Category: General Information for Staff

Staff Networks

Imperial College has a number of staff networks and groups that aim to encourage collaborative working, knowledge sharing, and opportunities for both development and social engagement.
For further information, and to get involved, visit the Learning and Development Centre’s Staff Network webpage: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/staffdevelopment/networks

 If you support a staff network that you would like to add to this list, or for advice about setting up a new network, then please contact Lindsay Comalie.

Social Networking Sites & Personal Internet Space

The use of social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin, Bebo), whilst providing a positive way for people to interact online, has also increased the opportunity for media communications to have an impact on the College and you.  We, therefore, wish to draw your attention to our guidance, which is located at: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/hr/procedures/socialnet .  The purpose of this guidance is to protect the College’s and your reputation, and to make you aware of relevant College policies.  It is also intended to ensure that you understand the implications of using material which could be considered abusive or defamatory

Trades unions balloting for industrial action

The trades unions UCU and UNITE have notified the College that they will be balloting their members for industrial action following the dispute that they have registered with the College in relation to the pay claim for 2012. Staff will be informed if the outcome of the ballot leads to industrial action.

Details of the local pay award 2012-13

Any questions about the pay award or the ballot for industrial action should be sent to Louise Lindsay, Director of HR at directorofhr@imperial.ac.uk

Employee Relations Support

The College has a number of support channels in place for staff who are concerned about how they are being managed, their working relationships, or who are subject to formal HR procedures such as disciplinary or restructuring.  An Employee Support note has been produced to list all the support available to members of staff and to introduce a new confidential telephone advice service that will be piloted for an initial period of 3 months, commencing on 1 September 2012.  

The Employee Support note, which includes further information on the new telephone advice service,  is available at:  https://workspace.imperial.ac.uk/hr/Public/Procedures/ERadviceservice.pdf

Consultation on a revision to the College’s arrangements for childcare subsidy

The recent College staff survey highlighted that our staff would welcome more support for those with childcare responsibilities. As a result of this the College has produced a consultation paper on a revision to the College’s arrangements for childcare subsidy (available from: https://workspace.imperial.ac.uk/hr/Public/subsidy.pdf) , which looks at the current childcare provision offered by the College and how it can be utilised to provide greater benefit to all parents.

Staff are invited to read the above mentioned paper, and to respond with any comments to Louise Lindsay, Director of HR, by completing a survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/252L5M5.

Comments are welcome from individuals or groups by 30 September 2012.

National Pay Offer 2012/13

The New Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (JNCHES) pay claim meetings for 2012/13 concluded on 22 May 2012 with the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA) making a final offer of 1% on all pay spines with effect from 1 August 2012.  This offer has been rejected by the Higher Education unions and the dispute resolution procedure invoked.

Until a resolution is reached the current pay rates will remain in force.  Any agreed increases would be backdated to 1 August 2012.

Local Pay Award 2012/13 implementation

Local Pay Bargaining takes place on an annual basis at Imperial, involving negotiations between the College and the Joint Trades Unions (JTUs).

Following the College’s final pay offer, the JTUs, representing UCU, Unite and Unison, were not able to agree to this pay award.

 The College has carefully considered its position and the representations of the Unions during the pay bargaining process.   For reasons noted in the correspondence available below, the College believes its final offer of £800 or 1%, whichever is the greater, to be appropriate in the current financial circumstances when assessed against the pay benchmarking and incremental benefits available to many staff and has implemented this offer with effect from 1 August 2012.

The College’s pay scales and schedules of allowances have been updated to include the above mentioned increase, which applies to all staff on terms and conditions of service subject to local pay bargaining.  Payments at the appropriate new rates will be made in August 2012 salaries. The revised scales are now available.  Documentary background to the pay negotiations process is also available to view.

Support Services Social Committee Newsletter

The Support Services Social Committee was set up in response to the staff survey feedback noting that support staff would like more opportunity to meet others working in support services roles.   Information about upcoming events can be found on the Support Services Social Committee’s newsletter. 

The committee look forward to seeing you at one of their events.

Weekly and Bursary Payrolls

 

The Finance Division have advised that, in order to simplify payroll processing, improve HMRC compliance, and enhance the robustness and consistency of payments across all staff and students it has been decided to:-

  • Discontinue the weekly payroll from July 2012; and
  • Segregate student earnings from bursary payments.

The final weekly payroll will be paid on Friday 29 June. From July onwards, all earnings, whether for full-time staff, students, casuals workers or “zero-hours” employees will be paid through a single payroll process, credited to bank accounts on the 24 of each month (or the preceding Friday, if this falls on a weekend).

Further information can be located on the Financial Information Note FIN 2012/1.

Temporary Staff Bank

The College recently launched a new Temporary Staff Bank database, which allows students and casual workers to register their skills, availability and interest in undertaking casual work for the College. Managers are able to view the database in order to select temporary staff as required.

Any questions not answered on the Temporary Staff Bank webpage may be forwarded to: tbankinfo@imperial.ac.uk