Personnel 7 New Users - Primary - Schools

Personnel 7 New Users - Primary Personnel 2011
ICT Service Desk 0845 052 1000 Personnel 7 New Users - Primary
Personnel 7 New Users - Primary Contents
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 Permissions .........................................................................................................................................................2 Personnel Officer .................................................................................................................................................2 Personnel Assistant .............................................................................................................................................2 Personnel Events Officer .....................................................................................................................................2 School Administrator............................................................................................................................................2 Senior Management Team ..................................................................................................................................2 Administration Assistant, Admissions Officer Returns Manager and Returns Operator......................................2 Class Teacher, Registration tutor, Exams Officer, Curricular Manager, Pastoral Manager, SEN Coordinator and Timetabler .....................................................................................................................................................2
Absences ...........................................................................................................................................................29 Activity 1 – Recording Absences .......................................................................................................................30 Name Changes..................................................................................................................................................31 Activity 2 – Changing Names.............................................................................................................................32 Annual Increment...............................................................................................................................................33 Activity 3 – Annual Increment ............................................................................................................................33 Cloning Existing Contracts.................................................................................................................................34 Activity 4 – Cloning an Existing Contract ...........................................................................................................34 Promotions.........................................................................................................................................................35 Activity 5 – Promoting a Member of Staff ..........................................................................................................35 Terminating the Existing Contract......................................................................................................................35 Creating the New Contract ................................................................................................................................36 Suspending a Contract ......................................................................................................................................37 Activity 6 – Suspending a Contract....................................................................................................................38 The Seconded Head Teacher .........................................................................................38 Add the Absence ...............................................................................................................................................38 Suspend the Contract ........................................................................................................................................38 The Acting Up Promotion of the Deputy Head – Mr Joyner............................................38 Suspend the Existing Contract ..........................................................................................................................38 Add the New Temporary Acting Up Contract.....................................................................................................39 Training Events..................................................................................................................................................39 Activity 7 – Reviewing an Existing Training Event .............................................................................................40 Activity 8 – Recording a Training Event.............................................................................................................41 Creating the Event .............................................................................................................................................41 Adding Staff .......................................................................................................................................................42 Activity 9 – Attaching an Event to an Employee ................................................................................................43 Activity 10 – Creating a New Training Event in an Employee Record...............................................................44 Leavers ..............................................................................................................................................................45 Activity 11 – Leavers..........................................................................................................................................46 Deleting Staff .....................................................................................................................................................47 Activity 12 – Deletion of a Staff Member............................................................................................................47
Appendix B – School Workforce Return ..............................................................66 Fields in Personnel 7 that will be Included in School Workforce Return ...........................................................66
Personnel 7 New Users - Primary ICT Service Desk 0845 052 1000
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Introduction
Overview
This course is aimed at new users of Personnel 7 in SIMS.
At the end of the course you will be familiar with the range of personnel related data which can be held in SIMS and able to:
add new and edit existing personnel records
maintain Pay and Contract related data
maintain personnel data to support other areas of SIMS including Pastoral Structure, Curriculum and School Workforce Census
produce standard reports and basic user defined reports for data checking purposes.
Personnel in SIMS provides the means to enter data for employees (and others) into the SIMS database.
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Permissions
Access to view or edit Personnel data is controlled by the permissions associated with the System Manager groups of which the user is a member.
Several User Groups in System Manager have access to Personnel data.
Personnel Officer
Members of this group have full access to all areas of Personnel data including Basic Details, Personal Information, Professional (Training and Qualifications), Absences, Contact Information, Addresses, Next of Kin and Employment Details as well as the Personnel Setup and maintenance processes including Pay Related Definitions, Training Event management and the various reporting processes.
Personnel Assistant
Members of this group will have full access to all Personnel data with the exception of contract information. This allows for general Personnel data to be updated.
Personnel Events Officer
Members of this group will have access to the Training and Absence areas, including the Training Event setup area.
School Administrator
Members of this group have full access to Basic and Personal Information only.
Senior Management Team
Members of this group have access to view all data in all areas as with Personnel Officer but not edit.
Administration Assistant, Admissions Officer Returns Manager and Returns Operator
Members of this group have access to view and edit Staff Basic Details.
Class Teacher, Registration tutor, Exams Officer, Curricular Manager, Pastoral Manager, SEN Coordinator and Timetabler
Members of these groups have access to view Staff Basic Details.
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Identifying Key School Workforce Census (SWC) Data
This section will consider the data which is held for a member of staff and how it is displayed. The opportunity to edit and add data will be covered later.
l Activity – Viewing Staff Details
1. Log into SIMS as Gillian Grosvenor.
Username – grosg, Password – abcd.
2. Select Focus | Person | Staff or click the Staff button on the toolbar to display the Staff browser.
A combination of the fields in the browser can be used to filter the search. Clicking the Search button with nothing entered in the fields will list all current staff.
The Filter fields are not case sensitive. Entering the first few letters of a name in the Surname field will display all members of staff whose surname begins with the letters entered. Other fields which can be used to locate a member of staff are Forename, Staff Code, Previous Name, Gender and Title.
Status offers a range of staff groups which may helpfully limit the list of names presented.
3. Locate Oliver Joyner by entering a few letters of the surname and clicking the Search button or press Enter.
4. Select Oliver Joyner by highlighting and clicking the Open button or by double- clicking. The browser is closed and the Employee Details screen is displayed.
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5. Click the Browse button to redisplay the browser.
6. Clear all the fields and click the Search button – this will display all the current staff.
7. Without clicking with the mouse, type the letters law – this will highlight the name of Lisa Lawson Double-click the highlighted name or press Enter to display the record for Lisa Lawson.
8. The Next and Previous buttons allow you to navigate through the names displayed in the browser. Find the record for Oliver Joyner.
9. Review Oliver Joyner’s details by using the hyperlinks at the top of the page to navigate from one panel to another.
Basic Details Panel
The Basic Details panel is straightforward and contains Title, Names, Gender, Eligible for SWR and Previous Names. It is possible to record both a preferred name and a legal name. The preferred name is used in the browser and the Class and Registration Group displays.
The Previous Name panel is used when a member of staff changes their name (see later).
Attention is drawn to the Eligible for SWR check box which is used to indicate if an individual should be included in the School Workforce Census. This box is automatically selected when adding a new member of staff. It may need to be deselected if the school is recording a wider range of individuals in Personnel than employees who may not be required in the SWC. Guidance on who should be included in the return is available from your Local Authority (LA) or the DFE.
Extract from SWC Specification
SWC will gather data for teachers and support staff if they are in regular service and who are in school regularly. This is defined as continuous service of one month or more, either under a specific contract or under a service agreement. In this instance regularly means a minimum of once every four weeks. For the purposes of the School Workforce Census a month is defined as 28 days.
SWC fields on this panel are Legal Forename, Middle Name, Legal Surname, Gender, plus Previous Name | Legal Surname.
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Personal Information Panel
The Personal Information panel provides a wide range of additional information which may be useful in school. Bank Details may be collected if the school needs them to carry out the Payroll process. The Qualification/Letters field may be useful for adding appropriate data for use in producing correctly tailored mail merge letters.
Other data is self explanatory.
Languages, Medical Notes, Impairments and Passport Details sections provide the opportunity to record multiple records as required.
SWC fields on this panel are Date of Birth, NI Number (NINO), Ethnicity and Are day to day activities.
Professional Panel
HLTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant) Status and HLTA Date
TA Status
QTS Route (route to Qualified Teacher Status) - this is only necessary for employees currently engaged in on the job training leading to Qualified Teacher Status.
SWC fields in this section are HLTA Status, HLTA Date and QTS route.
The Training section provides the opportunity to record multiple records of in- service training events attended. It is used in conjunction with the maintenance routine for Training Events in Tools | Staff | Training.
The Qualifications section provides the opportunity to record multiple records relating to the qualifications of the individual (as distinct from the Qualification Letters field in the Personal Information panel). The Qualifications panel contains Qualification, Title, Date Awarded, Qualification Level, Comments, First Subject Qualified, Second Subject Qualified, Country of Origin, Class of Degree and Verified. Qualifications will be collected by SWC.
SWC fields in this section are Qualification Level, First Subject Qualified, Second Subject Qualified.
Absences Panel
The Absences panel enables the recording of absences. The number of working days lost is not calculated as no allowance can be made for the possibility of the span of the absence being affected by part time working or for the specific requirements of schools and/or Local Authorities in calculating this figure.
The Type/Reason, Illness Category and Payroll Absence Category fields can all be edited by selecting Tools | Maintain Lookups.
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SWC fields in this section are Start Date, End Date, Type/Reason and Working Days Lost.
NOTE: Absences recorded in Cover 7 will create an Absence record in Personnel 7 (and vice versa). Records created by Cover 7 will include the times of the absence in the Personnel Absence record.
Addresses, Contact Information and Next of Kin Panels
These panels contain data in a form similar to elsewhere in SIMS and operate in the same way.
Address - Multiple addresses are supported. Also individuals living at the same address are linked, streamlining the processing of address changes. Consequently, when an address is entered, the database is searched for other instances of that address. If another instance is found it is offered for use.
Once an address is stored an additional hyperlink at the side of the Address panel will be available which will launch the mapping hyperlink set in User Options and will display a map of the location of the address using the post code.
Contact Information enables the recording of multiple records of Telephone Numbers, Email Addresses and Car Details.
Next of Kin enables the recording of one Next of Kin and should not be regarded as an emergency contacts area as it is available for students.
Employment Details Panel
This is by far the most complex area of data addressed in the Personnel record and relies on considerable structural setup elsewhere in SIMS, notably Tools | Staff | Pay Related, where contract definitions and data related to generic conditions of service are held.
On viewing the panel there are four sections, a General section at the top, and three sections relating to multiple records for Checks, Contracts and Service Agreements.
General Section
The General section provides for recording general employment details for the individual. A check box - Teaching Staff, differentiates between Teaching and Non- teaching staff and determines whether the teacher category is required.
From the school’s point of view, key dates are Employment Start and Date of Leaving. It may also be convenient to record Local Authority Start and Continuous Service Start.
NOTE: The Employment Start, Local Authority Start and Continuous Service Start dates are not linked – care must be exercised when entering values for these dates.
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SWC fields in this section are (where applicable) Teacher Number, Teacher Category and Employment Start Date.
Checks Section
The Checks section enables the recording of multiple records of details of checks which the school may carry out and data therein may be interpreted by the school.
The Check Type drop down list can be added to or edited by selecting Tools | Maintain Lookups.
SWC does not collect any data from this area.
Contract Section
The Contract section enables the recording of multiple records of contract details. It is possible for staff to hold more than one contract and to have records of previous, future or suspended contracts.
The Contract screen holds a large amount of data and is divided into six sections. These sections are General, Pay Scale, Allowances, Role, Suspensions and a Notepad section. There is a further panel for pay patterns which is only applicable to hourly paid staff.
Contract - General Section
Many of the fields in the Contract Details General section are populated from defaults determined by settings for the selected service term and are defined in Tools | Staff | Pay Related. These entries will be grey and read-only. Some fields can then be adjusted for the individual concerned, most notably if they happen to be part time. The Pay Related data and others such as Superannuation and NI contracted are used by FMS in salary calculations. Only data which is relevant and useful to the school’s circumstances should be maintained, however, there is scope for recording a wide range of employment related data.
SWC fields in this section are Employment Type, Contract Start Date, Contract End Date (where appropriate), Service Term Hours/Week, (Individual) Hours/Week, (Individual) Weeks/Year, Destination, Origin, Safeguarded Salary and SWC Post.
Contract - Pay Scales Section
The Pay Scales section enables the recording of the scale and the staff members point on the scale. This section also keeps a record of movement up the scale or switches between scales. Information is required to link the local data to the national structure. This is achieved with the Pay Scale and Regional Pay Spine data.
SWC fields from this section are Point, Pay Scale and Regional Pay Spine of which only the Point can be edited here, the others are determined in Tools | Staff | Pay Related.
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Contract - Allowances Section
The Allowances section provides the opportunity to record additional allowances which may have been assigned to the member of staff. The allowance may be locally agreed or may be part of the National Structure. Where it is part of the national pay structure (e.g. TLR’s) information is required to relate the local data to the national structure. This is achieved with the Category of Additional Payment.
SWC fields from this section are Amount and Category of Additional Payment.
Contract - Role Section
An individual may fulfil one or more designated roles as part or all of their contract. The Roles section enables the recording of these roles. The available options are prescribed by national definitions and linked to service terms in Tools | Staff | Pay Related.
SWC fields from this section are Role, Start Date and End Date.
Contract - Suspensions Section
The Suspensions section allows for recording suspensions to contracts which may arise from an individual acting on a different contract but with the intention of returning to the substantive contract.
No SWC data is collected here.
Contract - Notepad Section
The Notepad section enables the recording of additional notes which are pertinent to the contract in view.
No SWC data is collected here.
The Service Agreement Section
The Service Agreement section is used to record data for someone who is not contracted to the school, e.g. a Supply Teacher who is self employed or employed by an Agency. It may also be used to record details of volunteers who work regularly in the school. It should be noted that volunteers are not included in the School Workforce Census.
The data held is similar to that for contracts and includes start and end dates, Hours/Week, Weeks/Year, Roles etc. but does not have the facility to enter amounts, although there is a check box to indicate when a Daily Rate applies.
SWC fields from this section are SWR Post, Daily Rate, Agreement Hours/Week, FTE Hours/Week, Weeks/Year, Service Type and QTS Status.
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Additional Fields
In this section a new member of staff will be added. Consideration will be given to the minimum amount of data necessary to record a new member of staff and then how additional data can be added.
Basic Details
l Activity 1 – Adding a New Staff Record
Use the following data to add Paul Adams to the database.
Surname Forename Gender Date of Birth Middle Name
Adams Paul Male 28/06/60 Alexander
1. Select Focus | Person | Staff to display the Staff browser or click the Staff button.
2. Click the New button to display the Add Employee screen.
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3. Enter the Surname, Forename, Gender and Date of Birth.
4. Click the Continue button. Before the new member of staff is added the software will perform a search using the data entered here to check for matching details. This is designed to avoid duplicates being added and is similar to routines for pupils and contacts.
If a match is found the names of the matching people will be listed. Where the match is genuine, the Open button should be used to display the staff record. Data can then be added. Where the match is coincidental, the New button should be used to start a new record.
Where no match is found the Employee Details window will open. The process of data entry can then proceed.
5. Select a Title from the lookup table and then enter Alexander in the Middle Name field.
6. Note that the Preferred Forename and Preferred Surname fields have the legal names entered. These fields can be edited at this time if required (Remember that it is the preferred names which will appear in the Staff Browser window).
7. If a previous name is known this can be added by clicking the New button adjacent to the Previous Name field and entering the details as required.
8. Observe that the Eligible for SWR check box is selected by default.
9. Click the Save button at the top of the screen - the data can be saved if the Basic Details are complete and the Date of Birth field on the Personal Details panel is complete.
10. Close the Staff Details screen by clicking the upper of the Close buttons in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
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l Activity 2 – Adding Personal Information
1. Select Focus | Person | Staff or click the Staff button on the toolbar to display the Staff browser.
2. Select a Status of All and click the Search button.
NOTE: Until an Employment Start Date is added (or in the case of a future start date, when that date is reached), the record will not appear as current staff in the Staff browser. When searching for this record the browser will have to be set to All or Future Staff.
3. Locate Paul Adams, and double-click to select and display the Employee Details screen.
4. Click the Personal Information hyperlink at the top of this screen.
5. Use the following data to add the personal details of Mr Paul Adams.
Ethnicity NI Number Qualification/ Letters
White, British WK172692B BSc
Adding a Language
1. Click the New button on the Languages panel to add a language. This is most appropriate if the individual is not a native speaker of English. The first language added must be selected as the individual’s First Language.
2. Use the following data to add two languages for Mr Adams.
Language First Language Fluency
English Mother Tongue
French Fluent (Qualified)
Values can be added to the lookup table for Languages and Language Fluency. This process is covered later.
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Adding a Medical Note
1. Click the New button on the Medical Notes panel to add Medical information. The Type will default to Staff Medical Note, additional information can be added to the Summary and Note boxes and/or external documents can be linked as attachments if they are available.
2. Click the New button adjacent to Medical Notes.
3. Type Asthmatic into the Summary line.
4. Select the Status Public from the drop-down list.
The options available are as follows:
Public - Documents with this status are available to all users with sufficient add/view/edit permissions
Private - Documents with this status are available only to the user who attached them. The System Administrator can delete private documents that are linked to a user who no longer works at the school using the Maintain Orphaned Documents routine
Confidential - Documents with this Status are available only to School Administrators and the Senior Management Team.
5. Click the OK button then click the Save button.
To Associate an Attachment with the Note: (OMIT ON COURSE)
1. Create a simple document in Word and save it in My Documents as Paul Adams-Medical Note.
2. In the Attachments section, click the Camera button and browse to the location of your saved file.
Documents could also be scanned and saved into the system.
3. Highlight the required document and click the Open button to attach it to the record.
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4. The Last Uploaded field will remain empty until you have saved the record.
5. Once saved, the date and time of the last file upload will be displayed, together with the name of the user who uploaded it. It is possible to view or open the attached document by clicking the respective buttons adjacent to the Last Uploaded field.
6. Click the OK button to save the details and return to the Personal Information panel.
Adding an Impairment
This area is provided to record anything that affects the employee’s ability to work. This could be a registered disability or something short term, e.g. a painful back.
1. Click the New button on the Impairments panel to add details of any impairments. A description (Impairment), Category and Date Advised are required, other details can be added.
2. Use the following information to add an impairment to Mr Adam’s record.
Impairment Category Date advised
Back Injury Injury or Disease of spine Today Cannot lift
heavy objects
3. Click the OK button to save the details and return to the Personal Information panel.
Adding Passport Details
It is most likely that this section would be used for foreign nationals working in the country, however, it may also be used to record passport details which are captured when completing CRB checks.
Click the New button on the Passport Details panel and add the following details for Mr Adams.
Nationality Passport Number Issue Date Expiry Date Name on
Passport
Adams
Adding/Editing Dietary Needs
This section enables you to record any specific dietary needs the member of staff has.
Scroll down and click the Vegetarian check box.
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Professional
This panel enables you to record professional details concerning the member of staff, including training course attendance and qualifications.
If the staff member is a Higher Level Teaching Assistant, select the HLTA Status check box.
NOTE: This check box can only be selected for a person aged 18 or over.
If the HLTA Status check box has been selected, enter the date that the HLTA Status was achieved.
If the member of staff has Teaching Assistant Status, select the TA Status check box.
The QTS Route e.g. Graduate Teacher Programme is selected from the drop-down list.
l Activity 3 – Adding Professional Information
Use the following data to add the qualification details for Mr Adams.
(Adding training records will be covered later).
Date Awarded Qualification Title Level First Subject Verified Country
20/06/81 Bachelor of Science BSc
Other First Degree
Kingdom
SWC will require the Date Awarded, Level, First Subject Qualified, Second Subject Qualified (where appropriate). Other data can be recorded at the school’s discretion.
1. Click the New button adjacent to the Qualifications field to display the Add New Qualifications dialog.
2. Enter the details of the Qualification.
3. To select the Country of Origin of the qualification click the Browser button (adjacent to the field) to display the Nations browser.
4. Search for the country by entering its name or the first few letters and clicking the Search button (or use the scroll bar).
5. Highlight the required country from the list and click the OK button to populate the Country of Origin field.
6. Click the OK button to return to the Professional Information panel.
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7. Click the Save button at the top of the Employee Details screen.
Addresses
l Activity 4 – Recording Address Information
The following activity explores the procedure for adding an address not already known to the system. It is possible to enter some or all of the details; Post Code, House Number/Name, Street and Town/City. Clicking the Continue button causes the software to search for instances that match the details entered. Where no matches are found the remaining data can be entered. Matched items will be explored later.
1. Use the following data to add the address details for Paul Adams.
Postcode House Number Street Name District Town Type
MK12 5HW 89 Green Lane Wolverton Milton Keynes Home
2. Click the Address hyperlink to display the Address panel.
3. Enter the Post Code MK12 5HW and click the Continue button. No match is found and the New Address Details panel appears.
4. Complete the remaining address fields and select the Address Type.
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5. Click the Save button. The address compresses into a block display. It can be edited using the Modify button. Where Address Validation is enabled the Validate button will be available (this requires the application of a licence and an internet link).
NOTE: It is possible to add an additional address following the same process.
Contact Information
The Contact Information section contains Telephone Details including Device, Location, Daytime Phone Number and Notes. Email Details include Location (Home, Work or Other) Address, Main and Notes. Car Details include Model, Colour and Registration.
l Activity 5 – Adding Contact Information
Use the following data to add details for Paul Adams.
Telephone Numbers Email Addresses Car Details
01234 770834 - Home [email protected] Ford Mondeo, Silver GK53 DLK
Adding Telephone Numbers
1. Click the Contact Information hyperlink to display the Contact Information panel.
2. Click the New button next to the Telephones panel to display the Add Telephone/Fax dialog.
3. Select the Device from the lookup table, Telephone or Fax.
4. Select the Location of the number from the lookup table, Home, Work, Mobile or Other.
5. Enter the telephone number in the Number field.
6. Select Yes or No to indicate the Main telephone number.
7. Enter any relevant notes relating to the use of this number in the Notes field, e.g. you may wish to record this as an Emergency Contact number.
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8. Click the OK button to save the details and return to the Contact Information panel.
Adding Email Addresses
1. Click the New button adjacent to the Email Addresses panel to display the Add Email dialog.
2. Select the Location from the lookup table, Home or Work.
3. Enter the full email address in the Address section.
4. Indicate whether this is the Main email address for the member of staff.
5. Enter any relevant notes relating to the use of this email address.
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1. Click the New button adjacent to the Cars panel.
2. Enter the Model, Colour and Registration number of the member of staff’s vehicle.
4. Click the Save button at the top of the screen.
Next of Kin
The Next of Kin section enables the addition of one next of kin and contains Title, Forename, Middle Name(s), Surname, Address Details and Contact Information.
After an entry has been made no additional entries can be made. The existing entry can be deleted and a new entry added.
When data is entered the database is checked for matching items which may be appropriate. The following example explores this process.
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l Activity 6 – Recording Next of Kin
Use the following data to add the Next of Kin data for Mr Adams.
Title Ms
Surname Darby
Forename Jane
Gender Female
Telephone 01234 770834 - Home
1. Click the Next of Kin hyperlink to display the Next of Kin panel.
2. Click the New button adjacent to the Next of Kin field to display the Add Next of Kin panel.
3. Enter the Surname and Forename, then select the Gender and click the Continue button.
NOTE: If this name is the same as one on the system it will display this person. If it is the correct person click the Open button to display their record. If the displayed person is not the Next of Kin click the New button.
4. Select the Title.
5. A Middle Name(s) can be added if required.
6. In the Address panel, enter the Post Code (which is the same as that for Mr Adams) and click the Continue button. If the post code is known to the system (as is the case here) the address will be displayed in the Matched Addresses panel.
7. If the displayed address is the correct one, click it to highlight it and click the Open button. Select an Address Type of Home and click the Save button. If the address displayed was incorrect, click the New button to enter new address details.
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8. Select the Address Type as Home.
9. Click the Save button on the Add Next of Kin window.
10. To add telephone numbers for the Next of Kin, scroll down to the Contact Information panel and click the New button adjacent to the Telephones field to display the Add Telephone/Fax dialog.
11. Select the Device as Telephone or Fax, select the Location, e.g. Work, and enter the Number and indicate if it is Main and add any Notes if required.
12. Click the OK button to complete the Add Telephone/Fax Details then click the Save button on the Add Next of Kin window.
13. Finally, click the OK button to close the Next of Kin panel and return to the Employee Details screen and click the Save button to continue the process of adding to the Employee’s record.
Staff Contacts Panel – Additional contacts can be added, in case an urgent or emergency situation arises.
Employment Details
l Activity 7 – Adding Employment Details
NOTE: Staff details can be saved without attaching a contract. However, if you use FMS to record your Finance data, correctly completed staff contracts are crucial for bringing through salary commitments into Finance.
Use the following data to add the employment details for Paul Adams:
Teaching Staff
Employment Start Date Monday of next week
Staff Code PAA
Previous Employer Egerton Park School
1. Click the Employment Details hyperlink to display the Employment Details panel.
2. As Paul Adams is a teacher select the Teaching Staff check box.
3. Enter the Teacher Number. (You do not have to insert the /. It will be inserted automatically when you move to the next field.)
4. Select Qualified Teacher from Teacher Category.
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5. Select Qualified from Qualified Teacher Status.
This field is optional but may be required by the LA if you are using B2B. It can also be used to record that a member of staff is a Qualified Teacher although not on the teaching staff.
6. Enter the Continuous Service Start Date either by clicking the Calendar button and selecting the required date, or by entering the date in dd/mm/yy format.
7. Enter the Local Authority Start Date either by clicking the Calendar button and selecting the required date, or by entering the date in dd/mm/yy format.
8. Enter the Employment Start Date either by clicking the Calendar button and selecting the required date, or by entering the date in dd/mm/yy format.
9. Enter the Staff Code - Staff codes (up to three digits) must be unique, however, this is not validated at this point. Duplicates and amendments are dealt with in Manage Classroom Staff where the ability to establish an association with Nova and Cover 7 is also maintained.
10. Enter Previous Employer Details.
11. Click the Save button.
l Activity 8 – Adding Check Details
Various types of check can be recorded in this panel – e.g. CRB Check, Academic Qualification Check, Previous Employment Check, etc. together with associated dates, reference numbers and notes. Each field is used as appropriate.
1. Click the New button adjacent to the Check panel.
2. Choose CRB from the lookup for Checks.
3. Enter a date 2 months ago into the Requested Date box.
4. Enter a date 5 weeks ago into the Returned Date box.
5. Select CRB Enhanced Clearance from the Clearance Level box.
6. Other data can be entered as required.
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7. Click the OK button to close the panel and click the Save button.
l Activity 9 – Adding Contract Information
The Contract Details section contains a considerable amount of pay related information which is crucial for FMS where salary calculations are in use and as a possible data source for SWC depending on the school’s status and data being provided by the LA.
Use the following data to begin adding the contract details for Paul Adams:
Service term Teachers
Employment Type Permanent
Post Reference Teacher
Contract Start Date Accept the default date which is the Employment Start Date
Origin Teaching post within the LA
Superannuation scheme Teachers
NI Contracted Out
Hours/Week 32.5
Weeks/Year 52.143
1. To enter Contract Details, click the New button adjacent to the Contract field after clicking the hyperlink for Employment.
2. Select the Service Term from the drop down list.
3. Select the Employment Type from the drop down list.
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4. Select the Post Reference from the drop down list. Note the default entries that appear in the Post Category and SWC Post fields.
5. The Contract Start Date defaults to the value of the Employment Start field. (This can be edited to a later date if required.)
6. Select the appropriate Superannuation Scheme from the drop down list.
7. Click NI Contracted Out (as Mr Adams is in a Superannuation scheme and is under normal retirement age).
NOTE: Superannuation and NI rates are the employer’s contributions.
8. Select the Origin from the lookup table.
NOTE: The Hours/Week and Weeks/Year fields default to the values set in the selected Service Term. For part-time staff, these figures can be amended either by entering the Hours and Weeks figures in which case the FTE and ProRata figures will be amended, or vice versa. The Pay Factor (FTE x ProRata) is calculated by the system.
Post Offered Date, Contract Issued Date and Post Accepted Date
These fields are optional and can be used as required.
The Financial Subgroup should be selected where required for use in FMS.
The Contract/Payroll Number must be entered to allow for the automatic reconciliation of salaries in FMS.
Fixed Term Contracts - If the contract is for a fixed term, enter a Contract End Date. This will also make the Contract Termination Reason field available for selection. A Destination will also have to be selected.
Safeguarded Salary - If the employee has protected rights in their salary, select the Safeguarded Salary check box. This will ultimately be collected in SWC.
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l Activity 10 – Adding Pay Scale Information
Pay scale information enables FMS to perform salary calculations. It also provides SWC with pay related information.
Pay scale Teachers Main Scale
Start Date Accept the default date which is the Employment Start Date
Point 3
1. Click the New button adjacent to the Pay Scale field to display the Add Contract Scale dialog.
2. Select Teachers Main Scale from the drop down list. Note the default values that are entered.
3. The Start Date defaults to the value of the Employment Start field. (This can be edited to a later date if required.)
4. Enter the scale point in the Point field.
5. Superannuation - If this payment is not to be included in Superannuation calculations, deselect the Superannuation check box. (see the note)
6. NI Status – If this payment is not to be included in NI calculations, deselect the NI Status check box. (see note)
NOTE: When salary commitment is calculated in FMS, the Superannuation and NI check boxes will not be taken into account. National Insurance and superannuation will always be calculated.
7. Click the OK button to return to the Contract Details page.
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l Activity 11 – Adding an Allowance
Use the following data to add an allowance for Paul Adams
Allowance Teaching and Learning 1B
Type Permanent
1. If necessary, open the contract again and go to the Allowances panel.
2. Click the New button adjacent to the Allowances field to display the Add Contract Allowance dialog.
3. Select Teacher Learning 1B from the Allowance drop-down list.
4. The Start Date defaults to the Contract Start Date (new contracts only. This can be amended to a later date if required.)
5. Pay Factor – defaults to the Pay Factor figure of the contract. If the amount of the allowance is not to be affected by the Pay Factor, enter 1.0 in this field.
6. Select the Type from the drop down list.
7. The Amount will be entered (from the Allowance definition). If the amount as defined in the Service Term is zero it can be edited.
8. A Reason for the allowance can be entered if required.
9. Select the following check boxes as appropriate:
Superannuation - If this payment is not to be included in Superannuation calculations, deselect the Superannuation check box. (see the note)
NI Status – If this payment is not to be included in NI calculations, deselect the NI Status check box. (see the note)
Benefit in Kind – select if the allowance is a non-monetary benefit, e.g. rent free accommodation, where the cost is not part of the salary, but it is subject to National Insurance and Superannuation Contributions. (see the note)
NOTE: When salary commitment is calculated in FMS, these check boxes will not be taken into account. National Insurance and superannuation will always be calculated for allowances. Benefit in kind will also not be taken into account.
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10. Click the OK button to save the details and return to the Contract Information panel.
11. Click the Save button to save the Contract Information to the employees record.
Suspensions
A contract can be suspended for a fixed period by clicking the New button and entering the Start and End Dates of the suspension period. A Reason can also be entered. A suspension will be reflected in FMS Salary Projections/Commitments.
An example of suspending a contract is provided later in the course.
Notepad
Add any additional notes in the Notepad field by clicking the New button, adding in the required notes in the Notepad dialog and then clicking the OK button.
Pay Pattern
This section contains Monthly Reconciliation for weekly paid staff. It is only possible to define a pay pattern for weekly paid employees. The purpose of a pay pattern is to allow the commitment generated in FMS to be spread throughout the working year, corresponding to the weeks actually worked by the employee. The pay pattern details will have been completed from the default attached to the service term through Tools | Staff | Pay Related, however, these details can be changed on an individual basis if required. The Total Weeks must equal the weeks worked per year on the Work Times screen.
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NOTE: At least one role is required for every contract.
If a role is not selected or if a role is selected which is not appropriate to the service term, the following error message will be displayed at the bottom left of the screen when the Save button is clicked.
Contract Roles does not contain the desired Role for the Service Term Selected.
1. Click the New button alongside the Role panel.
2. Select an appropriate role – Classroom Teacher in this case. The Start Date defaults to the start of the contract.
3. Click the OK button to complete and return to the Contract screen.
4. Click the Save button on the Contract screen.
l Activity 13 – Attaching Documents – OMIT THIS EXERCISE
Many documents are generated when employing staff and these can be saved in the Documents panel within a staff record.
NOTE: Any file type can be attached to an employee’s record, for example, a Microsoft® Word or Microsoft® Excel document, a picture file (jpeg, bmp etc) or music or video clip.
1. Create a simple Word document and save it in My Documents as Paul Adams Contract.
2. Click the hyperlink for Documents.
3. Click the New button to the right of the Documents box and enter the following information:
Type Staff Contract Note
Status Confidential
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4. In the Attachment area click the folder browse button to navigate to the location of the document.
5. Once the correct folder is visible either double-click the file name (Paul Adams Contract.doc) or click once to highlight it and click the Open button.
6. Click the OK button to close the Document screen and click the Save button to save the record.
NOTE: The document can subsequently be viewed or opened by re-opening the Document record and clicking the View or Open button to display the document.
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This section contains:
Promotions
Leavers
Absences
The following is an extract from the guidance notes for School Workforce Census produced by the DfE.
For the purpose of the School Workforce Census, absence refers to any activity or circumstance that takes a member of staff away from normal duties with their usual employer for half a day or more, except for training. Absence of less than half a day does not need to be recorded. In instances where the morning and afternoon sessions are not equal, each session should be regarded as half a day. In instances where a member of staff is contracted to work less than half a day, the absence should still be recorded and if it is for sickness absence, the working days lost should be recorded as 0.5.
Absence data will be collected annually by the School Workforce Census, for the previous academic year. Absences can be recorded in SIMS for all staff but SWC will only collect data for teachers, agency teachers and teaching assistants.
The Absences panel in Employee Details is used for recording absences.
Absence due to training can be recorded in the Absences panel with a Type/Reason of Training or (more appropriately) on the Professional panel in the Training area, this is covered later.
Absence data can be recorded in detail covering Start and End Dates and Times, Working Days or Number of Hours Lost, a general Type/Reason (which is mapped to DCFS Absence Categories), a more specific Illness Category, Authorised Pay Rate and Payroll Absence Category. It is possible to indicate if the absence is Annual Leave, Industrial Injury and where Statutory Sick Pay Exclusion is advised.
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An additional panel provides for recording Certification data, either Self Certified or Doctor Certified. Finally a Notepad facility is available to add extra detail if required.
Not all data items are required, they are provided to enable schools to record data to a level of detail determined locally.
Lookup tables are associated with Type/Reason, Illness Category, Authorised Pay Rate and Payroll Absence Category. Values can be added to these tables although the Type/Reason lookup has an associated category table defined by the DFE to which any new value must be linked. Adding values to lookup tables will be covered later.
Absences recorded as part of the Cover process in Cover 7 (SIMS) will create absence records in the Absence panel in Staff Details. Similarly, absences recorded in advance in the Absences panel in Staff Details will place Cover requirements in Cover 7 where appropriate.
SWC will collect the Start Date and End Date, the Number of Working Days Lost to the nearest half day, the Type/Reason and the Payroll Absence Category although this is for LA purposes and hence the lookup table may be locally defined.
l Activity 1 – Recording Absences
Kevin Myles has been granted paternity leave and this will be recorded in the Absence area of his record. He has also recently been ill and this will also be recorded.
1. Select Focus | Person | Staff and open Kevin’s record.
2. Click the Absences hyperlink and click the New button to record a new absence.
3. Enter the following information:
Start Date: 5 Sep 2011
End Date: 16 Sep 2011
Working Days Lost: 10
Authorised Pay Rate: Full Pay Rate
4. Click the OK button to enter this information and click the Save button to save Kevin’s record.
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5. Click the New button once more to create a new absence and enter the following information:
Start Date: Monday of last week
End Date: Friday of last week
Number of Days: 5
Illness Category: * * Depressive or Anxiety Condition
Authorised Pay Rate: Full Pay Rate
* The SIMS Team have produced a set of lookups and a sickness and absence report that can be imported locally into your sims system. This will enable you to produce a monthly return for the Local Authority, in the required format ie using numeric values. If illness categories are preceded by a numeric value eg 0005 – Stress/Anxiety/Depression then the lookups are already on your system, if not please contact the ICT Service Desk for assistance.
6. Now click the New button to the right of the Certificate box and enter the following information:
Date Received Monday of this week
Date signed: Monday of this week
Signed by: K Myles
Certificate Type Refrain from Work
7. Click the OK button to confirm these details and click the OK button again to add the absence.
8. Click the Save button now to save Kevin’s record once again.
Guidance is given by the DFE on recording absence due to Acting Up such as a Deputy Head fulfilling the role of Acting Head Teacher for an extended period of time other than the expected day to day duties of a Deputy Head.
Name Changes
There may be occasions when an employee changes their name. The most common may be that of a female member of staff getting married.
SIMS allows you to record all previous names and their corresponding dates. When an employee’s name is changed the Previous Names area can be automatically populated with the appropriate details. Changes are date and time stamped. Changes that took place before they became an employee can be entered manually. Both Legal and Preferred, Surname and Forename, can be changed and the relevant change recorded.
School Workforce Census will collect previous Legal Surname where it exists.
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As an employee is required to provide previous name information for their CRB check, it is data that will be available and can be recorded in SIMS.
The employee record is opened by selecting Focus | Person | Staff and the Basic Details panel is the first in the employee’s record.
The Title can be changed by clicking the Title drop down menu and selecting the new title e.g. Mrs. Then, by simply deleting and re-typing the new name into the Legal Surname and Preferred Surname Fields, the amendment can be made.
When the record is saved a message will appear asking if you would like to add the previous name to the Previous Name list. Confirming this will automatically add the previous name to the list and using the employee’s date of birth as the Used from date and the current date and the Used to date.
If the individual is changing both legal and preferred names it is more convenient to make all changes before saving as each save will prompt to be entered in the previous names details.
The final stage would be to amend the Staff Code field. Although this is displayed in the Employment Details panel it can only be edited via the classroom staff routines either selecting Focus | Person | Manage Classroom Staff, or selecting the Classroom Staff Details option in the Links menu. The change made here must be manually replicated in Nova to match.
NOTE: It should be noted that any changes to the staff code, particularly teaching staff codes, should only be amended with the agreement of the person responsible for the timetable.
l Activity 2 – Changing Names
Miss Belinda Bates was married recently and will now be known as Mrs Belinda Robinson.
1. Select Focus | Person | Staff to display her record to make the necessary changes.
2. In the Basic Details section, click the Title field and select Mrs from the list.
3. Click into the Legal Surname field, delete Bates and enter Robinson by simply deleting and typing in.
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4. Click the Save button to save these changes and confirm that you wish to add the previous name to the previous name list by clicking the Yes button.
If required, change the Preferred Surname to match, however, it is the preferred surname which appears by default on registration lists and registers so it may be desirable to leave this unchanged.
If this further change has been made there will be a prompt to add it to the Previous Name details when saving. It may be appropriate to click the No button. However, if the change is added it will have a different time stamp, albeit by only a few minutes.
NOTE: Both Legal and Preferred Surname and Forename can be changed and the change recorded in the Previous names box as an audit trail of those changes if required. Each change is date and time stamped. SWC will collect changes to Legal Surname only.
5. Click the Save button to complete the process.
Annual Increment
Where employees are employed on a service term which has a pay scale with incremental points it may be necessary to move the employee up the scale following appropriate professional review on an annual basis. It is possible to do this by manually adding a new Pay Scale record to the contract, however, the Annual Increment routine automates this procedure with appropriate control exercised by the user.
NOTE: This routine applies only to service terms with the Spinal Progression check box selected. If this is not selected, the service term will not appear in the Service term drop down list and the record will have to be added manually.
l Activity 3 – Annual Increment
1. Select Tools | Staff | Annual Increment.
2. Select Teachers from the Service Term drop down list.
3. Select 2011 from the Increment Year drop down list.
4. Select September from the Increment Month drop down list.
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5. Click the Search button.
A list of all staff that are eligible for an increment will be displayed.
6. Select the members of staff who the increment applies to by selecting the check box next to their name. Alternatively you can click the Select All and Clear All buttons to select all the names on the list or clear your selections.
7. Click the Apply button to apply the increment point to all the selected members of staff.
The system will then update the contract details of the affected employees by adding Pay Scale records.
8. Open the Contract Details for the member of staff selected and note that a Pay Scale record dated 01/09/2011 has been entered.
9. Click the Close button to close the Employee Details record.
Cloning Existing Contracts
Where a new contract is similar to an existing contract, the contract can be cloned and used as the basis for the new contract. This approach might be used when a member of staff is changing hours. The new contract retains the current pay scale, allowances and roles, i.e. those without an end date. Initially, these will contain the start dates of the original contract but the start dates will be automatically updated with the new contract start date once this has been entered in the Contract Start Date field and you have tabbed out of the field.
l Activity 4 – Cloning an Existing Contract
Pauline Brown is decreasing her number of hours to 30 with effect from the start of next month and a new contract is required. All the other terms of the contract will remain.
1. Open the Employee Details for Pauline Brown and select the Employment Details panel.
2. Highlight her existing contract and click the Clone button adjacent to the list of contracts.
The new contract is created and displayed for editing.
3. Enter the Contract Start Date (First of next month) and press the Tab key. Note that the new Start Date is copied into the Pay Scale and Role records.
4. Edit the Hours/Week field to 30 hours and click the Save button.
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The new cloned contract is now displayed with a question mark indicating a future Start Date.
5. An End Date and Destination (Not Applicable - Change of Contract) must now be added to the existing contract to complete the task.
Promotions
When a promotion has taken place, the current contract will normally be terminated and a new one added to take its place.
The Contracts panel lists all contracts, Open, Closed, Suspended and Future.
Current or existing contracts are shown as an open folder symbol
Old or terminated contracts display with an X
Contracts with no start dates or start dates in the future show with a green circle with a white question mark
Suspended contracts are shown with a watch symbol
1. Open the contract to be terminated by either highlighting and double-clicking or highlighting and clicking the Open button to display the Contract Details. Enter the end date of the current contract in the Contract End Date field and enter a reason for the termination in the Contract Termination Reason field to terminate this contract.
2. Click the Save button to effect this change. The status symbol should now change to an X.
3. A new contract is now required. Click the New button to create a new contract continuing the employment of the individual.
l Activity 5 – Promoting a Member of Staff
Vicky Chard has been promoted to the role of Deputy Head Teacher.
Terminating the Existing Contract
1. Select Focus | Person | Staff and open Vicky’s record.
2. Use the Employment Details hyperlink and open her current contract either by double-clicking or highlight and click the Open button.
3. Under the Contract Details enter the following information:
a) Contract End Date: Choose the end of last month.
b) Contract Termination Reason: Other Reason.
c) Destination: Not Applicable–Change of Contract.
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4. Click the Save button to terminate this contract and say No to the warning message displayed in the following graphic.
Creating the New Contract
1. Now click the New button to the right of the Contract box and enter the following information:
Service term: Leadership
Origin Teaching Post within the LA Sector
2. Click the New button to the right of the Pay Scale box and enter the following:
Scale Head Teacher Group 2
Start Date As above (beginning of this term)
Point 14
3. Click the New button next to Role and select Deputy Head from the lookup.
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4. Click the OK button to enter this information and click the Save button to save to Contract Details, then click the Save button on Vicky’s record to effect the changes.
Suspending a Contract
A contract may be suspended due to disciplinary reasons or during an Acting Up period. Where the latter is the case a specific course of action is necessary to ensure that the School Workforce Census is supported. The following extract comes from the DfE guidance on SWC and outlines the appropriate procedure.
Where someone is acting in another post at the same school and they have a temporary contract for that post, an absence record (category seconded – but note a proposal has been tabled to create a category of Acting up) is required for their substantive post even though that contract is suspended, e.g. if a Deputy Head Teacher is acting long term as Head Teacher, i.e. not short term cover as part of their normal duties as Deputy Head Teacher, the (presumably suspended) contract as Deputy Head Teacher should return an absence record of Seconded (or Acting up). If this person is then absent in the post as Head Teacher, an absence record would also be returned for this contract and therefore two valid absence records would be held for the same person on the same day.
It is worth exploring this scenario.
The Head Teacher, Mrs Grosvenor, has been seconded from the beginning of this term for the duration of this term, to work in the LA. The Deputy Head, Mr Joyner, will Act Up.
Mrs Grosvenor must be given an absence record for the term and her contract must be suspended.
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Mr Joyner must have his contract as Deputy Head suspended for the term. He should then be given a new temporary contract as Acting Head Teacher, for the term.
l Activity 6 – Suspending a Contract
The Seconded Head Teacher
Add the Absence
1. Use School Diary to check the Start and End Dates for the current term (in reality, appropriate dates will have been determined).
2. In P7 select the record for the Head Teacher – Gillian Grosvenor.
3. Move to the Absence panel.
4. Click the New button to add a new absence; enter Start and End Dates as per the current term, select Secondment as the Type/Reason, select an appropriate pay rate (nil if the pay is not being met by the LA), enter a valid number of working days (not calculated). Click the OK button to complete the Absence record.
5. Click the Save button on the Employee Details window to save the changes to the Head Teacher’s record.
Suspend the Contract
1. Move to the Employment Details panel.
2. Highlight the current contract and click the Open button or double-click to display the Edit Contract screen.
3. Move to the Suspensions panel and click the New button to add the suspension period for the contract.
4. Enter a Start Date matching the start of the absence recorded above; enter an End Date matching the end of the absence recorded above and enter Secondment as the Description. Click the Save button to complete the change to the contract; the contract is shown with the Suspended symbol (a watch).
5. Click the Save button on the Employee Details window to complete the process.
The Acting Up Promotion of the Deputy Head – Mr Joyner.
Suspend the Existing Contract
1. Select the record of the Deputy Head Teacher – Oliver Joyner.
2. Move to the Employment Details panel.
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3. Select the current contract and open it by clicking the Open button or double- clicking.
4. Move to the Suspensions panel and click the New button to add the suspension. Enter the same Start and End Dates as used earlier and an appropriate Description; Acting up due to secondment of Head Teacher.
5. Click the Save button to complete the change to the existing contract.
Add the New Temporary Acting Up Contract
1. Click the New button beside the Contracts panel to add a new contract.
2. Enter appropriate details:
a) Service term – Leadership.
b) Post Reference – Head Teacher.
c) Employment Type – Temporary if we do not know exactly when the secondment will end or Fixed Term if we know the limit of the arrangement.
d) Contract Start Date – to match the earlier date and Contract End Date if known and if Fixed Term used above.
e) Make other selections as appropriate.
f) Select an Origin (required); if an End Date has been entered a Destination will also be required.
3. Add a Pay Scale and Point; click the New button on the Pay Scale panel, select an appropriate scale, enter Start and End Dates as above, enter an appropriate point on the scale, click the OK button to complete the pay scale entry.
4. Add a role; click the New button on the Post panel, select an appropriate role, a default start date will be entered, enter an End Date if known, click the OK button to complete the Role entry.
5. Click the Save button to complete the change to the contract, observe the symbol for the new contract.
6. Click the Save button on the Employment Details window to complete the process.
NOTE: If Start and End Dates have been entered in all circumstances, no further maintenance will be necessary unless there are changes.
Training Events
Personnel 7 provides the facility to fully record the details of staff training and In- Service Training (INSET) Events. There are two ways of entering training event details and adding staff members to the course:
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Training Events can be set up in Tools | Staff | Training with various default details including Organiser Details, Dates and Costs. These can then be applied to individual staff meaning that one event can be applied to more than one individual
o Multiple staff can be added to the course through this menu route. This will create individual training records for these staff
o It is also possible to make duplicates of events (cloning) with different dates where an event is repeated.
Training Events can also be setup in the Professional panel on the Employee Details screen.
Regardless of the method used to enter the training course details, these details are then accessible both from the Tools | Staff | Training menu route and from the Professional panel on the Staff Details page.
NOTE: If the Absence Details relating to the training event are edited after the initial save, these changes will not be reflected in either the Professional or Absences panels of the affected staff member’s record.
Attending a training event usually implies an absence from school which may be the same duration as the event but may require travel time before and possibly after the event. Consequently it is possible to set up the absences associated with the event to be assigned to the individual as defaults.
The absences arising from recording training events in Staff Details are also registered automatically in Cover 7 where appropriate. Similarly, an absence due to attending a training event which is recorded in Cover 7 is automatically written back to Staff Details.
School Workforce Census will collect details of absences which arise from training whether recorded in the Absence or Professional panels.
l Activity 7 – Reviewing an Existing Training Event
1. Select Tools | Staff | Training to display the Find Training Courses browser.
A combination of the Training Title, Venue, Start and End Dates can be used to refine the search, depending on the information available to you. Alternatively, the fields can be left blank to list all the training courses in the system.
2. Leave the fields blank and click the Search button.
3. Highlight the first course – Assessment Manager Primary - and click the Open button (or double-click) to review the details. (Hint – click the Start Date column twice to sort the courses into reverse date order).
Details - It is not necessary to provide all the information unless it will be of use in future analyses.
Staff - Staff can be added to the course in panel 3. When the record is saved a record will be added to the Professional/Training record for each of the listed staff.
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NOTE: It is not necessary to apply an End Date.
An event can span a long period of time encompassing several component absences.
Data set up in the event becomes the default which is assigned to the employee. These defaults can be altered on an individual basis.
NOTE: If you edit an existing training event that has already been attached to a staff member, the changes made will be reflected in their training record. Therefore, if you want to add a new training event with similar details to an existing event, use the Clone button and create a new event rather than editing it here.
l Activity 8 – Recording a Training Event
Rebecca Lorrin is attending a training course along with several other staff and we want to record this information on their Training records.
Creating the Event
1. Select Tools | Staff | Training and click the Search button to browse the list of existing courses.
2. Click the New button to create a new course.
3. Enter the following information in the Training Details panel.
Title SIMS Personnel 7 (required)
Organiser OCC (required)
Course Fees: Nil (optional)
No of Days: 1 (optional)
NOTE: Training Level can also be recorded against a training event. Values will need to be added to the lookup table to use this. (See Maintaining Lookups).
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4. Absences due to training can be recorded in the Absence panel.
Start Date Same Date as above (required)
End Date Same Date as above (optional)
Working Days Lost 1 (optional)
Start and End Times can be added where appropriate to indicate part days.
5. Click the Save button to save this new training course.
Adding Staff
Staff can be added to this event or (if required) added to the individual staff record in the Professional panel.
To add Rebecca Lorrin to this event:
1. Click the New button in the Staff panel.
2. Enter Lorrin in the Surname field on the Select Staff screen and click the Search button.
3. Highlight the displayed name and click the OK button.
Mrs Lorrin’s name will appear in the Training Details - Staff panel.
4. Click the New button and select Status = Support Staff, all Current. Click the Search button.
5. Click to highlight another member of staff attending this training and then holding the Ctrl key down click to highlight two or three other members of staff.
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6. Click the OK button to add these staff to the Training Details - Staff panel.
7. Click the Save button to save this new training course.
8. Open Mrs Lorrin’s Staff Details and click the hyperlink for Professional.
The training event record which you have added is displayed in the Training panel.
Check this for the other staff which you added to the event.
NOTE: The Clone button can be used to create new courses with very similar details. This will become active when a course has been saved.
l Activity 9 – Attaching an Event to an Employee
1. Open Richard Wilton’s Staff Details and click the hyperlink for Professional.
2. Click the New button to the right of the Training panel to add a new event.
3. Click the Select button to choose a course and enter SIMS in the Training Title box. Click the Search button.
4. Double-click SIMS Personnel 7. If the training is completed select the relevant check box. The details entered earlier will appear as defaults, those with a white background can be edited. The Absence data also appears but this can be altered if it differs for the individual concerned.
5. Click the OK button.
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l Activity 10 – Creating a New Training Event in an Employee Record
1. Open Richard Wilton’s Staff Details (if not already open) and click the hyperlink for Professional.
2. Click the Create button to the right of the Training panel to add a new event.
3. Enter the following in the Training Details panel:
Title PersRep
Start Date Select a future date
End Date Select the same date
Course Fees No charge
No of Days 1
4. Enter an Absence record for the same date.
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5. The Staff panel is already displaying Richard’s name. Additional staff can be added as described previously.
6. Click the OK button.
Leavers
When an employee leaves they are given a Leaving Date on the Employment Details panel. However, all contracts must also be terminated with the same date and a Destination given.
Entering a date into the Contract End Date field will prompt for this date to be used as a Leaving Date which will cause the staff member to be removed from Personnel on that date. They will still be visible in the Staff Details browser using the Status All Leavers.
As the Contract End Date is in Contract Details it is convenient to add a Destination at this point.
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l Activity 11 – Leavers
Tracey Finch, a member of the Support Staff has a new job and left the school last week. We need to record this information.
1. Select Focus | Person | Staff.
2. Search for and open the appropriate record.
3. Click the hyperlink for Employment Details.
4. Double-click the current contract and in the Contract End Date enter last Friday’s date.
5. Select an appropriate Destination using the lookup (required).
6. The role is given a matching End Date automatically.
7. Click the Save button. You will see the following message.
8. Click the Yes button. The Contract Details window will close and return to the Employment Details panel where the contract will now have a new symbol under status designating that it is closed.
9. Finally click the Save button again on the Employee Details window to complete the process. Failure to save here will undo the changes just made.
It is also possible to enter a Date of Leaving in the Employment Details panel and you will be prompted to indicate if you wish to use the date as the end date for various data.
This does however require a Destination to have been entered in the Contract Details.
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Deleting Staff
If a member of staff has been added to SIMS by accident or duplication, there is a routine to permanently delete them. Deletion of a member of staff should only be carried out in these circumstances. When a staff member is deleted, all of their records will be completely removed from the system. It is not possible to view an audit trail of deleted staff members, so deletion must be considered carefully before it is undertaken. Due to the integrated nature of SIMS and the various elements which may make use of the staff members’ details, it may not always be possible to delete a staff member’s record.
l Activity 12 – Deletion of a Staff Member
1. Select Routines | Staff | Delete Staff.
2. Search for the relevant member of staff, highlight their name and click the Open button.
The system will gather information about this member of staff and then display it below their details. This is the Prepare to Delete stage and provides the opportunity to review the details present in the system that relate to the selected staff member before taking further action.
These details can be printed out for future reference, if required. This is the only chance you will have to keep a record of the staff member who has been deleted.
3. If you are sure you want to delete them click the Delete button.
NOTE: If the member of staff has been used by a SIMS module, you will have to unlink the member of staff in all areas before being able to delete.
4. You will receive the following message. If you are sure click the Yes button to delete.
You will receive a message that the staff record has been successfully deleted.
NOTE: If a staff member cannot be deleted for any reason, a message will advise you that the deletion was not permitted and give the reason why this was not possible. Within the Personnel functionality, you cannot delete a staff member with a current or future contract. A warning message will be displayed if the member of staff is currently absent or undertaking training.
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Maintaining Service Terms
Links for School Workforce Census
The previous section covered adding a new member of staff and recording pay related information. This relied on a range of setups already being in place. This section will explore those setups and consider the process of customising the details relating to your establishment, local conditions of employment and variable employment details.
The setups are found in the route Tools | Staff and include National Insurance Rates, Superannuation and Pay Related. Other options in this menu, Training and Annual Increment, will be considered later.
The information and definitions entered form the basis of your personnel records and therefore control the contracts and pay of all employees in the establishment.
There are several components to the pay related information enabling the data to be used by FMS for salary calculation purposes as well as links from local definitions to National pay related definitions for Statutory Returns and SWC purposes.
Superannuation Schemes and National Insurance Rates
Accurate salary calculations must include the most recent National Insurance Rates and data for any Superannuation schemes which require employer contributions.
Superannuation
This routine provides the mechanism for maintaining data about different Superannuation schemes to which employees may belong. The data held is the employer’s contribution rate and is used in salary calculations by FMS.
If the school does not use FMS for salary calculations it is not necessary to maintain this data. It is not collected as part of the School Workforce Census.
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1. Select Tools | Staff | Superannuation.
2. Click the Search button to display existing Superannuation schemes which may have been transferred by the Personnel conversion or have previously been added.
3. Open the Teachers (TEAC) scheme by either double-clicking the highlighted line or by clicking the Open button.
Each scheme has a Scheme Code, Scheme Description and Values. The Values hold the Application date of the rate and the value of that rate e.g. Teachers Scheme; 01/04/07 – 14.10%.
Appropriate schemes are then associated with service terms (see later) to be available to employees employed on contracts within those service terms.
4. New schemes can be added by clicking the New button and entering the relevant data. This data would be obtained from recognised sources.
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2. Click on the Search and double Click on LGSA.
3. In the Values area click the New button to add a new value.
4. Enter the Application Date 01/04/11 and Value as 19.4.
5. Click on the OK button to confirm then click on Save.
6. Use the upper of the two right-hand Close buttons to close the Superannuation Browser.
National Insurance
This routine provides the mechanism for maintaining data about National Insurance Rates for Employer’s contributions to National Insurance and is used in salary calculations by FMS.
If the school does not use FMS for salary calculations it is not necessary to maintain this data.
The values are obtained from HMRC (Her Majesties Revenue and Customs) and are announced each year. Capita will issue advice on the new rates in the main SIMS release notes.
1. Select the route Tools | Staff | National Insurance.
2. Click the Search button to display the existing NI Rate data.
3. Open a Rate by either double-clicking the highlighted line or by clicking the Open button and observe the display.
4. Highlight a row in the Band Collection panel and the values are displayed in the Band Detail panel which is where entry and adjustment is made.
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l Activity 2 – Adding National Insurance Rates
NOTE: The figures used in the following example are by way of example and must not be used on a live system.
1. Select Tools | Staff | National Insurance Rates.
2. Click the New button to add a new rate.
3. Enter the Start Date 01/04/11 and the Number of Bands 5. Click the OK button.
4. Click Band 1 in the Band Collection panel, and enter 412 in the Upper Monthly Earning field in the Band Detail panel.
5. Click to highlight Band 2 and in the Upper Monthly Earning enter 476.
6. In Rate 2 (contracted out) enter -3.70 (minus 3.70).
7. Click to highlight Band 3 and in the Upper Monthly Earning enter 3337.00.
8. In Rate 1 (contracted in) enter 12.80 and in Rate 2 (contracted out) enter 9.10.
9. Highlight Band 4 and in the Upper Monthly Earning enter 3656.00.
11. Highlight Band 5 and in the Upper Monthly Earning enter 9999.00
13. Click the Save button to save the changes.
14. Use the upper of the two right-hand Close buttons to close the National Insurance browser.
NOTE: When adding a new rate, the end date of the previous rate will automatically be entered as the day before the new rate commences.
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Background
In SIMS Personnel data, staff contracts are derived from service terms which carry a range of general data including hours per week, weeks per year and usually have associated pay scales, posts and allowances. These service terms can then be attached to groups of staff who are operating under the same Terms and Conditions.
Much of this information is specified under national agreements but it can be configured to be school specific and then the general settings can be adjusted for individuals, e.g. part time, term time only etc.
SIMS provides a mechanism for creating these Pay Related structures which can then be linked to appropriate staff.
A Service Term is defined and configured. Pay Scales are attached with associated pay rates, these will probably require updating annually as pay awards are determined by the Government. Additional pay Allowances may be available for additional duties or responsibilities, again these require pay rates which may be determined locally or according to national negotiation. A range of Posts will be associated with the service term.
Pay Related Definitions are managed in Tools | Staff | Pay Related. Clicking the Search button displays a list of existing service terms.
Double-clicking the service term name or highlighting and clicking the Open button will display the service term and its relevant data areas.
Clicking the New button will enable the addition of a new service term where the details mentioned above need to be entered. It is necessary to define the Service Term, add a Scale, and add a Post, before the service term can be saved.
As with all SIMS data areas these have been divided into panels with corresponding hyperlinks which help you to move around the records.
l Activity 3 – Review the Details Contained in the Existing Service Terms
1. Select Tools | Staff | Pay Related and click the Search button to populate the Find Service Term browser.
2. Select the first service term in the list, there are six panels, Service Term, Pay Awards, Allowances, Posts, Superannuation and Financial Sup-groups.
The Service Term panel displays the details which define the service term. These provide the defaults that appear in an individual’s contract details.
The Pay Awards panel displays the pay related information including point ranges where appropriate and associated Scales. Details about a Scale can be