Recruitment Selection and Appointment Procedure - Recruitment of casual and sessional staff

Parent Policy

Recruitment, Selection and Appointment

Preamble

The University aims to recruit the brightest and best staff for each and every role. Appointments must be made on the basis of merit, applying the principle of achievement relative to opportunity and adhering to the principles of equity and equal opportunity employment.

This procedure applies to the recruitment of all casual or sessional staff to the University.

Definitions

Achievement relative to opportunity: is an evaluative framework in which the overall quality and impact of achievements is given more weight than the quantity, rate or breadth of particular achievements. Assessing achievements relative to opportunity involves giving consideration to circumstances, arrangements, career histories and overall time available to the staff member. This in turn allows appropriate evaluation of achievements in relation to:

• the quantum or rate of productivity,
• the opportunity to participate in certain types of activities, and
• the consistency of activities or output over the period of consideration.

Achievement relative to opportunity is a positive acknowledgement of what a person can and has achieved given the opportunities available and is not about providing “special consideration” or expecting lesser standards of performance.

Casual staff: are non-academic or professional staff who are engaged by and paid by the hour where the nature of the work is ad hoc or short term in nature and where flexibility to vary hours or modify employment is required (eg to cover leave absences or provide assistance for additional, seasonal or special project type work).

Faculty or Divisional Cluster: refers to a cluster of Faculties and/or administrative Divisions that is serviced by a particular HR Service Hub.

Functional Head: is usually the Divisional Director of a particular administrative function who has the responsibility for approving professional staff positions where the primary professional function of the role falls within their administrative portfolio (eg. the Executive Director, Monash HR is the Functional Head for all HR activities at the University and approves all professional staff roles that primarily perform an HR-related role).

Head of unit: is ahead of an academic or organisational work unit, for example Head of School, Head of Department or where applicable, a person acting as his or her nominee.

Hiring manager: is the manager responsible for filling the vacancy, usually the supervisor of the position. For sessional appointments, the hiring manager may be the administrator/s within the Faculty who is/are responsible for coordinating the sessional activities within the particular area.

HR Business Partner: is a member of the Monash HR community who operates as a strategic partner responsible for providing a range of human resources services for an assigned Faculty or administrative Division. HR Business Partners are located within a HR Service Hub.

HR Service Hub: is the centre for human resources services and activities within a Faculty or Divisional Cluster.

Job Request: is the screen in Rex where all necessary information relating to a particular position is recorded.

Lead HR Business Partner: is a member of the Monash HR management team who operates as a senior HR Business Partner responsible for the strategic and operational management of the human resources services and activities in a HR Services Hub.

Rex: is the University's online recruitment system, which administers requests to advertise, selections and appointments and generates employment contracts.

Sessional staff: are academic Teaching Associates who are appointed to undertake a single or specific number of sessions related to demonstrating, tutoring, lecturing, marking, supervision, academic research assistance, music accompanying with special educational service, undergraduate clinical nurse education or other required academic activity.

Step 1: The hiring manager requests recruitment to a new or vacant position/s

Where there is a need to fill a new or vacant casual or sessional position/s, the hiring manager will:

• ensure that the position has been established by the head of unit;
• ensure that funding is available;
• enter information regarding the requirements for the position into the Job Request in Rex;
• for positions to which multiple appointments will be made, attach the Multiple casual appointments - staff names [Excel] spreadsheet
  

Step 2: Monash HR completes all outstanding information in Rex

The HR Business Partner will:

• review the information provided;
• if the position is a casual position at HEW levels 8, 9 or 10, refer the Job Request to the Lead HR Business Partner;
• provide advice to the hiring manager regarding any restrictions or senior managerial directives regarding casual or sessional employment;
• determine whether any pre-employment checks are required;
• for sessional staff positions, identify the estimated hours per week and describe the duties of the position in the appropriate fields of the Job Request in  Rex; and/or
• for casual/sessional positions to which multiple appointments will be made, attach the Multiple casual appointments - staff names [Excel] spreadsheet.

Step 3: Monash HR approves the Job Request

For casual positions at HEW levels 8, 9 and 10, the Lead HR Business Partner will consider whether a casual appointment is the appropriate mode of employment. If it is determined that it is, the Lead HR Business Partner may approve the Job Request for any appointments that are for a period of less than six months. Any such appointments that are for greater than six months must be referred to the Director (Workplace Relations) and, for HEW level 10 positions, the Manager (Remuneration & Senior Professional Appointments) for approval.

For all other casual or sessional positions, the HR Business Partner will approve the Job Request.

The HR Business Partner will then need to select the appropriate option as follows:

• Co-ordinates advertising of the position (where no suitably qualified candidate has been identified - see Step 4); or
• Administers the offer process (where a suitably qualified candidate has already been identified - proceed to see Step 7).

Step 4: Monash HR coordinates advertising of the position

Advertising is optional for casual or sessional positions. The hiring manager will determine whether the position/s should be advertised. If the position is not to be advertised, the HR Business Partner will progress the process to Step 7 “Monash HR administers the offer process” below.

The recruitment advertising team from Recruitment, Design and Delivery in Monash HR will administer the process for advertising the position. This includes:

• advising the HR Business Partners on any current advertising restrictions or other relevant operational practices;
• providing advice on the appropriate sourcing of candidates;
• liaising with the relevant HR Business Partner on any particular advertising requirements for the position; and
• administering the placement of the advertisement/s.

The standard advertising period is two weeks. Positions should be advertised for a minimum of five working days. There is no maximum period.

There will be no cost to the Faculty or Division for any advertising on the University’s internal job board and various external online job boards with which the University has a standing account (eg. Seek, UniJobs). Any advertising on job boards that are not centrally-funded or in the print media must be approved by the Dean or Divisional Director and subsidised by the Faculty/Division.

The candidate will apply for the position by completing the Application Form in Rex.

Step 5: The hiring manager determines the selection process

The selection process for each position will vary depending on the circumstances. The hiring manager (and/or others involved in the selection process) will liaise with the HR Business Partner to determine the most appropriate selection process.

During the selection process, the hiring manager will ensure that:

• the selection process is based on merit and consistent with the University’s equal opportunity and ethics principles;
• the achievements of all candidates are assessed relative to opportunity (for further information on “achievement relative to opportunity” see the Guidelines for Decision Makers on Assessing Achievement Relative to Opportunity);
• any potential conflict of interest is declared (for example, if any of the applicants is a relative or close friend - see the Conduct and Compliance Procedure - Conflict of Interest);
• all personal information is protected and only used for the primary purpose of assessing the suitability of the candidate for the position (for more information on privacy see the Conduct and Compliance Procedure - Privacy); and
• all hard-copy materials relating to the selection process are provided to the HR Business Partner at the end of the selection process.

The HR Business Partner will provide advice to the hiring manager throughout the selection process, including on the appropriate level of payment and on the proper application of this procedure.

During the selection process the hiring manager (or other person involved in the selection process) must ask the preferred candidate:

• whether s/he has the right to work in Australia and any restrictions that apply;
• whether s/he is employed in any other roles at the University or any other organisation;
• whether s/he is a research graduate student and whether the appointment conflicts with the terms and conditions of the candidature;
• to identify any potential conflict of interest; and
• to verify any required qualifications.

Step 6: The hiring manager conducts reference checks

It is integral to the selection process that the hiring manager (or some other person involved in the selection process) conducts reference checks of any preferred candidates. The HR Business Partner may assist the person nominated to complete the reference checks by developing an appropriate set of core questions.

The person nominated to complete referee checks will:

• contact the nominated referees;
• ask each referee the same core set of questions to provide a consistent basis for comparison;
• ensure all questions are in line with equal opportunity principles;
• communicate the results as appropriate; and
• ensure that all documentation is provided to the HR Business Partner at the completion of the checks.

Only referees who have been nominated by the candidate may be contacted. Where the hiring manager wishes to consult other persons, the candidate must be informed who they are and provide consent before that person/s is contacted.

Step 7: Monash HR administers the appointment process

Once a suitable candidate has been identified and offered a casual or sessional position, the HR Business Partner will need to determine whether:

• the candidate already has a profile in Rex, or
• the HR Business Partner has all the necessary details to create a candidate profile in Rex so that they can complete the offer.

Where the HR Business Partner and/or the hiring manager do not have this information available, the candidate will need to be invited to apply for the position and complete an online Registration Form.

The HR Business Partner will then complete all the offer details in Rex.

Step 8: The delegated authority approves the appointment

The completed information about the offer will then be forwarded electronically via Rex to the relevant approvers. Although the required approvals may vary between Faculty/Division, the head of unit is required to approve all casual/sessional appointments.  In addition to this, the functional head is required to approve all casual appointments.

Step 9: Monash HR issues the formal offer of employment

HR Operations in Monash HR will then:

• check the appointment information in Rex to generate the letter of offer; and
• forward the letter of offer and associated documentation to the incumbent through Rex.

The HR Business Partner and the hiring manager will be notified by email when the candidate accepts the offer.

Restrictions on offering casual or sessional employment

There are restrictions on offering casual or sessional employment at the University in certain circumstances. In particular:

• an appointment cannot be made for greater than 12 months;
• if the candidate is already employed in a fixed-term or continuing position at the University, additional casual or sessional employment may only be offered in accordance with the Recruitment Selection and Appointment Procedure - Additional Appointments and Duties; and
• if the candidate is a student enrolled in a doctoral or MPhil or a scholarship holder, s/he may only be offered paid employment within the restricted circumstances outlined in the employment conditions for doctoral and MPhil candidates and conditions of receiving a postgraduate research scholarship.

Maintaining recruitment records

At the end of the recruitment process, the hiring manager and all others involved in the recruitment and selection process must ensure that all hard-copy materials, including applications, interview forms, notes and referee reports are provided to the HR Business Partner.

The HR Business Partner will maintain a recruitment file for each recruitment activity and will ensure that:

• all records relating to successful candidates are retained for two years; and
• all records relating to the unsuccessful candidates are securely destroyed after six months.

Responsibilities

Hiring Manager

The hiring manager is responsible for:

• ensuring that casual/sessional positions are appropriately established by the head of unit and that funding is available;
• initiating the recruitment by completing required information in the Job Request in Rex;
• for sessional positions, identifying the estimated hours per week and describing the duties of the position in the appropriate fields in Rex;
• completing a Multiple casual appointments - staff names [Excel] spreadsheet when appointing more than one person to a casual/sessional position; and
• where applicable, coordinating the selection process, including reference checking.

Head of unit

The head of unit is responsible for:

• establishing casual/ sessional positions; and
• approving casual/ sessional appointments.

HR Business Partner

The HR Business Partner is responsible for:

• confirming and completing all relevant information in the Job Request;
• approving the Job Request (for all positions except casual positions at HEW level 8, 9 or 10);
• providing advice to the hiring manager throughout the recruitment and selection process;
• maintaining recruitment files in accordance with the requirements of this procedure and destroying documentation within the designated timeframes; and
• ensuring the proper execution of this procedure for all recruitment activities.

Lead HR Business Partner

The Lead HR Business Partner is responsible for:

• assessing whether any proposed casual appointments at HEW levels 8, 9 or 10 are the appropriate mode of employment;
• approving any casual appointments at HEW levels 8, 9 or 10 that are for a period of less than 6 months; and
• referring any such proposed appointments for greater than 6 months to the Director (Workplace Relations) and, for HEW10 positions, to the Manager (Remuneration & Senior Professional Appointments).

Recruitment, Design and Delivery (Monash HR)

The Recruitment, Design and Delivery team in Monash HR is responsible for:

• maintaining this procedure and all related recruitment procedures and guidelines;
• providing expert advice and support to the HR Business Partners on best practice recruitment techniques and practices;
• administering and maintaining the Rex e-Recruitment system; and
• providing reports and data from Rex, on request.

HR Operations (Monash HR)

HR Operations in Monash HR is responsible for administering the casual/ sessional appointment process in accordance with the requirements of this procedure.

Related procedures

• Recruitment Selection and Appointment Procedure - Additional Appointments and Duties
• Recruitment Selection and Appointment Procedure - Recruitment of fixed-term and continuing staff
• Recruitment Selection and Appointment Procedure - Direct appointments
• Recruitment Selection and Appointment Procedure - Recruitment of Level E professorial staff
• Recruitment Selection and Appointment Procedure - Pre-employment Checks
• Recruitment Selection and Appointment Procedure - Adjunct Appointments (academic staff)
• Recruitment Selection and Appointment Procedure - Honorary Appointments (professional staff)
• Recruitment Selection and Appointment Procedure - Probation and confirmation of academic appointment
• Recruitment Selection and Appointment Procedure - Professional Staff probation (currently under review)

Related documents

• Staff recruitment guidelines
• Multiple casual appointments - staff names [Excel] spreadsheet
• Contractors
• Temporary staff (temps)
• Visitors and guests
• Monash HR online calendar (including payroll processing deadlines)

Timesheets

• Casual Academic research assistant time sheet [Word] or [PDF]
• Casual Academic sessional time sheet [Word] or [PDF]