SEAS HR Guidelines for Hiring a Temp
Temp Services Hiring Process
- What are temps?
Temps (or wage) are employees whose terms and conditions of employment stipulate an hourly rate of pay rather than a salary and who is paid on an hourly basis for actual hours worked. Wage employees are not eligible for leave or other benefits. These employees are at-will, not covered by the Virginia Personnel Act and are non-exempt for purposes of overtime compensation as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Temps are hired for short-term assignments (typically less than 6 months and cannot be for more than 1500 hours in a fiscal year) for a variety of reasons, the most common being:
- To supplement the workforce to cover seasonal or temporary workload
- To provide interim replacements for vacancies
- To perform short-term projects
If your temp request is to work 40 hours per week and your project is expected to exceed six months, a salaried position should be considered. You may establish an end date on that salaried position if appropriate.
- POSITION APPROVAL
Temp hires are requested through Jobs@UVa and submitted to Approver 2 for SEAS HR review and approval. Requests must include anticipated hours, anticipated end date, the primary duties of the position, and the minimum qualifications for the applicants. These items are very important to clarify expectations, identify the appropriate compensation level and ensure the candidates meet the minimum qualifications. Note: if hiring for positions that have standard minimum qualifications (i.e. a Laboratory and Research Specialist Junior requires a Bachelor’s degree plus one year of experience), you must mirror these minimum qualifications in your temp request.
If the department would like to recruit independently for the temporary vacancy they may create a wage position description in Jobs@UVa and advertise it. All normal hiring procedures for staff positions would have to be adhered to if a wage position is posted. The biggest benefits to the department are saving the temp services fee and competitive selection of the candidate.
If the department has a candidate in mind, they may list the candidate’s name in the request. If the candidate is employed in another assignment by UVA or the Medical Center, the request must be processed via a dual employment form instead of Jobs@UVa.
UVA students should be hired as student wage and are not eligible to be a temp worker.
Temp positions are not in existence to pay employees when budgets do not support full salary plus benefits. Budget should never be the sole reason for hiring a temp.
- PROCEDURE
- When someone wants to initiate a new request in Jobs@ they will need to click on ‘Begin New Action’ and then ‘Start Action’ under Temporary Staff Order Request.
- Change the Type of Application to ‘Temp Application’ and then click ‘Search.’ Then ‘Select Title and Continue’ under the appropriate UVA Job Title and the order form will then appear.
Temp Request Contact Name:
Temp Request Contact E-Mail:
Do you have a candidate identified for hire?
Full name of candidate requested to hire:
Candidate Phone Number:
Candidate E-mail Address:
Was candidate instructed to complete a Temp application in Jobs@?
Building and Room Location of Office/Work:
Who is supervising the Temp Hire?
Supervisor Phone Number:
Supervisor E-Mail:
Hiring Organization (Name and Number):
Requested Start Date of Temp:
Expected End Date of Temp:
Work Hours:
Requested Rate of Pay:
PTAO for Compensation:
PTAO for Background Check
(PTAO’s with grant awards , G or Z, must not be submitted, please):
Once the temp request is in UHR, Temp Services will work directly with the departmental contact to identify a suitable temp. If the department has requested an individual, they will reach out to the person and instruct them on how to apply for the appropriate temp pool. Temp Services charges a fee (currently 10.5%) for the duration of the temp assignment and services included in that fee are recruitment of candidates, screening, reference checking, placement, and maintenance of assignments. Any changes to a temp assignment (termination, labor distribution, change of pay, etc) must be made by temp services.
Departments may choose to advertise a wage position at any time but UHR does not allow a temp to go from a temp assignment to a wage assignment in the same department without a break in service.
The department is responsible for monitoring temp assignments and notifying UHR when a temp assignment should be terminated. Maintenance of temp assignments is essential for reporting requirements, such as the Required Screenings policy.
- RESOURCES
- UVA’s Temp Services
- Becoming a Temp
- Information for Temps
- Managing Short Term Wage Employment Policy