Categories:
Maintained Schools Heads, Business Managers, Administrators

End of term HR actions

Search ‘payroll’ in IBC self-service and you can now also see the approximate dates when payroll will re-open again for the following month. 

Forms submitted while payroll is closed will go through the system once payroll reopens. You’ll receive a warning message that payroll is closed when you go into these forms and the form will show with an error when you submit it, however these messages are due to the system closure and your form will be actioned once payroll opens.

Good Work Plan legislation states contracts must be issued to new members of staff on their first day of employment. To make sure your school is legally compliant you must submit your new starter forms before they start work. Please read this guidance to make sure you manage any delays.

New starters

Details

  • Always make sure new recruits send back their completed employee details form quickly.
  • New members of staff shouldn’t wait until they start work in your school before they return this form, as this is causing delays to you being able to complete the new starter actions in IBC self-service.
  • There is a template ‘employee details’ form (link to schools’ intranet above) or you use your own version of the form.

Dates to use

  • When you ‘Create a new position’ in IBC always use today’s date (the date you create the position) unless you have to do this retrospectively. 
  • If you have teaching staff joining your school always check their start date by using the information on the schools’ website. This is different to the date you use when you create a position.
  • If you need to change the start date, for example because of delays in pre-employment checks, raise an IBC enquiry selecting the following drop-down options:
    • Type: ‘My Team and Structure’
    • Sub-type: ‘Salary and Additional Payments’
    • Enquiry: ‘Basic Pay’
    • Title: Incorrect start date’ – <personnel number> and <name>

Transfers 

  • If you have someone transferring to your schoolfrom another Oxfordshire County Council maintained school, you should use ‘Move employee’ in IBC.

Don’t forget 

  • ‘Manage starter’ and ‘Move employee’ forms in IBC can be submitted while payroll is closed. Once payroll reopens these go through into the system. 
  • Always check your ‘My enquiry’ in IBC for any outstanding queries
  • If you get a notification from the IBC asking for more information about starters, respond quickly because delays may result in contracts being issued late.

Contract documents 

  • When IBC produces contract documents, school administration staff with IBC HR access can use the Electronic Personnel File (ePF).
  • Contract documents are uploaded straight to the ePF. 
  • A notification is sent to the school’s generic email address, for example adminoffice@<schoolname>, confirming the contract has been created.

Accessing the ePF for new starters

School administration staff can access the ePF for future starters by following these steps in IBC:

  • Click the ‘My teams’ (or search it by clicking the magnifying glass in the top right)
  • Click on the structure your new starter should is in (for example Support Staff or Teachers)
  • Click on the ‘Team actions’ (or scroll to the bottom of the page)
  • All the new starters will appear at the bottom of the list
  • Click on ‘Manage ePF’ on the right-hand side of their names.

Accessing the ePF for someone who is transferring to your school

For anyone transferring to your school from another Oxfordshire County Council school, the ePF and contract will be available on the first day of their employment with you.

The ‘Manage ePF’ option is missing

If ‘Manage ePF’ option isn’t available in IBC for the new starter, take a screenshot and raise an IBC enquiry selecting the following drop-down options:

  • Type: ‘My Team and Structure’ 
  • Sub-type: ‘Contract of Employment’ 
  • Enquiry: ‘Not received documentation’.

Remember to include the personnel number and name of the member of staff whose contract you are looking for.

Support

If there are any problems with the documents that have been produced, raise an IBC enquiry selecting the following drop-down options:

  • Type: ‘My Team and Structure’ 
  • Sub-type: ‘Contract of Employment’ 
  • Enquiry: ‘Content Enquiry’.

Leavers

  • Submit the ‘Make leaver’ form for anyone leaving Oxfordshire County Council. 
  • Remind leavers to access Employee Self-Service (ESS). Documents such as P60s and payslips should be downloaded or printed before they leave and they should check their contact details are correct for any future correspondence. 
  • If they don’t have other employment in Oxfordshire County Council, their P45 and final pay slip will be sent out shortly after they leave via the IBC.
  • If you have anyone who is leaving your school to join another Oxfordshire County Council maintained school, then no action is required – it is the recruiting school that completes the ‘Move employee’ action in IBC.

Correct pay

To make sure everyone is paid correctly, follow the guidance notes below. These will help you enter the correct dates when you complete the leaver actions in IBC.

The term dates are saved on the schools’ website.

If a part-time member of staff works a pattern of Wednesday, Thursday, Friday their contractual start date must be the Monday of the first week of employment and not their first worked Wednesday.

Important note: Support staff leaving during a term

If a member of support staff, working term-time-only, leaves during a term you must contact the IBC by raising an enquiry to make sure they are not underpaid. 

If the salary calculation identifies the member of staff has been paid below the national minimum wage on their leaving date, the correct salary payment using the person’s actual hourly rate will be calculated.

Resignation dates

Usually, you must use the term dates on the schools’ website to make sure correct payments and contractual obligations are met.  

However, sometimes people other dates in their resignation letters.  If someone states a resignation date earlier than the end of the term (listed above), they should be reminded of the consequences of this before the school processes the resignation.

Help and support

Leaving dates can be confusing and choosing the right one is important, so if you need help contact IBC. 

Keep sickness records up to date

Check sickness absence is recorded accurately to make sure everyone is paid correctly during the holiday period.

Recording sickness

  • All schools should be using the ‘Maintain HR data’ in IBC to record sickness. 
  • This is important for absence monitoring and it ensures sick pay is triggered for anyone on long term sick and pay is reinstated when someone returns to work.
  • If someone is off sick you need to record their absence at the start using an end date of 31.12.9999 and update the sickness record with the correct end date when they return to work.
  • You don’t need to record a separate absence for each day or each week the person is off sick if the period is continuous. If you do, this creates multiple sickness absences on the employee record and may result in them being overpaid. Advice on recording part-day sickness is below.
  • Where someone is absent long-term and a statement of fitness of work (also known as a ‘fit note’ or 'sick note') is provided, update the sickness records with the end date when they return to work rather than for the duration of the fit note. This avoids the people being overpaid where sickness is extended.
  • Where a person is subject to a pay reduction (half-pay or nil pay) automated IBC notification e-mails are sent to the headteacher.
  • Statement of fitness of work ( ‘fit note’ or 'sick note') need to cover absences that go over the school holiday.

For members of staff with multiple employment

  • Enter absence in the same way as for other members of staff.
  • Sickness absences are automatically copied to each personnel number overnight in IBC.
  • Other absences must be entered onto each active record where appropriate
  • Any subsequent changes, e.g. change of return date, will need to be made manually to each personnel number, regardless of the type of absence
  • If a person is absent on a long-term sickness with an end date of 31.12.9999, you must remember to amend each personnel record with the last day of absence when they return.
  • If someone is not off sick on all of their contracts, i.e. they are unable to work in the kitchen at lunchtime (upset stomach) but are still able to work as a cleaner, you must raise an IBC enquiry.
  • If the person has another contract in a different school, raise an IBC enquiry.

Support

Guidance is available to help you with entering sickness in IBC.

For sickness policy queries or support with managing absence, contact Education Personnel Services (EPS). 

Fixed term/temporary contracts

  • For those who are remaining in employment, extend their contract so that they have the correct proposed end date on their record. 
  • For those who are leaving Oxfordshire County Council, the appropriate leaver action must be completed to ensure the person isn’t overpaid.

Change of hours

Use  ‘Manage employee work hours and patterns’ in IBC self-service to change any permanent or temporary increases or decreases in working hours. 

Submit outstanding timesheets using the ‘Enter time worked’ in IBC self-service. You can also amend an hourly/daily rate of a previous claim. 

Help and support 

If you need support with any of these actions, check the online guidance and if this doesn’t answer your question contact IBC using webchat.