Term Time Contracts Guidance - For Staff Working 3 Terms who are Paid over 12 months

Purpose

1. The purpose of this guidance is to set out how a Term Time Only (TTO) contract operates.

2. Staff can only work under a TTO contract where the role has been advertised as TTO, or they successfully submitted a request for TTO working under the Flexible working policy and this has been approved.

3. Staff who work term time only (TTO) work to the UCL standard terms dates (30 weeks a year) and do not work at all during the UCL holidays, but are paid all year round at a pro-rata rate.

4. Working patterns outside of UCL term dates may be considered under the Flexible working policy, e.g. part time or annualised hours.

5. Employees on TTO contracts are not allowed to take annual leave during UCL term time, though line managers may authorise unpaid leave in exceptional circumstances.

6. TTO working may not be possible in all departments or for all roles, due to the nature of the service being provided.

 Application of Scheme

7. Some posts within UCL may be suitable for TTO contracts. Appointments will be made on UCL terms and conditions of service and may be initiated in the following ways:

• Existing staff who wish to change to a TTO contract should make a request through the Flexible Working Policy. If accepted, this is to be processed via a ‘Change of Contract’ request within Department Transactions, ensuring the relevant ‘Term Time Only’ option (either Full or Part time) is selected under ‘Assignment Category’.
   
• Should a vacancy arise, and a review of a post indicates that it might lend itself to term time working arrangements then the advertisement should indicate this. When submitting an offer of employment via Talentlink for a TTO contract, ensure the relevant ‘Term Time Only’ option (either Full or Part time) is selected under ‘Actual Working Pattern’.

Please note: Vacancies for Teaching staff must adhere to the Teaching Concordat.
 

8. In both instances, the FTE submitted via either Talentlink or Departmental Transaction should be the FTE that is worked during term time. For example, if an employee is working full time (36.5 hours) during term time, 1 FTE should be submitted, choosing ‘Full Time-Term Time Only’ where appropriate. If an employee is to work 21.9 hours per week during term time, 0.6 FTE should be submitted, choosing ‘Part time- Term Time Only’ where appropriate. This allows for the 12 monthly pro rata payment (including annual leave), to be automatically calculated.

General Conditions

TTO FTE Calculation

9. The TTO FTE calculation is automatically worked out by the system when the request is submitted. For reference, the manual calculation is set out below.

10. The hours actually worked of a full-time, year-round, member of staff per annum must first be calculated. This is 219.72 days for those on a standard 36.5 hour contract (365 minus weekends, bank holidays and closure days, and annual leave days).

This is equivalent to 1603.9560 hours (219.72 days x 7.3 hours per day).    

11. The hours actually worked by the employee on a TTO contract will then need to be calculated. This is worked out by multiplying the hours worked by the number of weeks worked, deducting any bank holidays paid during the worked period and then dividing this by the hours worked by a full-time, year-round employee (1603.9560 as above).

12. For example, an employee who works full-time TTO to UCL’s standard term dates will work full-time (36.5 hours a week) for 12 weeks in Term 1, 11 weeks in Term 2 and 7 weeks in Term 3.

13. An employee who works full-time hours during term time will be paid the equivalent to a 0.6736 FTE year-round contract. An employee working a 0.8 FTE each week in term time will be paid the equivalent of 0.6736 x 0.8 (0.53888 FTE).

Salary Payments and Annual Leave

14. The individual will receive salary payments distributed equally in twelve monthly payments. Should the individual leave part way through the year, any adjustments to salary for money owed either way will be made in their final salary.

15. Staff will receive payment for their annual leave in their 12 equal salary payments.

16. The salary and annual leave allowances are based on the number of weeks worked by the term time member of staff compared to the number of weeks worked by a full time employee on a 36.5 hours per week all year-round contract, as calculated above.

17. If a current staff member would like to discuss the option of a TTO contract, they should speak to their Line Manager in the first instance, as part of a Flexible Working application.

18. If it is not clear to a Department that a role is suitable for TTO working, but you would like this to be explored, please contact your HR Business Partner.

HR Employment Policy
July 2024