Overtime, bank holiday and unsocial hours enhancements

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Overtime

Overtime hours above the full-time hours for the post are paid at time-and-a-half.

Overtime rates on Bank Holidays and University Closure Days are as outlined in the relevant section below.

Bank holidays/University closure days

When working on a Bank Holiday/University Closure Day, employees will be paid as outlined:

• Employees that work on a Bank Holiday/University Closure Day as part of their normal working week receive pay at their base rate for the hours worked, in addition to the normal days' pay
• Employees that work a Bank Holiday/University Closure Day which is NOT part of their normal working week/rest day will be paid at double time

In circumstances where an employee works overtime on a Bank Holiday/University Closure Day ie the hours worked on the Bank Holiday/University Closure Day are above the full-time hours for the post, pay is limited to a maximum of double time and, therefore, employees cannot receive both overtime and Bank Holiday enhancements.

In some circumstances, an employee may choose or be requested to accrue time off in lieu (TOIL) as an alternative to payment for hours worked on a Bank Holiday/University Closure Day:

• Employees that work on a Bank Holiday/University Closure Day as part of their normal working week and request TOIL will receive their normal days' pay plus TOIL on an hour for hour basis
• Employees that work a Bank Holiday/University Closure Day which is NOT part of their normal working week and request TOIL will receive their base rate payment for the hours worked plus TOIL on an hour for hour basis

Sometimes statutory Bank Holidays fall on weekends. If this is the case, normally the following Monday or Tuesday becomes a ‘designated Bank Holiday’ for Monday to Friday workers. If an employee works on both the statutory Bank Holiday and the designated holiday, both days will qualify for Bank Holiday payments as set out above. Wherever possible, managers should avoid rostering employees to work for both statutory and designated Bank Holidays to ensure Bank Holiday working is fairly distributed across the team.

If a Bank Holiday falls on a working day for an employee and they do not work on the Bank Holiday ie they utilise their Bank Holiday entitlement and take time off work, they will be paid the usual rate for the hours they would normally do on that day.

If a Bank Holiday falls on the employee's rest day, they should speak to their line manager to ensure they access their entitlement to time off should they be owed hours over the year.

TOIL (time off in lieu)

Time-off-in-lieu (TOIL) is additional time off that employees can accrue as an alternative to payment when working overtime. This can also be accrued by employees working on Bank Holidays or University Closure Days as outlined above.

Shift allowances

Shift allowances are pensionable payments which compensate employees in the Operations and Facilities (O&F) Job Family at Levels 1 and 2 who work regular shift patterns.

Shift 24/7 is a shift pattern which rotates to cover 24 hours, 7 days per week. Unsocial Hours and Weekend Allowance payments will not apply to those staff in receipt of Shift 24/7.

Shift - Extended Hours is a shift pattern which applies where an employee’s regular rota covers a difference in working pattern of a minimum of six hours. For example, a shift pattern of working shift times of 6.00 am - 2.00 pm and 2.00 pm - 10.00 pm would meet the definition. A shift pattern of working shift times of 7.00 am - 2.00 pm and 12.00 noon - 7.00 pm would not meet the definition, as the two different start times are not separated by at least six hours. The allowance will only apply to an employee whose work pattern regularly meets the definition.

The allowance amount may change from time-to-time and is reviewed annually in line with the pay agreement. It is pensionable and paid on a pro-rata basis for part-time employees. Where two or more allowances apply to the same hours of work, pay is calculated on the basis of the highest value of these allowances only unless otherwise stated. The allowance will cease to be paid if an employee’s work pattern no longer meets the definition for a period of four continuous weeks. There will be no recovery of any allowance already paid for such a period. The provision and management of the allowance remains at the discretion of management.

Unsocial hours

Employees in the O&F Job Family who work between 10.00 pm and 6.00 am may receive a 20% non-pensionable supplement to the basic hourly rate for those hours.

This enhanced rate will not be paid if the employee's rate of pay already encompasses an unsocial element or when any other enhanced rate is paid for any part of the time worked.

Unsocial hours payments will not be made for employees in receipt of the Shift - Extended Hours shift allowance. An O&F employee in a Level 1 or 2 role not currently entitled to the extended hours shift allowance will become entitled to the allowance if their work pattern meets the definition for a period of four weeks and is expected to continue for at least a further four weeks. The employee will not be entitled to the Shift Allowance payment for the initial four weeks, it will only apply to shifts worked thereafter.

Weekend allowance

Employees in Level 1 of the O&F Job Family, who have a contractual requirement to work Saturday and/or Sunday, will receive a 20% additional payment for each hour worked at the weekend. Where another enhanced rate is paid for the same hour, the higher rate only will apply. For example, if the weekend hour is between 10.00 pm and 6.00 am, then either weekend allowance or unsocial hours may be applied, but not both.

Animal and plant house allowances

Allowances are paid to technicians for work in the Animal and Plant Houses at weekends and on Bank Holidays and University Closure Days according to an agreed rota.