Accessibility statement

12. Pay and conditions for GTAs

Principle: GTAs should have a fair rate of pay for all hours worked and their conditions of engagement should be fair, transparent and in line with University policy.

Regulation of GTAs, including in relation to conduct and performance

97. GTAs are engaged as temporary and casual workers and their payment and conditions are subject to the policies and procedures for temporary and casual workers set out by Human Resources. 

98. Any concerns regarding the conduct and/or performance of a GTA will be dealt with under the relevant staff policies of the University. Misconduct as a GTA may have implications for a PGR’s student status. A PGR’s conduct as a student may also have implications for their ability to serve as GTA and, for this reason, if a GTA has their PGR student status suspended or terminated for any reason, their GTA role should be reviewed and may also be suspended or terminated. 

99. GTAs are normally engaged as casual workers. Departments (or other recruiting entities) are responsible for complying with the requirements set out by Human Resources (HR) with respect to the engagement of casual workers including: (i) checking that a prospective GTA is registered with HR as a casual worker via Dashboard (see below), (ii) issuing each GTA with a letter and GTA statement of Engagement, (iii) authorising Dashboard timesheets to enable GTAs to be paid, and (iv) maintaining appropriate records. Dashboard is the University’s system for registering, booking and paying casual workers and while most of the registration process is online, right to work checks must take place in person, (1) with prospective GTAs bringing in documents for HR verification BEFORE they do any GTA work. PGRs cannot be booked in Dashboard unless HR hold proof of their right to work. Payment for GTA work should be claimed through Dashboard. At the end of a booking, Dashboard will generate a timesheet, which the GTA can confirm or amend and submit for approval. Additional rules apply to GTAs who are on Tier 4 student visas. Full details on the engagement of casual workers are available from HR (https://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/browse/temporary-workers). Responsibilities may change in response to government policy, including rulings from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).  

100. A PGR on a leave of absence may be engaged as a GTA (subject to any visa restrictions) but the department should ensure that this is in the PGR’s best interests and does not conflict with the reason for which they were granted leave of absence. PGRs on leave of absence may be able to access University training for GTAs where the Graduate Chair in their department agrees that this is in their best interests.

101. Reasonable adjustments in working practices (eg increasing the time allowed for preparation or marking scripts) should be made for any GTAs with a disability. Advice should be sought from the Department’s HR adviser.  

Payment of GTAs

102. Rates of pay for GTAs vary according to the task performed and level of individual responsibility. Rates of pay are set by the University, with reference to the institutional pay scale, and revised on an annual basis. The lower (marker) rate of pay is applicable for GTA training and preparation (where this is paid, see #63).

Hours of work for GTAs

103. PGRs must abide by the restrictions on paid work detailed in the Policy on Research Degrees. Full-time PGRs can undertake a maximum of 20 hours of paid work a week but this is subject to supervisor approval and may be further limited by restrictions imposed by the PGR’s sponsor/funding body and/or the UKVI. (2) All GTA hours (ie including preparation and marking time) count towards the weekly maximum and departments should check that GTAs are not going over the weekly limit by undertaking paid work (GTA or otherwise) outside the department.   

104. GTAs should be paid for the hours worked. When calculating the amount of time required by GTAs for tasks such as preparation, marking and giving feedback, departments must be reasonable in their expectations and should consult with their GTAs on this point. 

105. GTAs are entitled to paid holiday which may not be taken at the times they are required to support learning. 

Teaching stipends

106. PGRs should not be expected to work as GTAs without receiving payment. Where a PGR receives a stipend from a department in return for supporting learning, the number of hours of work required per year should be clearly set out and the stipend should provide at least the cash equivalent that the PGR would receive if engaged directly as a GTA. PGRs receiving a stipend for supporting learning should have the same rights and support as other GTAs.

(1) There may be circumstances when an in-person check cannot occur: in these instances please contact HR Compliance (hr-compliance@york.ac.uk) to seek advice on how the check will be carried out.

(2) The UKRI training grant guidance states that the amount of time spent on teaching or demonstrating work is at the discretion of the student and their supervisor but it is recommended that it should be no more than six hours in any week.