Teaching Assistants - Sick pay provisions for Semester 1, 2020 – 2021

13 Oct 2020

Update on employment terms and conditions for Teaching Assistants

Under the University’s local agreement with the University and College Union (UCU) on the terms and conditions governing the employment of Teaching Assistants (TAs), the sick pay provisions are as follows: 

• If someone is absent from work due to sickness or injury, no payment will be made unless TAs qualify for statutory sick pay.  
•  In the event of short-term absence due to illness, TAs should attempt to arrange for a suitably qualified colleague to undertake their teaching on an exchange or swap basis, subject to obtaining verbal approval of their discipline head, in order that contractual hours of work can still be fulfilled and, in these circumstances, the absence will not be treated as a period of sickness absence.

In response to the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, these arrangements will change temporarily.  If a TA is scheduled and contracted to undertake in person teaching, they will receive sick pay in the following circumstances:

• If they have tested positive and are unable to deliver scheduled teaching as a result;
• If they are self-isolating because: (i) they have coronavirus symptoms, (ii) they suspect they may have been exposed to the virus or (iii) they are waiting for a coronavirus test result, and it is not possible to move the scheduled class online.

While the vast majority of small group teaching will be delivered online during the period we adopt DfE Tier 3 status, in these circumstances TAs are also eligible for sick pay where they are too unwell to deliver scheduled online teaching after testing positive or while waiting for test results.  

These arrangements will be in place for Semester 1 and will be reviewed in December 2020.