Human Resources and Payroll

Table of Contents

Contacts

Lori Dammann, Financial Assistant
Casual/Hourly Appointments and Undergraduates, Travel Claims
(780) 492-2710

Shelley Scott, Graduate Programs (Financial)
Graduate Students
(780) 492-1904

Mark Wolansky, Graduate Programs (Program)
Graduate Students
(780) 492-1901

Payroll Deadlines

Pay Period Schedules

What's New

Memo to Academic Staff (November 18, 2013)

It is time again to remind you of our hiring and termination protocols for support staff. Please discuss with/pass along to your employees (not all will have access via our e-mail lists).

Casual 1: Appointments are < 12 months; total hours worked up to and including 1000
Casual 2: Total hours worked between 1001 and 1706
Auxiliary Hourly: Total hours worked 1707; paid 10% in lieu of benefits
Auxiliary Salaried: Hired by competition into a position for a period of 12 to 48 months; includes benefits
Regular Non-established: Hired by competition into a position for longer than 48 months (open-ended); includes benefits

Please submit information/forms to HR Coordinator for benefitted staff or Financial Assistant for hourly staff, as soon as you have the information. We are obligated to pay for work done as it happens.

  • If your employee is non-Canadian, we must have a copy of the appropriate work permit or visa at the time of hiring. Payroll will withhold the pay cheques if we are not in compliance.
  • Only the trustholder/grant holder can be the signatory.
  • If you are collaborating with another trustholder or department and are sharing the services of the employee, we need to know at the time of hiring. This may change the status of the employee and determine the hours of work.
  • Appointments for Casual employees are for less than one year. Be aware that this is a progressive process where employees have a "bucket" to collect all hours worked (exclusive of overtime). This bucket continues to fill over the course of employment.
  • To extend Auxiliary employees, you must complete a Job Fact Sheet and post a position. These positions have a definite end date of less than 4 years.
  • If there is a status change (resignation, maternity, or illness), please notify Lori as they occur.
  • If you need to terminate any appointment (lay-off or lab closure), please notify Lori ASAP. We must comply with stringent notice periods and timelines as laid out in the collective agreement. Employees with significant continuous service with the U of A (not just with one lab or department) may require a considerable notice period which only commences once an initial meeting is arranged with the employee, Human Resources, and NASA.
  • A brief job description must be provided for all casual staff via the Payroll Request form (the box at the bottom of the form). If the intent is to keep the Casual employee long term, best practice would be to complete a Job Fact Sheet and start a recruitment competition at the initial hiring stage.
  • All employees should notify supervisors of any absences. Casual staff do this via the Timesheet and benefitted staff do so via the Leave Report. Please be aware that vacation liability is reduced only by reporting it via the forms above so that vacation used can be entered into PeopleSoft.
  • Benefitted staff are entitled to an annual performance appraisal. Forms are sent to you as they become available.

To All Supervisors

  • Please inform your hourly employees regarding due dates of time sheets or changes in procedures, as not all employees have email.
  • If you need to change the appointment speed code, a new appointment form must be submitted.
  • If your employee is an Auxiliary Hourly or Casual Level 2 they are entitled to certain illness benefits that are outlined on the HR website.
    • Auxiliary employees will need to submit a doctor's note if absent for more than 3 full days.
    • Please keep Lori informed of these absences.

General Information

Human Resources and Payroll Forms Cabinet

Performance Appraisals and Leave Reports for Support Staff

It is important that supervisors complete Probationary and Annual Performance Appraisals for trust support staff who have benefits (vacation/leave entitlements, etc.). They are part of a larger process of compensation for employees and are important indicators of potential problems or the need to review job duties or make changes to procedures.

Probationary Reviews

  • An important deadline is indicated on the form.
  • Please be aware that once this deadline has passed, the employee is deemed continuing with permanent status and terminations are subject to the rules and regulations in the Support Staff Collective Agreement.

Annual Performance Appraisals

  • Completed annually before the employee's anniversary date.
    • If you do not receive the form 2-3 months in advance of this date, please contact Lori at 2-2710.
  • It was widely believed that single increments are applied automatically. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. The department has an obligation to ensure that the employee is granted entitlements that are appropriate as per the Agreement and if increments are missed, compensated accordingly.

Leave Reports

  • All benefited support staff (trust and operating) should submit leave reports on a monthly basis whether leave has been taken or not.
  • The deadline is the 5th of each month to Lori in CW422.
  • Please note that employees should be encouraged to take vacation at regular intervals. This promotes a healthy work environment and productivity levels are likely to increase with happy, healthy employees.

Terminations

A separate form has been created to capture more detailed information when an employee's appointment is terminated. The reasons for termination must be included in the letter of resignation:

  1. Obtained another job within the U of A
  2. Obtained another job outside the U of A
  3. Not returning from maternity leave
  4. Personal reasons
  5. Contract ended
  6. Other (please provide explanation)

An absence report must be attached indicating:

  1. All leave taken to date
  2. Current banked time balance
  3. Current "Extra Time" balance (Modified Work Agreement) The letter of resignation (notice of 10 working days) along with the absence report must be submitted to Lori in CW422.

Change of Address

Please make sure that you update your "BearTracks" record if your address has changed or upon termination of appointment.

Postdoctoral Fellows

Please see Peggy Poholko in CW422 for hiring and registration procedures for Postdoctoral Fellows.

Employee Pay Information

Pay information is found in Beartracks. To access it you need your ID number and a password.

Electronic Funds Transfer

It is mandatory for all staff and students who are continuing full-time, part-time, or casual to complete an online "electronic funds transfer permission" upon hiring. If there has been any lapse in employment or change in category, your information must be re-activated/updated. Please see Lori for further information.

Leave Reporting

Support staff should be using an updated department "Monthly Leave Report" form for submission of leave. The latest version is dated March 2007. Please indicate your Peoplesoft leave balances as per instructions on the form. If you have any questions, call Lori at 2-2710.

  • All continuing support staff (full-time or part-time; trust and operating) will submit leave reports on a MONTHLY basis, whether leave is taken or not.
  • Only those support staff who are accruing vacation time need complete the form (not applicable for those who receive 4-6% vacation payout on each cheque).
  • Please use the most current form (in the Forms Cabinet in CW405) and submit a hard copy as an original supervisor's signature is required.
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