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Schedule 5: English language teaching staff - Fixed-term employment

Definition

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Fixed term employment means full-time or part-time employment for a specified term or other ascertainable period under a contract that contains a starting date and an end date or, instead of an end date, a contingency relating to a specified task or project upon which the contract will come to an end. Such a contract may be terminated before the specified end date or contingency in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

Further offers of employment and ending fixed term employment

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A staff member employed for a fixed term may be offered further terms of employment. Unless such an offer is made and accepted, or the staff member’s employment is terminated earlier in accordance with this Agreement, the staff member’s employment will end on the specified end date or occurrence of the contingency specified in the staff member’s contract of employment.
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Staff employed for a fixed term will be notified in writing before the end of their term, task or project:
  1. whether the University proposes to retain the same position, or a substantially similar position, for a further term; and
  2. whether they will be offered a further term of employment.
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The minimum notification period under clause 8 of this Schedule will be as follows:

Period of Continuous Service  Notification Period (weeks before specifiedend date) 
Less than 3 years  2 weeks * 
3 years to less than 5 years  3 weeks * 
5 years or more  4 weeks * 

*The minimum notification period will be increased by one week for a staff member who has completed at least 2 years’ continuous service and is aged 45 years or over.

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Where the University decides to retain the same position, or a substantially similar position, for a further term, employment in the position will be offered to the incumbent provided that:

  1. the incumbent’s appointment to the position was made following a competitive selection process;
  2. the incumbent’s performance in the role has matched expectations set and adopted during their employment and has been assessed as at least satisfactory; and
  3. the incumbent has demonstrated the capacity to meet the future expectations of the position, including any new duties or skills that may be required.

Applications for conversion to Funding Contingent Continuing Employment

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A staff member who has been employed on a fixed term basis and is offered a further fixed term contract may apply for conversion to Funding Contingent Continuing Employment on the same salary and classification specified in the fixed term offer. The University may refuse an application for conversion on reasonable grounds, which may include the following:
  1. where the staff member:
    1. is a student, and their status as a student was the primary reason for their appointment;
    2. is a genuine retiree (including a staff member who elected to change from continuing employment to a pre-retirement contract);
    3. performing work which will cease to be required after the term of employment offered by the University; or
    4. is performing work which is predominantly related to discontinued, or discontinuing programs; or
  2. where the fixed term employment is for:
    1. a specific task or project, or is Externally Funded;
    2. the purpose of filling a temporary vacancy;
    3. a period of up to three years in a new organisational area or program; or
    4. a period of up to three years in an area where there has been a sudden and unanticipated increase in enrolments.

Severance Payments

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Subject to clause 14 of this Schedule, severance payments will be made under clause 13 of this Schedule to fixed term language staff who:
  1. have been employed on a fixed term basis;
  2. seek to continue their employment after the end of their specified term, task or project and are not offered further employment;
  3. whose contract is not renewed because:
    1. in the case of a staff member employed on a second or subsequent fixed term contract, the same (or substantially similar) duties are no longer required by the University; or
    2. the duties of the kind performed in relation to the work continue to be required but another person has been appointed, or is to be appointed to the same (or substantially similar) duties.
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Staff who are entitled to severance payments under clause 12 of this Schedule will receive such payments in accordance with the following scale:
Period of continuous service  Severance pay (weeks)
More than 1 year but less than 2 years  4
2 years or more but less than 3 years  6
3 years or more but less than 4 years  7
4 years or more  8
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No severance payments will be made to a staff member who:
  1. is offered suitable alternative employment, whether such offer is accepted or not;
  2. was employed as a replacement staff member;
  3. was employed for up to five years on a pre-retirement contract; or
  4. was employed for up to three years in response to a sudden and unanticipated increase in enrolments.
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Where the University notifies a fixed term staff member in writing that further employment may be offered within six weeks of the expiration of their fixed term, any severance payments to which the staff member would be entitle

d in the event that no such offer of employment is made will be deferred until either:
  1. four weeks after the expiration of the staff member’s fixed term; or
  2. the University notifies the staff member that no such offer of further employment will be made,

whichever occurs first.

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If a staff member who is entitled to severance payments is offered and accepts casual employment at the end of their fixed term contract, their severance payments will not be paid until after the completion of their casual employment.
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Severance payments will be treated as eligible termination payments for taxation purposes unless taxation laws require otherwise.