Payments for additional, temporary responsibilities
University support staff and academic-related staff
In cases where members of staff are asked to assume the duties and responsibilities of a higher grade post during a period of extended absence of the postholder, the employee required to carry out those duties and responsibilities will receive a salary in accordance with the grading of the post temporarily occupied. This may be lower than the substantive grade of the post.
In cases where the employee does not carry out the full duties and responsibilities of the substantive post, the grade of the post to which an individual is acting-up should be determined by reference to HERA and the University's grading procedures.
An acting-up allowance should be paid according to the grade of the post temporarily occupied and should be equal to the amount payable if the member of staff had been promoted to that grade (at least one increment). Once an allowance has been set, further incremental progression should not be applied to the allowance.
The minimum period for acting up is a continuous one of four weeks and the allowance should be paid from the first day of acting-up. Acting-up would not normally continue for more than a maximum period of one year (such as to cover a period of maternity leave) and should be reviewed after six months. Acting up allowances are therefore non-pensionable (see below: 'Pensionable status of payments for temporary additional duties').
The individual concerned should receive written confirmation of such arrangements. Where possible this notification will be given in advance, but may have to be given retrospectively.
Academic staff
Arrangements for covering the duties and responsibilities of academic staff during a period of extended absence are rather different; depending on the circumstances, divisions may make informal arrangements for teaching to be covered by colleagues, through piece-rate teaching, or using a fixed-term replacement appointment. However, there are some circumstances in which academic staff may be asked to "act up", for example to cover for a head of department, and in these cases staff will be paid for the appropriate allowance for the post in question.
Pensionable status of payments for temporary additional responsibilities
The following payments for additional temporary responsibilities held for a temporary period over and above the member of staff's normal duties may be pensionable:
- "Schedule allowances paid to heads of department, including those paid to a deputy covering for the absence of the substantive head;
- Proctors' and assessors' stipends;
These allowances will be pensionable if it is known at the outset that they will be held for three years or more. Allowances held for less than three years at the outset and then extended will not be made pensionable unless the extension is for a period of at least three years, in which case the addition will become pensionable with effect from the date of the extension.
QRG: CH4 Change: New Allowance 
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QRG: CH12 End Allowances (110kb)