December 2024 bulletin

Celebrating our progress in 2024

Season's greetings! We wish you a joyful and restful Christmas break, and are excited for more success together in the new year!

As we approach the festive break, we want to thank you for making our achievements possible. Here's a look back on some of what we accomplished in 2024...

 

  • Launched an A-Z directory for PeopleXD guidance
  • Introduced four new OSM Service requests
  • Completed a Focus-led HESA process review
  • Submitted the HESA staff return ahead of schedule
  • Supported and produced the Gender Pay Gap Report, salary surveys and more 
  • Released the Staff Diversity Overview and EDI Specialist dashboards
  • Went live with Cority, 'My Development' and WFM Wave 1 projects
  • Released new HR course for future PeopleXD users
  • Ran the Online Shortlisting & Interview Panel feature pilot
  • Released the Staff Classification tool in a new, interactive format
  • Implemented the outcomes from the Pay & Conditions Review, including researcher grades, Oxford Living Wage, reconfiguration of grades 1-3 and Associate Professor grades
  • Formalised financial statements processes for auditors
  • Supported last Data Service departments to go live with processing their data independently
  • Delivered continuous service rules/process improvements
  • Launched the Health and Safety Self-Assurance pilot
     

News and updates

Details of upcoming Main and Casual payroll deadlines can be found on the Payroll website.   

Visit the Payroll deadlines and cycles page to learn more about the monthly payroll cycle, including the key monthly payroll dates for People Management users. 

Visit the Payroll website

Early payslip access
Payslips will be available on HR Self-Service from 17 December, giving staff the opportunity to review their pay before the winter break. Please encourage staff to check their payslips promptly and report any issues to their local HR contact as soon as possible to ensure a timely resolution.

Deadline for pay advance requests
All requests for pay advances must be submitted by 10am on Friday 20 December. Any requests received after this deadline will not be processed until the new year.

The national pay award for clinical salaries below the level of consultant has been approved and will be implemented in the January 2025 payroll and as system users you will see the amended salaries appearing in PeopleXD from 18 December.

Key updates:

  • 2023/24 salary scales: Increased by 3.71% and pay premia by 4.05%, effective from 1 April 2023.
  • 2024/25 salary scales: Increased by 6%, plus a consolidated £1,000, with pay premia also increased by 6%, effective from 1 April 2024.

A communication with details of the salary scales will be shared with HR teams in MSD shortly.

We'd like your feedback on a potential new feature in PeopleXD that would send automated email reminders to managers about employees whose contracts are due to expire.

Before we proceed, please take a moment to share your thoughts in the quick survey linked below.

Complete survey

The survey closes on Friday 31 January 2024! We look forward to hearing your feedback!

With immediate effect, the central apprenticeships team will record all apprenticeship UDF details and departments are no longer required to enter these details into PeopleXD. For any questions relating to the data recorded, please contact the Apprenticeships team.

The turnover and reasons for leaving dashboards of the Athena Staff Data workbook now include 2023/24 figures. We are currently working to update the Recognition of Distinction dashboard. Maternity return rates will be updated early in 2025. 

If you require access to the Athena Swan data in Tableau, please follow the user access process. If you have Athena Swan data queries, please email athena.staffdata@admin.ox.ac.uk.

The Staff Diversity Overview Dashboards and EDI Specialist Diversity Dashboards have been updated with the 31 July 2024 staff in post data.
 
If you require access to staff diversity data in your role, please follow the user access process.
 

  • Staff Requests pre-Christmas submission deadlines:
    • Roles not requiring evaluation: Friday 13 December 2024
  • HR Systems Support Christmas closure: Monday 23 December 2024 - Wednesday 1 January 2025, (inclusive)
  • HR Systems Briefing: Tuesday 28 January 2025 10:00-11:00

Reminders

We've been receiving queries that can be answered by referring to the user guidance. As a reminder, relevant instructions are included in the existing guides, covering processes such as creating new appointments or recording changes in hours. Simply navigate to the relevant guide, where the necessary WFM steps are incorporated.

Managers and staff can access guidance on the HR Self-Service webpages. 
 

As shared in the recent Safety Network newsletter, the University Occupational Health Service (UOHS) has upgraded its IT system to Cority. This change means that all correspondence, including emails and reports, will now be generated and sent directly from the new system.

The service was unavailable from 25 November to 3 December for the upgrade, resulting in a backlog of requests and limited clinical availability until Christmas. Please be aware of potential delays in appointments and ensure your department is informed of these temporary impacts.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Departments and faculties can now request access to their gender pay gap data via a new form: Find out how you can request access. 

Reports cover staff pay data by gender, ordinary pay, bonus pay, and the calculated hourly rate. Access will be restricted to staff who have a business need to review the data, and have been approved by their divisional EDI manager.

This measure is one of the supporting recommendations of the Gender Pay Gap Task and Finish Group, which undertook an in-depth review of the University’s pay gaps earlier this year. Read more about the findings and overall recommendations of this work.

Any questions, contact Jen Chapin via jennifer.chapin@admin.ox.ac.uk.

HR Systems Support closure: Closed from 16:00 Friday 20 December 2024 to 08:30 Thursday 2 January 2025, in line with UAS fixed-closure dates. 

Vacancy closing dates: Avoid setting vacancy deadlines between Monday 23 December 2024 and Wednesday 1 January 2025, inclusive, as technical support will be unavailable. If unavoidable, include departmental contact details in the job advert and/or job description to assist applicants. 

Staff Requests
Roles not needing evaluation: Submit by Friday 13 December 2024.
Role evaluations will pause from 16:00 Friday 20 December and resume Thursday 2 January, with reduced service until Monday 6 January.

Project updates

Details of current, in-scope projects under the HR Systems Programme can be found on our dedicated webpage. This includes latest updates and timelines, where available. Note: These pages are updated regularly.

HR Systems Programme projects

Updated user guides and reports

Guide(s) Update

For departments managing annual leave and absence in PeopleXD only:

Overview of changing hours on same appointment

 These revised versions have been updated and include additional steps identified by the Workforce Management project team.  
As a reminder they provide an overview of the overall process and not designed to be detailed guidance.

Overview for secondments 

Overview for replacing an appointment in same department or transferring to a different department
For departments using the ‘My Development’ functionality to manage the implementation of the University’s Charter for the Career Development of Researchers only:
Staff:
  1. Complete career and professional development reviews
  2. Record professional development

Managers:

  1. Finalise career and professional development reviews
  2. View Reviewee's professional development 

HR Staff:
Will be available shortly 
 

 These new guides are available from the HR Self-Service guidance.

Create or amend departmental letterheads

Generate documents in PeopleXD

Add a manual application

Manage continuous service

 Moved to online version

 

Following on from the implementation of rolled-up holiday pay and the introduction of a new allowance, a new report that includes the details of allowances for casual staff has been added to the PERDEP01 STAFF IN POST - CASUALS ONLY suite of reports.