates and minimum number of hours.

 School Administrator
6 Contracts to be issued The Onboarding team will identify successful candidates on the system and contracts will be issued via email. Onboarding Team
7 Contracts returned Students return their contract and HMRC form to the Onboarding team who complete the set up. Student & Onboarding Team

3. Management (inc Payment Administration)

3.1        The overarching principles of the Extended Workforce Policy apply and for Demonstrators this will include being paid for agreed appropriate time for a range of teaching support related activities. Payment for demonstrating related work and any other exceptional activities is based on actual hours worked (and the nature of this work does not normally involve significant preparation, administration, etc), as outlined in the table below:

Type of workPaymentCommentsTimesheet Category
Demonstrating 1 hour per hour of demonstrating (i.e. actual student contact time) Based on actual student contact time.  Basic Hours
Training/Formal
Meetings		 Actual  For classroom training the time will be as scheduled (i.e. actual time).
For online training an allocation will be made based on the expected
average time to complete.		 Basic Hours
Preparation Demonstrating does not typically require preparation time. However, if attendance in the lab is required ahead of the session this time should be credited and claimed as actual time   Preparation

3.2        These are guidelines and it is recognised that requirements may vary depending on the nature of the work and particular local circumstances. Any variations to the arrangements outlined above should be resolved at College/US level in consultation with the relevant Head of P&OD. Any local tariffs and rates should be clearly and consistently communicated at the start of the engagement.

 

3.3        Demonstrators will typically be paid via timesheets for both contracted and additional hours. Even where the hours are guaranteed to be regular (e.g. 6 hours per week) it typically still makes sense to pay by timesheets as contracts extend over holidays when no hours are worked. Hence it would only be by agreed exception that pay be via the payroll as it would for regular part-time employees. If pay is to be processed via Payroll this should be discussed with the relevant Head of P&OD who will liaise with the central Recruitment Team prior to a decision being made.

3.4        Demonstrators should be encouraged to claim hours on a timely basis, regularly each month and reminded of the payroll deadlines. A schedule of anticipated work should be shared with each employee to enable them to claim accurately and for the approver to review accordingly. All approved work should be paid so it is important that arrangements are clear within the School in terms of who is permitted to offer work. 

3.5        Eligibility for individuals to carry out the work of Demonstrator is conditional on them continuing as a registered student of the University.

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