Casual Employment Toolkit

Change to Administration for Offers of Casual Employment

One of the procedures the University of Adelaide needs to adopt following a recent audit is the casual employment process. The most significant issues identified in the audit related to Offers of Casual Employment and the exercise of delegations.

Currently, Offers of Casual Employment are held locally within Faculties/Schools/Divisions/Branches and are not usually sighted by Human Resources. 

In addition, in some instances, these Offers or casual payment forms (timesheets) are being signed, with all good intention, by staff who do not have the delegated authority to make an offer or authorise payment.  This is being addressed on a case by case basis with the affected areas.

For every current casual employee, working on or after 31 August 2009, Human Resources will require an original signed Offer of Casual Employment.  This is to ensure that a University casual staff member is paid according to the duties they have been engaged to perform within a specified work period.

Casual Employment Instructions

• Casual Employment Policy and Guidelines

1. Offer of Casual Employment

1.1 Purpose of the Offer of Casual Employment

The Offer of Casual Employment once completed becomes the employment contract between the University and the casual academic or professional staff member who is engaged by the hour and paid on an hourly basis to work on an ad hoc or irregular basis for a given work period

Each work period is a separate and distinct period of service.  Each distinct period of service must be documented in a separate Offer of Casual Employment.

The Offer of Casual Employment is to be used for all casual staff appointments and must be completed and signed by the relevant Authorising Delegate prior to the casual staff member’s commencement.  This will ensure that the University conforms with its own policies and Agreements with respect to casual staff.

This original copy of the Offer of Casual Employment (together with forms detailing tax and bank information) must be forwarded to Human Resources prior to the commencement of the casual staff member in order to ensure timely payment to that staff member. 

Human Resources is only authorised to make payments to staff who have an original contract of employment held by Human Resources. 

1.2 Templates for the Offer of Casual Employment
The Offer of Casual Employment template is available at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/hr/policies/formsatoz/ and should only be downloaded as required and should not be saved on “shared drives” or in other locations.  This will ensure that the most up to date version of the Offer of Employment is issued in each instance.

No variations may be made to the template of the Offer of Employment, as this document constitutes a contract of employment between the University and the casual staff member.

There are three different templates for Offers of Casual Employment:

1.2.1 Offer of Casual Employment - Academic and Professional Staff

This form is to be used for Casual Academic Staff who are employed to perform work that is ad hoc, intermittent, unpredictable or involves hours that are irregular. Payments will be based on the submission of a completed valid Casual Payment Claim Form (sometimes referred to as a timesheet).

1.2.2 Offer of Casual Employment – Academic Staff (Semester)

This form is to be used for Casual Academic Staff who are employed for the semester period for scheduled teaching or other sessional activities.  Payments for the semester work are averaged over the period of the semester and paid fortnightly, without the requirement to submit a Casual Payment Claim Form (sometimes referred to as a timesheet).  The hours as stated in the Offer of Casual Employment will be used to determine the average fortnightly payment. 

Any additional duties required under the terms of the contract will also be paid for.  Payments for any additional hours will only be made on submission of a completed valid Casual Payment Claim Form.

1.2.3 Amendment to the Offer of Casual Employment – Academic Staff (Semester)

Once completed this document replaces Part B (Tasks to be undertaken) of the original Offer of Casual Employment – Academic Staff (Semester).  The hours/rates as stated in the original Offer of Casual Employment – Academic Staff (Semester) will be replaced by the hours/rates as stated on this form and will be used to determine average fortnightly payment for the semester period.

1.3 Content of the Offer of Casual Employment

The Offer of Casual Employment, contains information including:

• the duties for which the staff member is engaged;
• the period for which the staff member is engaged;
• the number of hours likely to be required; and,
• the rate of pay for each class of duty required.

If for any reason the information contained within the Offer of Casual Employment has been amended, the Authorising Delegate and the staff member must sign the amendments indicating their acceptance of the alterations.  If alternations are not signed, payment may be delayed as the contract will need to be returned to the Delegate/staff member for approval/acceptance of the alterations.

1.4 Responsibilities of the Parties

1.4.1 Casual Employee Responsibilities

• Sign acceptance of the Offer of Casual Employment prior to commencement.
• Complete and attach a Banking Authority Form.
• Complete and attach a Tax File Number Declaration Form.
• Attach a copy of proof of working rights (Visa) in Australia (where employee is not Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident).
• Return signed Offer of Casual Employment and relevant attachments to Supervisor.

1.4.2 Supervisor Responsibilities

• Complete Offer of Casual Employment with relevant details.
• Endorse Offer of Casual Employment certifying that:
  • The information included in the offer is correct;
  • Where the applicant is not an Australian Citizen or resident, the appropriate visa is held for the planned duration of employment; and,
• Forward to relevant Authorised Delegate for authorisation in accordance with HR Delegations.  Delegations of Authority to appoint a casual staff member are able to be exercised by Executive Managers, Corporate Managers, Heads of School/Branch Managers and Unit Managers (direct reports to Heads of School/Branch Managers and responsible for an administrative unit). These same positions have a delegation to approve Casual Payment Claim Forms. Further information refer to Delegations of Authority.
• Ensure that casual staff member has signed an Offer of Casual Employment prior to their engagement.
• Provide a copy of the completed Offer of Casual Employment to the Casual Employee.
• Ensure that the following original completed documents are forwarded to Human Resources prior to commencement of employment: 
  • Original Offer of Casual Employment
  • Original Banking Authority Form
  • Original Tax File Number Declaration Form
• Ensure that the casual employee provides Casual Payment Claim Forms each fortnight during the work period (except where a semester contract is in place, and the hours have not varied from the original contract). Refer section 1.5 of these Guidelines for further information.

1.4.3 Authoriser Responsibilities

• In accordance with HR Delegations, authorise the Offer of Casual Employment verifying that:
  • The casual staff member is appropriately qualified/experienced to carry out the duties/
  • The rates specified are appropriate.
  • Funds are available in the relevant staffing budget to support the appointment and this is an appropriate charge against those funds.
• Return signed Offer of Casual Employment to Supervisor

1.5 Casual Payment Claim Forms

 1.5.1 Purpose of Casual Payment Claim Form

The Casual Payment Claim Form is sometimes referred to as a timesheet.  Submission of a Casual Payment Claim Form to Human Resources enables the University to make payment to a casual staff member for the actual hours worked during a given fortnight within the work period specified by the Offer of Casual Employment.

Academic Staff appointed via an Offer of Casual Employment – Academic Staff (Semester) for scheduled sessional work do not need to submit a Casual Payment Claim Form to prompt payment.  Payments for the semester work are averaged over the period of the semester and paid fortnightly, with hours as stated in the Offer of Casual Employment will be used to determine the average fortnightly payment.  However, payment for hours additional to that specified in the Semester Contract will only be made on submission of a completed valid Casual Payment Claim Form.

1.5.2 Templates for Casual Payment Claim Forms

The Casual Payment Claim Forms templates are available at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/hr/policies/formsatoz/ and should only be downloaded as required and should not be saved on “shared drives”.  This will ensure that the most up to date version of Form is used in each instance, ensuring that the automatic calculations built into the form occur correctly.

No variations may be made to the template of the Casual Payment Claim Form.

There are two templates for Casual Payment Claim Forms:

1.5.2.1 Casual Payment Claim Form - Professional Staff

This form is to be used by casual professional staff to claim payment for hours worked.

1.5.2.2 Casual Payment Claim Form – Academic Staff (please enable macros)

This form is to be used by casual academic staff in the following instances:

• They have signed the Offer of Casual Employment and are claiming payment for hours worked or,
• They have signed the Offer of Casual Employment – Academic Staff (Semester) and are claiming payment for hours worked which are in addition to the hours stated on the signed Offer.

1.5.3 Procedure for Completing a Casual Payment Claim Form

Casual Employees should download the relevant Casual Payment Claim Form each fortnight during the work period, complete it electronically, and then print and sign it to confirm hours worked for that fortnight.

The original Casual Payment Claim Form should then be provided by the employee to their Supervisor.

The Supervisor will provide the original Casual Payment Claim Form to an Authorised Delegate for approval of payment, in accordance with HR Delegations. Delegations of Authority to approve payment to a casual staff member are able to be exercised by Executive Managers, Corporate Managers, Heads of School/Branch Managers and Unit Managers (direct reports to Heads of School/Branch Managers and responsible for an administrative unit).

The original Casual Payment Claim Form must be submitted to Human Resources Branch and received by the deadline in order to avoid any delays in payment to the casual employee.  Only original forms can be accepted and processed for payment.

If for any reason the content of the Casual Payment Claim Form has been amended, ensure that both the staff member and the Authorised Delegate have signed the amendments indicating acceptance of the alterations.  If alternations are not signed, payment may be delayed as the claim form will need to be returned to the staff member/Delegate for acceptance/approval of the alterations.

1.6 Related Documents

• Enterprise Agreement
• Casual Employment Policy and Guidelines
• Amendment to the Offer of Casual Employment – Academic Staff (Semester)
• Casual Conversion – Conversion to Continuing/Fixed-Term Employment (Professional Staff) – Application form
• Offer of Casual Employment - Academic and Professional Staff
• Offer of Casual Employment – Academic Staff Semester
• Pay Deadlines and Pay Dates
• Banking Authority form
• Tax File Declaration form available from HR Branch
• Casual Payment Claim Form - Academic Staff (please enable macros)
• Casual Payment Claim Form - Professional Staff (please enable macros)

1.7 Further Information

For assistance with understanding this instruction guide, or the related documents listed above, or for assistance with completing an Offer of Casual Employment, please contact the HR Service Centre at hrservicecentre@adelaide.edu.au or by phone on 8313 1111.