All Casual and Sessional (Fixed Rate) employment contracts will be formalised by means of completed and signed contract forms. The payroll system at the University of Ballarat pays employees on a fortnightly basis into a nominated bank account. When employees commence employment at the University, they are required to complete an Australian Tax File Number Declaration form, Personal Details form and a Bank Details form. These can be obtained from your School/Portfolio administration area or by phoning the Payroll Office, Human Resources ph: 5327 9251 or 5327 9519.

1. The "Casual Employment Contract" is for general and, in some cases, academic staff that are employed on a casual basis for a variable number of hours per week for a specific time and/or task. Employment can be from a few hours a day to full-time. For general staff, 36.75 hours per week is the maximum amount of hours. Hours can vary from week to week or day to day. Timesheets Casual Staff Salary - Claim Time Sheet (Academic and General Staff), Casual Staff Salary - Claim Time Sheet (TAFE Teachers) must be completed for hours worked, signed by the employee and an authorised supervisor and forwarded to the appropriate Payroll Office. Casual staff will be paid according to the information on the timesheet. In Schools, the School Administrative Manager/School Administrative Officer or Head of School is usually responsible for monitoring, signing and forwarding timesheets, while in the Portfolios/Divisions, it is usually the Director (or nominee) for whom the work is being done. Hourly pay rates must equate to the appropriate HEW level and will include a 23% loading. For academic staff hourly rates are specified in the University of Union Collective Agreement,(Academic & General Staff) 2006/2008.



2. The "Casual Employment Contract - TAFE Teachers" is for TAFE Teachers who are employed on a casual basis for a variable number of hours per week for a specific time and/or task. Employment can be from a few hours a day to full-time, however any one contract must not exceed 320 hours in projected work, and if multiple contracts are issued within the year, their total must not exceed 320 hours. Contract duration can be up to an entire calendar year (ie January to December) providing the 320 hour limit is not exceeded, however, contracts must not extend across calendar years (ie Dec 2002 - Feb 2003). Casual Staff Salary - Claim Time Sheet (TAFE Teachers) must be completed for hours worked, signed by the employee and an authorised supervisor and forwarded to payroll. Casual staff will be paid according to the information on the timesheet. The Head of School or Department/Supervisor is usually responsible for monitoring, signing and forwarding timesheets. Pay-rates quoted on the employment contract must equate to defined day teaching hourly rate (ie between the hours of 8.00am to 6.00pm), night teaching rate (ie after 6.00pm), non-teaching rate (all specified in the Victorian TAFE Teaching Staff, Multi-Employer Certified Agreement 2003.
   
   Timesheets must reach the Payroll Office by 5pm on the Thursday prior to the following payday in order to be paid for that payday. Timesheets are available through this website, from School/Portfolio offices or from Human Resources.
   
   
3. The "Sessional Employment Contract (Fixed Rate)" is normally for academic, TAFE teaching and general staff who are employed for a specific number of hours every week for a given time, for example, one semester. The contract is fixed and the expectation is that the work is regular for that time period. This form of contract should not be used for anyone who will be working for less than two months. This type of engagement does not require the filling out of time- sheets - sessional staff will be paid equal fortnightly amounts for the duration of the contract. This employment contract should only be used when the supervisor is confident the work is going to be on a regular basis and that the employee is required for the full nominated period. For academic sessional staff contracted hours should not exceed 60% of the teaching contact hours expected of a full-time academic staff member of similar designation for one semester.
   
   For Further Information/Clarification relating to Sessional Employment Contracts (Fixed Rate)
   
   If for any reason a sessional staff member is unable to fulfil the requirements of the contract, for example due to illness, a Variation to a Sessional Contract form must be completed. If required, please discuss this with your School Administrative Officer/Head Of Department (or nominee) immediately. This form is available on this website, School/Directorate offices or Human Resources.

It is essential that ALL STAFF advise Payroll of change of address and other relevant contact details in writing as soon as possible. It should be noted that Australian Taxation Office "Payment Summaries" are mailed to the home addresses of casual and sessional staff at the end of the financial year. For confidentiality reasons, the Payroll Office database is not linked to Student Administration or Finance therefore change of address and other details are not automatic.

Where it is considered that the person or entities' services being engaged are those of an independent contractor, casual and sessional employee forms should not be used, as payments will be processed by Finance. For a person or entity to qualify as an independent contractor they will need to complete the University's Independent Contractor Questionnaire and an Independent Contractor's Fixed Rate Agreement. When completed, these documents should be forwarded to Financial Operations for processing prior to the services being engaged. A person or entity that does not satisfy the Independent Contractor tests and carry the relevant insurance cover cannot be engaged as an independent contractor by the University.

Queries regarding payroll matters should, in the first instance, be directed to the relevant Supervisor, or the University Payroll Officers - Ms Jeniene Hevey, 5327 9251 or email: j.hevey@ballarat.edu.au , Ms Carole vanBeek, 5327 9519 or email: c.vanbeek@ballarat.edu.au. Independent contractor queries should be addressed to Mr Alan Hood on 5327 9235.