HR Service Standards

• Introduction
• Location details
• HR teams
  • HR Payroll /Pension Services and Employment Contract Administration
  • HR Advisory Services
  • HR Organisational Development  
  • HR Occupational Health and Wellbeing Services
  • HR Strategy and Planning and Workforce Reporting and Analytics
  • HR Systems Transformation Project
• Complaints  

1. Introduction

UCL Human Resources currently comprises of more than 130 staff. HR staff are located on the 2nd Floor of Bidborough House, and at Maple House and 3 Gower Place. UCL Human Resources is committed to providing a quality, timely and efficient service which reflects corporate, departmental and faculty objectives. On occasion where a service standard cannot be achieved, this will be communicated to the manager as soon as possible and a date for completion negotiated with the manager concerned. From the arrival of new staff members to their departure, UCL Human Resources seeks to provide an excellent service in all aspects of employment. 

The following table outlines in general terms, response times by the HR teams to enquiries made. More specific information will be given in point 3 where a breakdown of the service of each HR team will be given in more detail.

2. Location details

All teams are based on the 2nd floor of Bidborough House, with the exception of Occupational Health and Wellbeing which is located on the 4th floor of 3 Gower Place.

HR Payroll, Pensions and Employment Contract Administration

For information about the HR Employment Contract Administration (ECA) team, please see the ECA webpage.

1. Office hours

Payroll and Pensions are both open for personal enquiries between 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday.
Telephone queries will be responded to between 9am and 5pm.

2. Correspondence / telephone enquiries / email / personal callers

1. Correspondence arriving into Payroll or Pensions: dependent on the nature of the letter, a reply will be sent within five working days. An acknowledgement will be sent if it is anticipated a longer response time is necessary.
2. Correspondence leaving Payroll or Pensions: all correspondence will be signed and dated by the appropriate Payroll / Pension Advisor. Letters and envelopes to staff will be marked 'Private & Confidential'.
3. Telephone enquiries: where possible, dependant on the nature of the enquiry, telephone calls will be dealt with immediately. All telephone calls will be returned and callers given an update on proceedings within twenty-four hours.
4. Email: all enquiries by email will be dealt with as soon as possible. The originator will be notified by return email of the intended timescale.
5. Personal callers: enquiries will be taken at reception (Room 210, 2nd floor, Bidborough House) and where necessary referred to the relevant staff member during the above office hours.

3. Payment of salaries

Salaries are paid into a bank account or building society account on the last working day of the month. Payslips will be available online around the 26th of each month. The payslip however will not be guaranteed until pay day.

Employees will receive a P60 income tax form by 31 May of each year for the preceding tax year in accordance with HMRC regulations.

All payroll information direct from employees and departments where appropriate, must be received by Payroll by the stated deadline for payment to be made on the last working day of each month.

4. New employees

1. Where details of bank/building society accounts have not reached Payroll in time for salary payment, an exception has been made for new employees to receive their first salary payment by cheque. The cheque and payslip will be sent to the home address as given together with a letter requesting details to be forwarded to Payroll.  Failure to do so may result in a delay in receiving the next salary payment.
    
2. A new member of staff who is eligible to join a pension scheme will be written to shortly after joining UCL. All staff are auto-enrolled in the pension scheme as required by current legislation.

5. Transfer requests from a previous pension scheme

Where a new member of staff completes a form requesting a transfer value from a previous scheme, the completed transfer request form is passed to the relevant pension scheme.

Transfer offers typically take six months to be produced. Transfer offers are sent to the member for review and decision within one day of being received by Pensions.

Note that some transfers can take twelve to eighteen months to complete.

6. Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC)

 An estimate for an AVC quote prepared by Pensions will normally be sent to the member within one week of the request. Some quotes may require verification from the pension scheme which may result in a longer response time.  In these instances the member will be advised.

7. Statement of retirement benefits

 An estimate of retirement benefits prepared by Pensions will normally be sent to the member within one week of the request. Some estimates may require verification from the pension scheme which may result in a longer response time. In these instances the member will be advised.

8. Leavers

For leavers, the final payslip and P45 are posted to the home address at the month end. Addresses can be checked on MyView. 

For staff retiring from UCL and being in receipt of an occupational pension, the income tax form P45 will be submitted to the relevant pension scheme.

For pension purposes, staff leaving UCL employment are written to within two weeks of Pensions being notified of their departure. The member should receive a statement sent to their home address from their pension scheme within eight weeks of the scheme being notified.

9. Retirements

Payroll and Pensions should be informed at least three months before a member of a scheme wishes to retire. An estimate of benefits request will be made to the relevant scheme. The estimate and forms requiring completion will be sent to the member within one week of receipt from the scheme. Once completed and returned to Pensions these will be forwarded within one week to the relevant pension scheme. 

HR Advisory Services

Director - HR Advisory Services  -  Charles Oboh

The HR Advisory Services team provides a professional advice and guidance service to managers and staff on non routine employment related issues. This includes:

• the interpretation of terms and conditions of service
• development and implementation of employment policies
• advice on HR policies and procedures
• advice on employment legislation
• guidance and support for senior managers managing discipline, grievance, sickness or performance issues
• organisation restructure
• senior Academic and Professional Services appointments
• the focal point in HR for the UCL-NHS interface.
• the senior salary review process
• advice on job evaluation and grading reviews/regradings
• probation reviews and staff appraisals throughout UCL

Office hours are 9am - 5pm but there is usually someone available from 8am – 6pm.

Request for grading reviews

Full details of the grading review are available online. 

The team will confirm receipt of these applications within 2 working days of arrival in the HR Advisory Services team.

HR Organisational Development  

Head of Organisational Development – Richard Laughlin

• The Organisational Development team aligns all its staff and organisational development priorities to UCL strategy and provides training and development services to meet the following needs of staff at UCL.
• Leadership and management development and change management support.
• Supporting the implementation of organisational change, restructuring and alterations to individual and team roles and expectations.
• Delivering the programme of continuous professional development (CPD) for all staff.
• Delivering a programme of personal and professional development for all postgraduate researchers.
• Ensuring the development of skills for early career research staff to enable them to manage their careers effectively.

1. Office hours

Staff are normally available between 9:30-4:30. Email is the preferred first point of contact.   

2. Training and development rooms

Training normally takes place in seminar rooms located across the campus, specific venue information will be made clear in the joining instructions. UCL has a commitment to use accessible training venues and all joining instructions will ask participants to inform the team of any access or other needs.

3. Course booking

Booking requests must be accompanied by authorisation from managers or supervisors. Places are normally offered on a first come first served basis, the team do reserve the right to allocate places based on a priority need.

If the course is full, or has to be cancelled, individuals will be informed within 3 working days and alternate arrangements made

4. Course cancellations

Participants should notify the team  immediately if they need to cancel their place on a course as there may be someone waiting for a cancellation. 

Currently, departments will be charged for cancellations within three working days of the course, and non-attendance, at a rate of £100 per cancellation.  This will be made clear in the joining instructions.

5. Joining instructions

 Joining instructions will normally be sent out two to four weeks before the date of the course. Late bookings will be dealt with as quickly as possible. Joining instructions will be sent by email and will give clear information about the time, venue, course leader and overall purpose of the course. Exceptionally, confirmation of a place may be made over the telephone.

6. Training records

The team record training attendance on all programmes organised by them. Records are maintained in accordance with the Data Protection Act. 

Organisational Development expectations of staff

Individuals are asked to ensure:

• that the course they apply for is appropriate to their needs
• that they have the approval of their manager or supervisor to attend
• that they are committed to attend

Courses start promptly at the advertised time and there may be occasions when it is not possible to admit latecomers.

HR Occupational Health and Wellbeing

Head of Occupational Health and Wellbeing - Max Hill

The Occupational Health and Wellbeing team aims to assist UCL to promote the physical and psychological well being of its employees, and where appropriate, its students. This is achieved by advising UCL managers and staff on the effects of health on work and work on health.

Located on the 4th Floor of the Health Centre Building at 3 Gower Place, Occupational Health and Wellbeing is available from 9-5, Monday to Friday. Please note that access is via stairs or a lift.

Full details of the service standards can be found at the individual web link. A brief summary is given below.

Pre-placement/Pre-employment health screening
www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/occ_health/what_do_we_do/pre_employment.php
Health questionnaires will be screened and an outcome letter sent to the manager within 2 working days of receipt of the questionnaire.

Health surveillance for respiratory sensitisers
www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/occ_health/what_do_we_do/occ_health_surveillance.php
OHW operates a recall system to remind staff when screening is due.

Advice on fitness to work and rehabilitation to work following illness or injury
www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/occ_health/what_do_we_do/management_referral.php
Appointments are offered within 10 working days of receipt of a referral form.

Work-related immunisation (including travel)
www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/occ_health/what_do_we_do/vaccines_work.php
Appointment should be made with OHW well in advance of travel; immunisations may need to be given over a period of time and some take time to become effective. Every effort will be made to accommodate staff travelling at short notice. Appointments are offered within five working days of request for immunisation against blood borne viruses.

Holiday immunisations (charged to the employee)
www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/occ_health/what_do_we_do/vaccines_holiday.php
Appointments for holiday immunisations are offered within ten working days, where available. Work related appointments will always take priority over appointments for holiday travel. Occasionally staff may be given details of alternative travel clinics if appointments are not available.

Employee Assistance Programme and Counselling service
www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/occ_health/services/index.php
Counselling appointments are offered through the Employee Assistance Programme.

HR Strategy & Planning, Systems & Business Process and Workforce Reporting & Analytics

Director - HR Strategy and Planning - Geoff Lang

Office hours are 9am - 5pm. Meetings outside this time will be subject to arrangement.

A team of Policy and Reward Advisors provide the following services:

• Development and review of employment policy and practice to underpin UCL's strategic objectives and to ensure compliance with legislative changes
• Advice to senior managers on employee remuneration and market pay
• Workforce monitoring and reporting, including equal pay reviews
• Management of employment tribunal casework
• Coordination of UCL staff surveys and follow-up action plans

A dedicated Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion team headed by Sarah Guise, is responsible for:

• Coordination of UCL's equality schemes and action plans for staff and students.
• Advice to senior management, UCL's Committee for Equal Opportunities (CEO) and other UCL committees on equalities and diversity issues.
• Support and guidance to departments and senior managers on the implementation of equalities initiatives and the monitoring of progress.
• Working with and supporting UCL's Departmental Equal Opportunity Liaison Officers (DEOLOS) and Harassment Advisors.

Geoff can be contacted on 020 3108 8887 (58887) g.lang@ucl.ac.uk

HR Workforce Reporting and Analytics

The HR Workforce Reporting and Analytics Office is responsible for producing workforce reports, annual statistical returns and managing development and maintenance of HR information systems.

• Reports will normally be delivered within a maximum of 5 working days from receipt of the following details
• Period to be reported on – i.e. point in time or between a range of dates
• Definition of the staff group to reported on
• Description of report output format e.g. raw data in spreadsheet, tabular,  tabular with graphics or charts  etc
• Reports that require translations from UCL standard groupings to other organisation's standards for comparative purposes may require detailed discussion and should take no more than 10 working days.
• Queries about access to UCL HR systems will be investigated immediately and every effort will be made to resolve within 4 hours. Where this is not possible, the service user will be notified and given an estimate of how long fault resolution is likely to take.
• Help desk problems will be acknowledged upon receipt and where possible responded to the same day. Where this is not possible, the service user will be notified and given an estimate of how long a response is likely to take.
• Adjustments to internally designed HR applications will be delivered in accordance with priorities agreed when the specification is signed off. Adjustments will normally take place within 30 working days.

The HR Workforce Reporting and Analytics Office act as the intermediary between HR and systems managers in UCL Information Systems, Management Systems and external third parties who supply systems to UCL HR.

Contact Us
If you have any enquiries about Workforce Reporting and Analytics please contact:

• Rachna Kayastha, Head of Workforce Reporting and Analytics 020 3108 8880  x 58880 - r.kayastha@ucl.ac.uk 

HR Systems Transformation Project

Director of HR Systems Transformation Project - Jon Everard

HR Systems and Business Process

The HR Systems and Business Process team is responsible for the development of HR administrative systems and processes in line with UCL policy requirements, provide Helpdesk support for HR systems, delivering training on the UCL HR administrative systems, the placement of recruitment advertisements and booking of temporary agency staff.

The service standard for the placement of advertisements for recruitment is 5 working days from receipt of the completed advertisement, including appropriate financial approval, HERA grading and redeployment clearance.

• Once an appropriately worded advert (see guidance) is received this will be processed within 5 working days of receipt. These turnarounds are subject to the appropriate proof of funding, the financial approval reference number (where appropriate) and the job evaluation reference being supplied. Departments are required to sign off the final proof of the advert prior to its placement.

Contact Us
If you have any enquiries about the HR Systems and Business Process please contact:

• Helen Brown, Head of HR Systems and Business Process 020 3108 88814  x 58814 - h.brown@ucl.ac.uk 

Complaints

Concerns regarding the meeting of  HR Service Standards should be addressed to the contacts listed below in the first instance and referred to the Executive Director of Human Resources if the matter is not satisfactorily resolved.