Human Resources Information Sheet
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University of Dublin Procedure No: 8 Trinity College HUMAN RESOURCES Revision: 4 INFORMATION SHEET Sheet of : 1 of 50 EM PLO YM EN T O F Date of Issue: RESEARCH PERSON N EL November 2011 1. PURPOSE To set out information which will assist Heads of School and Grant Holders in the appointment and payment of research-funded personnel. It is important that Grant Holders be aware that, as the legal employer, the College accepts all the responsibilities of an employer in relation to Research- funded staff. 2. SCOPE The following information is intended to assist holders of Research Grants in the expeditious and efficient recruitment and payment of research personnel. It may usefully be used as a check-list to ensure that all essential data has been relayed to the appropriate administrative area. Human Resources is happy to provide information and assistance in:- • Drafting, costing and placing advertisements for research posts, in cases where public advertisement is necessary • Agreeing rates of pay and advising on associated employer’s costs (e.g. PRSI, Redundancy Payments) • Formulating and issuing contracts • Advising on applications for Work Permits It is in the interests of the Grant holder and of the staff to be appointed that liaison with Human Resources should take place at the earliest opportunity. 3. ADVERTISEMENTS If a Research-funded post is to be the subject of a public advertisement then in consultation with the Grant Holder Human Resources will arrange to place advertisements, and will provide advice on ♦ Text ♦ Cost ♦ Copy deadlines and insertion dates for selected journals. ♦ Closing dates Human Resources will furnish to the grant-holder a quotation1 for the cost of the advertisement. If this quotation is accepted, the Grant Holder must then provide to Human Resources: • The cost code to which the advertisement is to be charged • An authorisation to the Recruitment and Establishment Manager to charge the quoted sum to the identified code when the advertising invoice is receive • The cost code and authorisation may be provided by e. mail The advertisement will not be placed until the requisite code and authorisation have been received by Human Resources. Human Resources will also post the agreed text to its Web Page, and will arrange for text to be posted to such other Web sites as the Grant-Holder may require. If it seems appropriate to the Grant-Holder, then an agreed text may be posted to Web site only; there is no College requirement that such an advertisement should also appear in the print media. All matters relating to an appointment – text of advertisement, further particulars or any other material to be furnished to applicants, must be submitted simultaneously to Human Resources before advertising can proceed. Arrangements will be made for applications to be submitted direct to the Grant Holder, or, if it is the Grant Holder’s preferred option, Human Resources will open a job-file for the appointment, sending all applications to the Grant Holder at the advertised closing date. 4. DESIGNATION OF RESEARCH PERSONNEL Research staff falls into three broad categories: (i) RESEARCH FELLOWS, generally but not invariably, of postdoctoral 1 Grant holders are asked to note that advertising in the print media is extremely expensive – a standard 10 cm Double column insertion in the Irish Times, inclusive of VAT, currently costs £1,300/£1,500. By comparison, the same insertion on the jobs/ac.uk web site costs approximately £50. Human Resources Web Page is free of charge. standing, whose appointments must be approved by the University Council and the Board of the College. (ii) RESEARCH ASSISTANTS, whose appointments do not require the formal approval of the University Council and the Board (iii) GRADUATE STUDENTS who are registered for a Higher Degree and whose studies are supported by research funding. It is very important that staff are designated to their proper category at the time of their appointment. For example, the names of Research Fellows ( and the grant-aiding authorities which support their appointments) are included under Departmental headings in the College Calendar only when these appointments have been approved by the University Council and the Board. Failure to submit a nomination in the proper category, and by the approved means (as detailed below) will result in the omission of Research Fellows from the Calendar. If the status of a member of a research team should change (i.e. from Graduate Student or Research Assistant to Research Fellow) then a Nomination Form covering this new appointment must be submitted to Human Resources, so that the appropriate recognition may be granted by Council and Board. 5. NOMINATION FORMS The nomination of a Research Fellow must be made on a Nomination Form, a sample of which is attached. This form must be completed in full, must state the salary payable net of employers’ PRSI costs, and must be signed by the Grant Holder, the Head of School (if s/he is not the Grant Holder) and the Dean of the Faculty. Forms must be completed in typescript – handwritten forms are not acceptable to the University Council or the Board, and improperly completed forms will be returned to the Grant Holder, causing unnecessary delay in the appointment process. In particular, Grant Holders are asked to ensure that the qualifications of their nominees are properly stated, and that the correct abbreviations are given – e.g. the degree of a graduate of the University of Dublin should have the abbreviation (Dubl) after the qualification, not “TCD”. A list of the more commonly-encountered abbreviations is attached. The nomination of a Research Assistant should be made on a proposal form, a sample of which is attached. While these appointments do not require the approval of the Council or the Board, certain essential data is required for incorporation into letters of contract, and it is important that these forms be fully completed before they are submitted to Human Resources. The form for proposing the appointment of a Research Assistant is also used for Graduate Students who are registered for a higher degree and whose studies are supported by research funding. In certain instances bona fide Graduate Students may qualify for exemption from Income Tax and Pay Related Social Insurance contributions under Section 193 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. Applications for tax exemption will be made to the Revenue Commissioners by Human Resources and, to expedite this process, it is imperative that Grant Holders furnish all the data requested on the Proposal Form. 6. CONTRACTS The College, as the legal employer, must issue, in writing, a contract of employment to all Research Fellows and Assistants. This contact must be formally signed by the employee and returned to Human Resources. Research Grant Holders should not engage in any correspondence with research staff, which might afterwards be construed, as a contract, or as varying the terms of any contact issued by the College. Contracts should be sent to, and returned by, research staff prior to the date on which they take up duty. The information provided in nomination forms is the basis on which contacts of employment are constructed. It is essential, therefore, that this information is both accurate and complete, and that the nomination is submitted to the Human Resources well in advance of the date on which the employment is to commence. Contracts are issued for the fixed terms specified by the Grant Holder, continuation to the end of the fixed term being subject always to continued availability of funding. Contracts may be renewed subject to the continued availability of funding. (See also under (9) below). It is the responsibility of the Grant Holder to ensure that sufficient funds are available at all times in the duration of an appointment to meet salary commitments and PRSI costs. If insufficient funding is available then, on the advice of the Treasurer’s Office, Human Resources may be obliged to give notice of termination of an appointment prior to the previously-agreed expiry date of the contract. 7. WORK PERMITS If a Grant Holder intends to engage a non-E.E.A. national then Human Resources must apply for a Work Permit. Work Permits are issued by the Aliens Office of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment; processing of an application by the Department may take up to eight weeks to complete. Contracts issued to non-E.E.A. nationals must specify that an appointment is offered subject to the issuing of a Work Permit, and no non- E.E.A. national may be lawfully employed unless a Work Permit has been issued. If an application for a permit should be refused by the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment then the contract is rendered void. It is extremely important, therefore, that the information necessary to make an application for a Work Permit is received by Human Resources well in advance of the proposed date of appointment. Any delay in providing this information will inevitably postpone the date of commencement of the appointment. This regulation applies also where a change in status occurs – i.e. if a former Graduate Student who is a non-E.E.A. national is nominated as a Research Fellow then an application for a Work Permit must be made and the new employment must not commence unless and until a Permit is issued. It is extremely important that these regulations are observed. Information on all matters relating to visas and work permits may be obtained from Human Resources (Ext. 1 678). 8. SALARY PAYMENTS Grant Holders should state the amount of basic annual salary to be paid, exclusive of PRSI. Human Resources will assume that provision has been made for all ancillary costs (e.g.