Workplace Learning Opportunities
Secondments and Shadowing
Secondments |
What are Secondments for?The secondment will be to enable staff to undertake specific training normally involving attendance at formal courses recommended by the Faculty (or other appropriate body in the case of academic related staff) which would be of clear benefit to the University as well as being directly relevant to the applicant's employment with the University, for example, by enabling the member of staff to take on alternative duties in the University. (It should be noted that Study Leave is the appropriate form of leave for academic staff wishing to pursue normal academic scholarship and research.) How do secondments work?Secondments can be agreed for any period exceeding four weeks during semester time but are not usually more than one year in total. Decisions about replacement staffing will be made by the Academic Development Committee or other appropriate body, taking into account the departmental budget position and the effect of the financial arrangements agreed in the particular case. What else do I need to know about Secondments?As with other forms of leave falling within the Leave of Absence regulations, secondment for training purposes will not be a financial cost to the University. While each case will be dealt with on its merits, applicants might expect full salary and payment by the University of its share of superannuation and national insurance contributions during the period of secondment. It would nevertheless be expected that the applicant and/or head of department would take active steps to seek whatever external finance may be available to cover items such as fees for courses of training. This might be by way of national awards etc. In the absence of outside funding, fees would have to be borne by the departmental grant. If a replacement is requested by a department, and if the request is approved, then the department would be allowed to make a temporary appointment if sufficient external funds had been obtained to allow this. It is therefore clearly in the interests of a department needing a replacement to seek as large an amount of external finance as possible. It is only from this source that a replacement could be financed. The question of secondment for training purposes should first be discussed between the head of department and the member of staff concerned. Application should then be made using a Special Leave form (obtainable from the Department of Human Resources - Business Support). The form should be submitted to the Head of Department who, if supporting it, should explain the relevance of the application to the individual's work and how the training will benefit the department. The form should then be submitted to the Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor for consideration. If the application is supported by the Faculty, it will be forwarded to the Department of Human Resources - Business Support. In addition, the applicant will be required to submit to the Pay & Pensions Officer a financial statement (form obtainable from the Department of Human Resources - Business Support), so that the financial implications of the leave can be assessed. Final consideration will be made by the Director of Human Resource Management, who will consider each case on its merits. Applications for secondment may be submitted at any time but must follow the above procedure. When indicating dates during which they wish to be absent, applicants should include dates of departure from and return to the University. Secondment will be treated as Special Leave for the purposes of determining future entitlement to leave. Thus for academic staff it will not be counted in the qualifying period for Study Leave, and it will be expected in the case of both academic and academic related staff that periods of secondment and Special Leave will together not normally amount to more than one year in seven. Any period of secondment during a probationary period will not count towards that period. Leave of Absence which for certain reasons falls outside the Leave Regulations has on occasion been classified as Secondment. The University will consider applications for temporary Secondment to other institutions and organisations in the United Kingdom and overseas, provided suitable arrangements can be made for carrying out the necessary duties of the person seconded. Such Secondment will normally be granted at no cost whatever to the University and will normally be for a maximum of three years. |
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Shadowing |
What is job shadowing?Job shadowing is a process whereby a member of staff spends an agreed amount of time with another member of staff to observe their work. It may be included within an induction programme or general for general development of skills, knowledge and understanding on the job - where it is felt that it would be beneficial for a member of staff to either: 1) spend time with a member of staff undertaking the same role or some of the same tasks as the new starter and/or What are the benefits of job shadowing?Job shadowing has a number of potential benefits for the individuals involved, as well as the department and wider University, by:
Things to consider when organising or participating in a job shadowing exercise:Line managers
The member of staff (shadow)
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Green Impact development
What skills can be gained or developed by working on a Green Impact team? |
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What the benefits could be for the individual |
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What the benefits could be for the department |
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What the benefits could be for the organisation |
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“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working on green impact projects and have gained a lot of skills and confidence of my capabilities as a result”
“It is an excellent initiative and a good way to get like minded people together”
If you are interested in getting involved in Green Impact or would like to discuss this further, please send an email to greenimpact@sheffield.ac.uk