• Section 1 - Purpose and Scope
• Section 2 - Process and Key Controls
• Section 3 - Key Requirements
• Part A - Attendance
• Professional Employees HEW Level 1-7
• Professional Employees HEW Level 8 and above
• Part B - Flexible Working Hours
• Cessation of Employment
• Part C - Overtime
• Professional Employees
• Time Off-In-Lieu (TOIL)
• Professional Employees (HEW Level 1-7)
• Professional Employees (HEW Level 8 only)
• Recall to Campus
• Meal Breaks During Overtime
• Minimum Break between Periods of Duty
• Additional UQ Work/ Multiple UQ Positions
• Concurrent Casual Appointments
• Section 4 - Roles, Responsibilities and Accountabilities
• Professional Employees HEW Level 1-7
• Attendance
• Flexible Working Hours
• Overtime
• Professional Employees HEW Level 8 and Above
• Authorised Officers
• Attendance
• Flexible Working Hours
• Overtime
• Section 5 - Monitoring, Review and Assurance
• Section 6 - Recording and Reporting
• Section 7 - Appendix

Section 1 - Purpose and Scope

(1) This Procedure outlines the process at The University of Queensland (UQ) for Professional employee attendance, hours of work (including flexible hours) and overtime.

(2) This Procedure applies to all Professional employees (fixed term and continuing) covered by the Enterprise Agreement, excluding casual staff and shift workers.

Section 2 - Process and Key Controls

(3) UQ is committed to ensuring operational requirements are met through the effective management of employee workloads however, there may be a requirement for employees to work reasonable overtime.

(4) The key controls to effectively manage the attendance, hours of work (including flexible hours), and overtime processes at UQ includes:

1. Employees (HEW Level 1-7) must regularly record and submit an accurate record of attendance including the hours worked and any leave taken.
2. Flexible working hours arrangements should be reviewed every 12 months at a minimum, or more often as agreed.
3. Overtime (including time off in-lieu of overtime) must be pre-approved and where worked, will be paid consistent with the occupational category and HEW classification level at which they performed the work as specified in the Enterprise Agreement.
4. All timesheets require the approval of an authorised officer in accordance with the UQ Delegations of Authority.

Section 3 - Key Requirements

Part A - Attendance

(5) A full-time employee (HEW Level 1-7) is required to work a standard work day (e.g. 7 hours and 15 minutes) consistent with the occupational category to which they are employed, as outlined in the Enterprise Agreement. Part time employees or employees with an approved Flexible Work Agreement are required to work the hours stated in the Offer of Appointment or variation. Employee work patterns will be within 15-minute intervals, except for professional employees employed under Schedule 8 of the Enterprise Agreement – Heron Island Research Station, and Schedule 11 – Customs House Schedule. 

(6) Casual employees are paid for hours worked, subject to applicable minimum engagement periods.

Professional Employees HEW Level 1-7

(7) Professional employees (HEW Level 1-7) are required to record their attendance at work unless they are travelling or performing work away from UQ.

(8) Employees must regularly record and submit an accurate record of the hours worked and any leave taken to the Authorised Officer (specified in the Human Resources Sub-delegations Instrument) on a fortnightly basis in accordance with the requirements of the Organisational Unit.

(9) An employee (HEW Level 1-7) is required to work within the span of hours consistent with the occupational category to which they are employed. The standard spread of hours, maximum work hours per week, and notice requirements to vary commencing and ceasing times per occupational category, are outlined in the Enterprise Agreement.

Professional Employees HEW Level 8 and above

(10) There is no fixed span of hours for employees HEW Level 8 and above, unless specified within the Enterprise Agreement and there is no requirement to record hours of work.

Part B - Flexible Working Hours

(11) In accordance with the Enterprise Agreement, an employee (HEW Level 1-7) may work flexible working hours (work patterns) in lieu of the standard hours of work where mutually agreed between the Authorised Officer (specified in the Human Resources Sub-delegations Instrument) and the employee.

(12) The available options are outlined in clause 36.6 of the Enterprise Agreement and in the Flexible Work Policy. Certain employees have the ‘right to request’ a flexible work arrangement in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

(13) Flexi-time or Voluntary Banked Time (VBT) arrangements should only be used where there is a genuine requirement for the employee to work additional hours in order to meet a peak in workload, or to assist an employee to balance their work commitments and personal circumstances where it is of mutual benefit to the Organisational Unit and the employee.

Cessation of Employment

(14) An employee (HEW Level 1-7) who is being appointed to a position in another Organisational Unit or ceasing their employment at UQ should arrange with the Authorised Officer to take any Flexi-time or VBT hours before the last day of employment in that position.

(15) Where it is impractical for the employee (HEW Level 1-7) to take accrued Flexi-time or VBT hours, the Head of the Organisational Unit may give consideration to paying out an employee’s accrued Flexi-time or VBT balances upon cessation of employment with UQ, in consultation with Human Resources Division.

Part C - Overtime

Professional Employees

(16) Professional employees (HEW Level 1-7):

1. May be required to work reasonable overtime and are paid for all work performed in excess of their ordinary working hours or outside of their spread of hours as outlined in the Enterprise Agreement.
2. All overtime must be pre-approved by the Authorised Officer (specified in the Human Resources Sub-delegations Instrument) prior to the work being performed. Wherever practicable, employees will be given 24 hours’ notice of a request to work overtime. 
3. Where overtime is required, the Authorised Officer approving the overtime (specified in the Human Resources Sub-delegations Instrument), will give consideration to the employee’s personal circumstances on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the request to work overtime is reasonable. Employees may decline a request to work additional hours if the additional hours are unreasonable.

(17) Professional employees (HEW Level 8 and above) may be required to perform reasonable overtime in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). In some circumstances, and by prior agreement, employees may receive payment for overtime worked in accordance with the Enterprise Agreement.

Time Off-In-Lieu (TOIL)

Professional Employees (HEW Level 1-7)

(18) Professional employees (HEW Level 1-7) may request to take TOIL instead of receiving an overtime payment for an approved period of overtime, subject to approval by the Authorised Officer (specified in the Human Resources Sub-delegations Instrument). Approval must be sought prior to undertaking overtime.

(19) In accordance with the Enterprise Agreement, TOIL will be calculated at the value of the appropriate overtime rate applicable to the hours of overtime worked.

(20) Employees (HEW Level 1-7) should not accumulate more than five (5) working days as TOIL at any time (pro-rata for part time staff).

(21) Employees who have accumulated TOIL should be afforded the opportunity to take it within 30 days of accrual at a time mutually agreed between the employee and the Authorised Officer (specified in the Human Resources Sub-delegations Instrument).

(22) Upon request, employees may be paid their accrued TOIL in the next available pay period. An employee who has accrued, but not taken time off in lieu within 30 days will be paid out in total, twice per calendar year (being the last full pay period in May and the last full pay period in November).

(23) Employees will have the option to decline the standard payout of accumulated TOIL in cases where they have approved plans to access the accrued time within 30 days. To initiate this procedure, employees must submit a request through Workday. Specific instructions will be provided to eligible employees in advance of the payment date in May and November each year.

(24) Where an employee (HEW Level 1-7) requests to work outside the normal spread of hours, and this is agreed to by the Authorised Officer (specified in the Human Resources Sub-delegations Instrument), then overtime will not apply. Any such agreement/s must be in writing and retained by the Organisational Unit. Agreements that extend beyond a short-term, temporary arrangement must be documented in the form of a flexible work arrangement.

Professional Employees (HEW Level 8 only)

(25) Professional employees at HEW Level 8 who are required to work beyond their ordinary hours of work will be eligible for TOIL calculated in accordance with the prescribed overtime rates within the Enterprise Agreement. The employee may be paid their accrued TOIL at their request, in the next available pay period.

Recall to Campus

(26) Employees who are not rostered on-call and are recalled to duty without prior notice outside of ordinary working hours, will be paid for a minimum period at the prescribed overtime rate as follows;

1. Employees who are recalled to a UQ location are paid a minimum of two (2) hours per occasion in compensation of travel time to the required location with the exception of those appointed to a trades role, in which case a minimum of four (4) hours per occasion is applied.
2. Employees who are recalled to undertake work remotely are paid a minimum of 30 minutes for their first response on any day.
3. Property and Facilities Campus Operations employees will be paid a minimum of one (1) hour for their first response on any day.

(27) Where employees are on-call and are recalled to campus, an on-call allowance is payable.

(28) Where UQ requires employees who are on call to undertake work, without the need to travel back to a UQ campus or location, the prescribed overtime rate will be paid for the actual time worked.

Meal Breaks During Overtime

(29) Professional employees (HEW Level 1-7 and HEW Level 8) are required to take an unpaid lunch break of at least 30 minutes, but not exceeding 45 minutes duration after five hours of continuous work. 

Minimum Break between Periods of Duty

(30) Professional employees (HEW Level 1-7) who have worked overtime will be given a minimum break of 10 hours between the end of one period of duty and the beginning of the next. Where employees (HEW Level 1-7) are required to resume work without having a 10 hour break off duty, they will be entitled to be absent from duty without loss of pay until a 10 hour break has been taken, or be paid double time until released from duty.

Additional UQ Work/ Multiple UQ Positions

(31) Professional employees (HEW Level 1-7) who hold more than one part-time position are entitled to overtime for any time worked in excess of the maximum working hours per week as specified in the Enterprise Agreement.

Concurrent Casual Appointments

(32) Employees may be employed on a casual basis, in addition to their substantive Continuing or Fixed-term appointment, provided that:

1. such a concurrent Casual appointment is for a role that is separate and distinct from that of the substantive Continuing or Fixed-term appointment held by the employee; and
2. the employee has approval from their substantive appointment Supervisor before engaging in a concurrent Casual appointment subject to operational requirements and health and safety considerations

(33) Where a concurrent casual appointment occurs, the total hours worked in each role will not be treated cumulatively for the purposes of calculating employee entitlements, including overtime or any applicable penalty payments.

Section 4 - Roles, Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Professional Employees HEW Level 1-7

Attendance

(34) Professional employees must submit an accurate record of their hours worked (including pre-approved overtime) and any leave taken on the appropriate timesheet to the Authorised Officer (specified in the Human Resources Sub-delegations Instrument) on a fortnightly basis.

Flexible Working Hours

(35) Professional employees (HEW Level 1-7) should discuss with their Supervisor and/or Authorised Officer a request to change their work pattern, access flexitime or VBT and then apply.

Overtime

(36) Claiming Overtime as Payment or TOIL:

1. All overtime must be pre-approved in accordance with the Human Resources Sub-delegations Instrument and recorded on a timesheet. Once overtime is worked, employees must make a claim for payment online or ensure that their accrued TOIL is recorded accurately on their timesheet (HEW Level 1-7).
2. Where employees (HEW Level 1-7) claim overtime as TOIL, time will be calculated at the equivalent overtime rate which would otherwise have been paid.

(37) Travel at the Completion of Overtime:

1. An employee (HEW Level 1-7) approved to work overtime will be eligible to receive reimbursement of reasonable travel costs incurred to travel home on the completion of overtime where the employee’s usual means of transport is not available. An employee (HEW Level 1-7) must seek pre-approval from the Authorised Officer for overtime to claim reasonable travel costs, unless exceptional circumstances apply.
2. Where UQ is able to provide suitable transport to the employee (HEW Level 1-7) on completion of the overtime, UQ will not provide reimbursement for transport costs.

Professional Employees HEW Level 8 and Above

(38) Professional employees (HEW Level 8 and above) should discuss a request to change their hours of work, patterns of work, and any requirement to work overtime with the Authorised Officer (as specified in the Human Resources Sub-delegations Instrument).

Authorised Officers

Attendance

(39) The Authorised Officer is responsible for:

1. ensuring employee attendance is recorded in accordance with the requirements of the Organisational Unit; and
2. approving, timesheets and/or the records of attendance in a timely manner
3. ensuring records of leave or absences are also reflected accordingly in the relevant Human Capital Management System.

Flexible Working Hours

(40) The Authorised Officer is responsible for considering:

1. the employee’s personal circumstances;
2. operational requirements; and
3. whether the request for flexible working hours has been made in accordance with Section 65, Division 4 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), as referenced in the Flexible Work Policy.

Overtime

(41) All requests for employees to work overtime must be reasonable, and consideration should be given to:

1. any recent overtime already performed by the employee;
2. whether 24 hours’ notice was provided;
3. the length of the break between the cessation of overtime and the commencement of ordinary hours of work the next day;
4. the employee’s personal circumstances, including family responsibilities;
5. any notice given by the employee of their intention to refuse to work additional hours;
6. the nature of the employee’s role, and their level of responsibility;
7. budget of the Organisational Unit;
8. operational requirements; and
9. any other relevant matters.

Section 5 - Monitoring, Review and Assurance

(42) The Chief Human Resources Officer is responsible for continuous monitoring on the effectiveness, application and improvement of this Procedure.

Section 6 - Recording and Reporting

(43) Recording and reporting for hours of work, overtime and recording attendance is completed in accordance with legislative and UQ requirements.

(44) Human Resources Division is responsible for retaining records in accordance with the Information Management Policy and procedures, and the Privacy Management Policy.

(45) Transactions and approvals referred to in this Procedure are recorded in the relevant Human Management Capital System.

Section 7 - Appendix