Casual workers at Aston

All the information you need

This page is for casual workers at Aston University and should contain all the information you need. Read it carefully and bookmark it for future reference.

I have been engaged to undertake casual work - what do I need to do?

Register for casual employment

You will need to complete the casual registration form via the link below, if:

a) You have never completed this registration form before and

b) You are not a current employee/worker at Aston University

If you have already completed this registration form before, regardless of whether you are a current worker/employee then you do not need to do this again.

Casual Worker Registration Portal for new workers

Guidance on using the Casual Worker Registration Portal

 

Please note that you must have submitted the worker registration by Monday 04 December in order to be paid in December. The payroll deadlines can be found here

 

Complete your Right to Work check – must be completed prior to undertaking any work, not retrospectively

The Right to Work Check must be carried out by an authorised person in the School/Department or a trained member of the HR Department BEFORE you undertake any work. 

Right to work checks CANNOT be undertaken retrospectively. Please see below for the appropriate right to work check method:

  1. If you are a British/Irish Citizen and have a current British or Irish passport you can complete a digital right to work check – Please contact hr_helpdesk@aston.ac.uk to arrange for a digital right to work check to be undertaken.
  2. If you are a British/Irish Citizen and have an expired British or Irish passport you will need to have a face to face right to work check which can be carried out by a trained member of your School/Department or HR.  If you need HR to undertake this check please here to make a ‘right to work check (casual worker) appointment.
  3. If you are not a British or Irish Citizen you will need to request a share code and click here to make a ‘right to work check (share code holder)’ appointment, which will be carried out via MS Teams.

If you wish to have your Right to Work check carried out by HR, click here to make an appointment.

You need to provide either an original document or set of original documents in the combination given in list A or B of this document before your agreed start date. Documents needed for right to work checks.

You will be unable to start work until you have provided satisfactory documentation that enables us to verify that you are eligible to work in the UK.

Note on Endorsements

Endorsements in passports that show that the holder is exempt from immigration control, is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK, has the right of abode in the UK, or has no time limit on their stay in the UK must be presented in a current passport. Unfortunately if such an endorsement is presented in an expired passport we will be unable to accept it as satisfactory proof of eligibility to work in the UK and the holder will be required to provide alternative satisfactory documents such as a current Biometric Immigration Document (Biometric Residence Permit) issued by the Home Office indicating that they are allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK, or has no time limit on their stay in the UK.

Note for Students on Tier 4

Visas Students on Tier 4 visas are subject to restrictions on the number of hours they may work. Tier 4 students should read the guidance note on permitted working hours before accepting casual employment.

I am a new casual worker - what do I need to do?

Read the Important Information for Casual Workers document

The Information for Casual Workers document is an important document which outlines the terms on which you will doing work for the University.

If you have any queries following reading this, refer them to your manager in the first instance.

Collect your Staff network account details

You will need to access the Aston Staff Portal which is where you can view your personal information and access your payslips.

To access the Aston Staff Portal, if you are a Research Student you can use your Research Student account details to login, otherwise you will need to use your STAFF network details.

You will be provided with your network ID and password when you commence work. If you do not have your details, please contact Digital Services and request a password reset. Or, you can visit them at the Digital Services hub, located in the main building East G16. However your contact them, please be able to identify yourself by supplying either your network ID or your Aston Staff ID card.

Your staff network account gives you access to the Staff Portal, and also your staff email account, for the duration of your casual engagement. It is important that you check your staff email account regularly, as this is where we will send important information concerning your casual work, including confirmation of when your timesheets are approved / rejected and any changes to payroll deadlines.

 

Set up Multi-Factor Authentication on your Staff network account

You will need to use multi-factor authentication (MFA) as part of logging into the Aston Staff Portal.

If you have not already done so, please sign up for MFA. The set-up process is designed to be user-friendly and should only take a few minutes. Please note, due to the new security standards, re-authentication will be required every day. For full details, see the Solve article Setting up MFA on your account.

Login to the Aston Staff Portal and complete onboarding

You will need to login to the Aston Staff Portal and complete your emergency contact details and equality information.

Complete the Casual Worker online induction course

As a new casual member of staff you will need to complete the ‘Welcome to Aston - an introduction for casual workers’ online course which can be accessed through iLearn. If however, you have previously been employed at Aston and have completed this course in the past 12 months, you don’t need to complete it again.

I have done some casual work - how do I get paid?

Hourly paid casual workers

The majority of casual workers are hourly paid and will need to submit a timesheet through the Aston Staff Portal for each week they work. In a small number of areas in the University, your manager will submit a timesheet on your behalf - check first with your manager to make sure this isn't the case for you.

Fee based casual workers

If you are being paid a fixed fee for the work you are doing, you will need to speak to your manager about them submitting a timesheet on your behalf.

FAQs

I have my staff network account details but I am unable to log into the Aston Staff Portal, what should I do?

If you have received your login details but are unable to access the Aston Staff Portal, contact us in the first instance.

I have forgotten my password for the Staff Portal, what should I do?

The password used for the Staff Portal is your staff network password. If you have forgotten this, you will need to go to the IT Helpdesk on the ground floor of the main building and ask for this to be reset. You will need to provide photo ID, preferably your Aston Staff ID card.

When will I be paid for casual work I have done?

You can claim for work done on a weekly basis, and as long as your claims are approved by your manager by the 15th of the month, they will be paid in the same month. You cannot be paid in advance for any casual work.

The pay date for casual workers is the 26th of each month, or the last working day before the 26th if this falls on a weekend or a public / University holiday.

How can I view my payslips for work done?

You can view your payslips online through the Aston Staff Portal. Paper payslips will not be sent to you.

To view your payslips, go to the Payment tab in Aston Staff Portal. To access your payslip you will need to re-enter your staff password

I am getting a message about a PPS number when trying to enter a timesheet - what does this mean?

A PPS number is a National Insurance number (it is called PPS number in Ireland and our suppliers are Irish). You need to have a National Insurance Number in the system to be able to submit your online timesheets.

If you have an NI Number but had not previously supplied this, please email it to hr_helpdesk@aston.ac.uk. We will then update your record and you can submit your timesheet using the Staff Portal.

If you do not currently have an NI Number, you will need to apply for one and then supply HR with this.

We can pay you for work you have done while waiting for your NI Number to be assigned. You will need to request a paper timesheet from from payroll@aston.ac.uk.

I am going to be finishing my casual work, what do I need to?

You will need to ensure that you submit your final timesheet on your last day of work. Your access to your staff network account, and therefore the Aston Staff Portal, will stop on the day after your leaving date so this is very important.

You will need to ensure that your home address in the Aston Staff Portal is correct, as this is the address where we will send your P45 and final payslip

What else can I use the Aston Staff Portal for as a casual member of staff?

Aston Staff Portal has other functionality as well as timesheets, some of which will be available to you.

Updating address details

Use ‘My Profile’ to keep your Contact details up to date. It is important that we have a current postal address for you (this should not be a University department). This will be the address that your P45 will be sent to when your casual work finishes.

Updating emergency contact details

Use ‘My Profile’ to keep your Emergency Contact details up to date. This is the person we should contact in emergencies, such as you becoming ill at work, and should ideally be a local, or at least UK, contact.

Viewing P60s

You can view your P60s from the Payment tab once these are generated (normally in April/May each year).

Expenses

If you incur expenses as part of your casual work (these must be authorised ahead of time by your line manager) you can use Portal to claim these back. You will need to email us and ask us to enable expenses for you.

Booking Training

If your casual work requires you to attend training, then you will be able to book this through Portal. This will need to be authorised by your line manager before booking.

Tax and new starter form

When you start a job, Aston has to provide some information to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) so that they can decide what tax-free allowances you are entitled to.

You should complete a starter checklist:

  • If your new casual role is your very first job,
  • If you have not worked previously during the tax year
  • Do not have a form P45 from a previous employer or the Department for Work and Pensions.
  • Misplaced your form P45

The checklist asks you for relevant information; it will help Aston to allocate a tax code and work out the tax due on your first payday. If you do not provide this information, you could end up paying the wrong amount of tax.

Please note:

  • Your tax code can only be against one employer. If you have more than one employer, you will pay basic rate tax against one of them.

If you have any further queries please contact Payroll.

If you have any further queries please contact HMRC.

Contacts