Updates to employment policies and processes
The University has made some important updates and improvements to our employment policies and processes.
The updates have been made as part of the University’s ongoing commitment to make our organisation an even better place to work.
Ten leave and ‘family friendly’ policies have been updated and now include enhanced pay entitlements for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave.
The new processes focus on joiners and leavers, helping new members of staff feel part of the University community from day one and providing an improved leaver experience for staff that also makes the process easier for line managers.
Leave and ‘Family friendly’ policy changes
As part of a series of planned improvements to the look and feel of our HR policies, we are rolling out the first batch of updated policies which now include enhanced pay entitlements for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave.
The following policies have been updated:
- Maternity Leave
- Adoption and Surrogacy Leave
- Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
- Partner Leave (formerly Paternity Leave)
- Parental Leave
- Special Leave
- Annual Leave
- Flexible Working
- Flexible Retirement
- Emergency Time Off for Dependents
The policies can be found on the A to Z of HR policies.
To support these changes, we also have new annual leave and maternity leave calculators for staff to use.
We have summarised the key changes to these policies on the webpage below, along with further information on transition arrangements (e.g. for members of staff who have just started maternity leave):
Summary of changes to our employment policies and provisions
Changes to processes for new staff and those leaving
We have also made some improvements to the processes and resources on offer to support the transition period for new employees and those who are leaving the University. These new processes are designed to improve the employee experience from beginning to end, making things easier for both staff and line managers.
| New starters: | For staff joining – or having recently joined – the University, we have created a new Induction Website to support their transition into the organisation. This website also includes specific guidance to help line managers induct a new starter, including the introduction of a standardised ‘welcome’ email, a new starter’s pack and the implementation of the option to return contracts via email. |
| Leavers: | To support staff leaving the organisation, we have standardised and improved the process with the creation of a new online checklist for line managers and employees. We have also created a standardised ‘acceptance of resignation’ email template, an online employee exit survey and guidance for conducting face-to-face exit interviews. Full information is available on the Leavers Website. |
Please ensure that you familiarise yourself with the policy and process changes. If you have any further questions about these changes, please contact:
- Your assigned HR advisor for queries about understanding and applying the policies
- The HR Operations team or local HR for process-related or operational enquiries
- The HR Transformation Programme team (SEP.HR@ed.ac.uk) for any technical issues or feedback
For more information about this project, please take a look at the Service Excellence Programme information hub.