Agency Workers
This page describes the facilities and amenities that are available for agency workers during their assignment with the College. These apply from the first day that you start working with us - unless we state otherwise below. In principle, we offer comparable benefits to those we offer our own directly hired employees – unless there are sound reasons for treating agency workers differently
Contents
Onsite Nursery
Employee Assistance Programme - Workplace Options
Health Club Membership
Development and Training
Health and Safety Training
Eye Care Vouchers
Occupational Health Service
Places to Eat
Free Legal Advice
Car Parking
Library Services
Prayer Rooms and Multi-faith Centre
Applying for "internal only" vacancies
Other facilities not available to agency workers
The College has an onsite nursery. There is a waiting list for places, but agency workers can apply in the same way as Queen Mary employees. In practice, most agency workers with a relatively short assignment with the College are unlikely to be able to get a subsidised placement in the nursery.
Employee Assistance Programme - Workplace Options
The College funds a confidential employee assistance service. Agency workers and their families have full access to the Workplace Options service during the period of the assignment with the College. The service offers telephone counselling on issues including finance and debt; the law and consumer rights; education, housing, health, childcare and family matters. The service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Free Phone 0800 243458.
QMotion will offer access to their facilities and offer any discount available to comparable Queen Mary staff. If you have a Queen Mary identity card, you will need to present it to get staff discounts. If you do not have an identity card, you will need to present QMotion staff with a letter from your line manager which sets out your role as an agency worker and the likely length of your assignment with the College.
Agency workers are offered training and development opportunities similar to those for Queen Mary’s own staff – subject to the agreement of the person directing and supervising your work. If training is agreed, normally Queen Mary will hire you for the time you attend any courses and your agency will then pay you for that time.
See above. The agency that supplies you is responsible for any health and safety training intrinsic to the kind of work that you are hired to do. Agency workers will have access to any Queen Mary health and safety training specific to their role in the College. You will require the approval of the person directing and supervising the work you do. For Queen Mary online Health and Safety courses, you will need a Queen Mary email address. If you have any difficulty in logging on, you can get assistance from the Health and Safety Directorate.
The College provides a range of eye care vouchers that can be used at Specsavers Opticians. If you are an Agency Worker you can can have access to the vouchers and use the scheme after the start of the 13th week of your assignment with Queen Mary. More information about the scheme, its conditions and how to get the vouchers are set out on the Health and Safety web-site.
Occupational Health Service
Agency workers are not required to undergo a pre-employment health assessment, since they will not become College employees. Any service provided by Occupational Health to protect the health of College staff in their role with Queen Mary will apply equally to agency workers, who are expected to co-operate with any such arrangement. You may also access other “optional” services provided by the Occupational Health Service.
A variety of catering outlets are available.
A free legal advice centre for is available during your assignment. You can get advice on, for example, tenancy agreements, immigration, co-habitation, consumer transactions and private contracts. Email lac@qmul.ac.uk or call 020 7882 3931 to arrange an appointment.
Free car parking is offered on a first come first served basis. More information about how to register your car for the period of your assignment can be found on the Student and Campus Services web-site.
You may use Queen Mary's Library Services on the same basis as other staff affiliated with the College.
Prayer Rooms and Multi-faith Centre
More information about the facilities available can be accessed from the Religion and Belief section of the Equalities web-pages. You have the same entitlement to access to these amenities as any directly hired employee of Queen Mary.
Agency workers and applications for “internal only” vacancies
The College will, from the first day of the assignment, give agency workers access to the same information about vacancies (including “internal only” vacancies) as its own staff.
Except in redundancy situations, any application you make will be considered at the same time as internal applicants already on Queen Mary contracts. In redundancy situations, internal applicants whose jobs are at risk will take priority over agency workers as well as other internal applicants.
Sometimes a “finder’s fee” is payable to the agency if a person they supplied is appointed to a Queen Mary contract. In such circumstances, the College has no legal obligation to appoint the agency worker, even if they are the best candidate. Managers may decide on a case by case basis whether it represents good value to appoint the individual and pay the finder’s fee.
Other facilities not available to agency workers
Pensions – these are available only to directly employed staff. Your employer (normally the agency that supplies you) may offer pension arrangements.
Season Ticket Loan – Since most assignments are likely to be short or capable of being terminated at short notice, season ticket loans are not appropriate for agency workers.
Trade Union Membership – Agency workers may wish to join a union recognised by their employer – normally the agency that supplies them. Campus trade unions are recognised to represent specific groups of Queen Mary employees. None of Queen Mary's grievance, discipline, redundancy or other dismissal procedures apply to agency workers, and they will not need to be represented in any such process.
Give As You Earn – this is not available since you would need to be on the College payroll. Your employer (normally the agency that supplies you) may offer a similar scheme.
Child Care Vouchers – the tax and administration requirements of the scheme prohibit the College from applying the scheme to agency workers.
Cycle to Work Scheme – the tax and administration requirements of the scheme prohibit the College from applying the scheme to agency workers.