Interesting thing learnt about secondments today
Today I signed my upteenth contract to start yet another secondment. I will actually be on two secondments at the same time - reference librarian and monographs assistant.
The reference librarian gets paid at HEW5 level and monographs assistant at HEW4. Rather than run on two different contracts, I am on one contract. How does one account for the pay differences you ask?
Well as it is, I will be doing 23.75 hours in reference and 7.25 hours in monographs. So the contract was made up as a full 62 hours per fortnight contract. Pay was worked out by averaging out the two levels. I never knew that this was done, but now I do. So I actually come off slightly better off - one can't complain.
Even more interesting is that even though I'm technically working 5 days a week one week and 4 days the next (a nine day fortnight) - I'm being paid more than I would working full time - this could be due to the penalty rate on the Sunday I work every second week.
Another thing to ponder before embarking upon a secondment is what happens to your leave. The QULOC Secondment Guidelines I referred to in my last post offer a very fair resolution to leave while on secondment but this is mainly used when one is embarking on a secondment in another organisation. When one participates in a secondment within the organisation it is often for projects or to deal with peak loads in service, thus leave may not be an option. So if you are working at a higher level while on secondment but can't take leave, when you do take leave on return to your substantive lower position you get paid at that level rather than the higher level.
Possibly not an issue for all but one to consider.
The reference librarian gets paid at HEW5 level and monographs assistant at HEW4. Rather than run on two different contracts, I am on one contract. How does one account for the pay differences you ask?
Well as it is, I will be doing 23.75 hours in reference and 7.25 hours in monographs. So the contract was made up as a full 62 hours per fortnight contract. Pay was worked out by averaging out the two levels. I never knew that this was done, but now I do. So I actually come off slightly better off - one can't complain.
Even more interesting is that even though I'm technically working 5 days a week one week and 4 days the next (a nine day fortnight) - I'm being paid more than I would working full time - this could be due to the penalty rate on the Sunday I work every second week.
Another thing to ponder before embarking upon a secondment is what happens to your leave. The QULOC Secondment Guidelines I referred to in my last post offer a very fair resolution to leave while on secondment but this is mainly used when one is embarking on a secondment in another organisation. When one participates in a secondment within the organisation it is often for projects or to deal with peak loads in service, thus leave may not be an option. So if you are working at a higher level while on secondment but can't take leave, when you do take leave on return to your substantive lower position you get paid at that level rather than the higher level.
Possibly not an issue for all but one to consider.
posted by SharonU @ 6:40 PM
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