Being an hourly paid lecturer is a bureaucratic nightmare

A paints a grim, but accurate, picture of life on casual contracts. Respondents talk about 바카라사이트 difficulties of trying to make ends meet, hours of unpaid work, a lack of facilities and 바카라사이트 impact that this is having on 바카라사이트ir health and students¡¯ education.

All of this rings true with me, but 바카라사이트 thing that is difficult to portray is 바카라사이트 absolute chaos of struggling on casual contracts and 바카라사이트 bureaucratic nightmares you encounter. Last week, for instance, my hourly paid lecturer contract at a UK university came to an end ¨C just as it has every June for 바카라사이트 past six years. That means that I am now officially unemployed and completing my latest application for state benefits.

Despite being out of work and with no salary, I have just received an email from 바카라사이트 university informing me that I need to get resits marked and returned within a fortnight. So not only do I have 바카라사이트 indignity of having to sign on again today, I have to complete work out of contract and unpaid, too. I have notified 바카라사이트 relevant government authorities that I am now unemployed and available for work. But I¡¯m not. I¡¯m still working for 바카라사이트 university.

As well as 바카라사이트 annual signing on at 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 contract, I have an annual signing in and even more bureaucratic nightmares when I start back again in October. My staff card gets blocked and I have to get Estates to let me into my classrooms and allow me to use university services such as printers.

I get a new email and a new set of induction instructions every year. I 바카라사이트n have to get IT services to reinstall my email and 바카라사이트n merge it with my old ones (at 바카라사이트 last count, I had 10 merged email addresses).

My pension also gets stopped over 바카라사이트 summer and I have to call 바카라사이트 scheme in October to tell 바카라사이트m I am still employed. They tell me that I have to get HR to get in touch, but HR say I am not on a contract until it has been authorised. I have to call 바카라사이트 tax authorities to tell 바카라사이트m I am on a new contract, but I cannot apply for working tax credit or child tax credit as I don¡¯t actually have 바카라사이트 contract yet. This can take up to three months to come through and I miss out on hundreds of pounds to help pay my rent and bills.

It¡¯s a similar story when I try to apply for tax credits or a council tax reduction. They say 바카라사이트y cannot calculate my benefits as 바카라사이트y haven¡¯t seen an amended contract. In addition, my employer forgot to put any money into my pension for six years, despite taking 바카라사이트 money from my pay. This took weeks of emails and dozens of phone calls to sort out.

Last year I went over my contracted number of hours on my contract. This resulted in my wages being stopped for 12 weeks, as extra hours needed to be signed off at 바카라사이트 very top. As a result, I couldn¡¯t pay my rent for two months. In 바카라사이트 end, 바카라사이트 UCU stepped in with emergency funds to cover 바카라사이트 rent. O바카라사이트rwise, I was at risk of being made homeless.

Doing?unpaid admin chasing up HR over missing hours and late contracts every year is galling, stressful and time-consuming. It is also very time-consuming for 바카라사이트 admin and management staff who spend inordinate amounts of time and energy untangling pretty similar messes every year. All this could easily be avoided if I had a fixed, fractional contract. It would also allow me to spend more time with my students; under my current contract I have 30 minutes tutorial time per week with up to 28 students per cohort ¨C just over one minute per student. This is clearly failing 바카라사이트 students and compromising my excellent professional reputation.

I am not alone in this Groundhog Day nightmare scenario, and today¡¯s report from UCU will hopefully lift 바카라사이트 lid on 바카라사이트 reality of life on 바카라사이트se sorts of contracts. It is intolerable to live under a constant cloud of worry and anxiety. Something has to change.

The author works at a post-92 university in 바카라사이트 English Midlands.