Casual Academics

UQ acknowledges the contribution of casual academic employees, including the support and guidance they provide students.  The material below is intended to inform casual academic employees of key information relating to their employment with UQ. 

Fortnightly CAHP system log-in needed to review / enter and confirm hours

Casual academics are required to log into the CAHP system from 6.00pm Thursday of pay week until 5.00pm Monday of non-pay week to confirm their hours.

If casual academics do not confirm their hours via the CAHP System, Human Resources will be unable to process their pay in the relevant fortnightly pay period.  The schedule will be available again in the following pay period for staff to confirm or adjust.  Payment will be delayed until staff confirm their hours in the system.  

Please click on the image below to watch a CAHP System demonstration video showing the process for Casual Academics to confirm their hours.

General enquiries

For general enquiries, please contact askhr@uq.edu.au

Work Hours

As a casual academic employee:

  1. your hours of work will vary from week to week, at the sole discretion of the University and otherwise in line with course needs and requirements as identified by you in consultation with the relevant authorised officer for your School, Centre or Organisational Unit 
  2. there is no guarantee or expectation that you will have regular or systematic work or be offered ongoing employment; and
  3. you will only be required to work in accordance with the University’s operational requirements.

The University has reasonable performance standards for all casual academic employees.  As part of those performance standards and the University’s operational requirements, it is expected that casual academic positions will require work of no more than a maximum of 1725 hours per calendar year. The hours casual academic employees may be required to work each week may vary from week to week subject to course requirements and variations in workload such as assignments and assessment marking. 
 
The University has taken care to ascertain and understand workload requirements and has set the expectations of Work Hours in the Casual Academic Hire and Payment (CAHP) system.  Given the seniority and independence of the position, it is expected that casual academic employees will properly and appropriately manage their time and workload during the semester to ensure that they do not exceed these reasonable performance expectations. 

Schedule of Hours 

Throughout the semester casual academic employees will be advised of the set number of hours allocated to them to undertake certain activities. These details are included in the Teaching Activity Schedule, located in the Casual Academic Hire and Payment System (CAHP). Please refer to the Teaching Activity Schedule Guide to understand how to login to the CAHP system and check your Teaching Activity Schedule.  Other activities may be directed by the Supervisor/Course Coordinator or nominated School contact. 

Please note the preferred browser for the CAHP system is Mozilla Firefox.

Casual academic employees may also be provided with guidelines on what tasks they will need to complete and the expected timeframe for completion. It is important that casual academic employees check their Teaching Activity Schedule in the CAHP System and seek clarification if there are any activities allocated to them where they are not sure on the duties. 

Fortnightly CAHP system log-in needed to review / enter and confirm hours

Each fortnight, casual academic employees will receive a reminder email to review their teaching activities, adjust their timesheet (if required) and confirm their hours in the CAHP System

Employees will be able to access the CAHP System from Thursday, 6:00pm (pay weeks) to Monday, 5:00pm (non-pay weeks). Employees will also have the ability to review, adjust, and confirm hours from previous pay periods if they have not yet done so.

If employees have not confirmed their hours via the CAHP System, HR will be unable to process their pay in the relevant fortnightly pay period.

No adjustment required? 

If there are no changes to your Teaching Activity Schedule and it accurately reflects what you worked, you should select the ‘Confirm All’ button. 

Adjustments required?

In the event casual academic employees cannot perform the position within the hours set out above, they are directed to raise this with the relevant authorised officer for their School, Centre or Organisational Unit, and seek their written approval to work any additional hours. Casual academic employees will not be compensated for working any additional hours unless such approval is first obtained and provided to them in writing. Approval will not be unreasonably withheld in circumstances where the casual academic employee can demonstrate why the additional work is required. This will also give the University the opportunity to reallocate workloads as required before additional work is undertaken. 

If you have worked additional pre-approved hours, or you have been unable to undertake work due to an unplanned absence, you will be required to amend your timesheet accordingly. 

If you amend your timesheet to reflect changes in the hours worked, staff in your organisational unit will then receive a notification to promptly approve the adjustment.

Approvals 

It is a requirement for casual academic staff to track their Teaching Activity Schedule against the hours they complete each fortnight.  Where additional hours are approved and undertaken, you must enter a timesheet in the CAHP System for the fortnight that the hours were completed.  

Timesheets are available for editing from Thursday, 6:00pm (pay weeks) of the pay period and must be submitted by 5:00pm on the following Monday (non-pay week). To find out more about pay periods and their dates, refer to the Salary and Pay Deadlines for CAHP Payments.

Please see this helpful guide on how to login to the CAHP System and submit a timesheet.  

Mandatory Training 

All casual academic employees are required to complete the required online mandatory training modules in Workday prior to commencing work. These include:

o    Health, Safety and Wellness Induction 
o    Annual Fire Safety Awareness 
o    Staff Standards of Conduct 
o    Appropriate Workplace Behaviour
o    Casual Academic Employment Course

The 30-minute online Casual Academic Employment course is to provide casual academic employees with the fundamentals about being a casual academic at the University of Queensland.

If you are not scheduled to work in the current semester, please disregard any training Workday Notifications you may receive.

Payment for mandatory training

Payment for completion of the above mandatory training modules completed by casual academics will be administered directly by Human Resources once completion of the course/s has occurred and the quiz/es passed. Staff can expect to receive payment in line with the Casual Academic Pay Timetable once they have successfully confirmed their hours for completion of the above courses in the CAHP system. The mandatory courses will be displayed against the following course codes:

Course NameCourse Code
Health, Safety and Wellness Induction HSWI
Annual Fire Safety AwarenessAFST
Staff Standards of ConductSSOC
Appropriate Workplace Behaviours AWB
Casual Academic Employment CourseCAEC

You will be paid for the estimated time associated for the course.  You therefore do not need to claim payment for completion. 

Please note, any locally mandated training in addition to the five modules identified above will not be included in the HR administered payment process. Casual academic staff are required to enter a timesheet in the Casual Academic Hire and Pay System (CAHP) for other mandatory training completed by selecting ‘mandatory training’ or ‘online mandatory training’. Payment for mandatory training should reflect the time spent to complete the training.  Payment will only be made for those courses that have been identified as mandatory for casual academic staff by the local area.
 
Please refer to the Salary and Pay Deadlines for CAHP Payments 
for pay period information and timesheet submission deadlines.  Please see this helpful guide on how to login to the CAHP System and submit a timesheet.

  

Tutorials 

If casual academic employees are assisting with a scheduled tutorial, they will have set hours shown in their Teaching Activity Schedule in the CAHP system.  If it is their first tutorial they will be scheduled on for a normal tutorial (1 hour of delivery and 2 hours of associated work time). 

If it is your second or subsequent tutorial, they will be scheduled on for a repeat tutorial (1 hour of delivery and 1 hour of associated work time), provided that the tutorial applies to a tutorial in the same subject matter within a period of 7 days. 

Associated Work Time

The relevant School will advise casual academic employees on what is required from during the associated work time as part of the tutorial. This could include preparation for a tutorial e.g attending a lecture (where relevant), reviewing material, reading prescribed texts relevant to the course, marking (under certain circumstances) and student consultation. 

Marking 

If casual academic employees are engaged to undertake marking, they may be scheduled in CAHP for the hours required. The relevant School may provide casual academic employees with a guide around expected hours based on certain volumes of activities e.g. number of assignments to mark. If casual academic employees exceed the hours that the School has allocated as a guide, they should not perform any additional hours, unless they have written approval from the Course Coordinator or nominated School contact to work additional hours. Any approved additional hours should be recorded in the CAHP system via a timesheet.

Other Required Academic Activities 

Other Required Academic Activities include other work required to be performed by a casual academic, as required and directed by the Course Coordinator or nominated School contact. These duties might include, but are not limited to, demonstrations, clinical sessions, development of teaching and subject materials, student consultation, attendance at meetings, induction sessions, training, or any other duties as directed. 

Direction of Duties 

It is important that casual academic employees are clear on the duties and responsibilities required of them in order to undertake the role as a casual academic. These duties need to be clearly defined and scheduled. If you need further clarity, please contact your Course Coordinator or nominated School contact. 

PhD Qualification

If a casual academic employee possess a PhD, they will be entitled to be paid at a higher rate for all the tasks being performed that have a specific pay code associated with holding a PhD. They must submit evidence of their PhD qualification in Workday (Update my Worker Personal Data Guide). 

Payment Rate

Casual academic employees are paid the appropriate hourly/sessional rate for the work/activity undertaken in accordance with, and in any event not less than, the rate set in The University of Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2021-2026 (Enterprise Agreement) or any future agreement that replaces it.  
 
The hourly rate includes payment of the 25% casual loading which is paid in compensation for annual leave, personal/carer’s leave, notice of termination, redundancy benefits and any other full-time or part-time employee entitlements as prescribed by the Enterprise Agreement.
 
The amount paid to casual academic employees on a weekly basis is calculated by dividing the expected Work Hours (set out below) by the number of weeks it is anticipated they will work for the semester.  This assumes that for some weeks casual academic employees will be paid for hours which they did not work.  The amount paid to casual academic employees on a weekly basis will be used by the University to offset the amount owing to them for the Work Hours for the semester.  
 
Where rates of pay exceed those set out in the Enterprise Agreement, these payments can also be used to offset any other entitlements including but not limited to overtime, penalty rates, and allowances as may be varied or increased from time to time. 

Payment Information

A casual academic’s employment may involve more than one position or level/type of work. As such, the salary rate will reflect the relevant activity being undertaken.

Casual academic employees will be expected to view their approved teaching activity schedule online through the Casual Academic Hire and Payment System (CAHP) each fortnight. This schedule will advise casual academics of the activities they are scheduled to undertake for their casual academic appointment and the payment level attached to the activity. The teaching activity schedule will be updated throughout the casual engagement.

Casual academic employees are paid a fortnight in arrears for the hours of work they have confirmed in the CAHP System. They will receive payment for the work they have done (including any adjustments that are approved prior to the deadline) in the fortnight after the work has been performed.  Please refer to the Pay Timetable for further information under ‘Helpful Links’.

The offset is effective over the period of a semester and will allow the University to offset from one payroll period against any other payroll period in a semester period.  For the sake of clarity, a semester period includes any work required to be undertaken outside of the semester teaching weeks and includes any work required to be done during or after examination periods, including marking of semester assessments.   

For further information please refer to the Casual academic staff pay scales.
 

Contacts 

There are a number of teams within the relevant School and HR who are available to assist casual academics throughout their employment. 

The first point of contact will be the School contacts who may have already communicated with you.  If you are wanting to know your main contact within the School please contact the AskHR Team on (07) 3365 2623 or askhr@uq.edu.au   

The AskHR Team is available 9:00am-5:00pm Monday to Friday to answer any questions you may have. The team may need to refer your enquiry to other support teams, such as the CAHP Support Team, HR Client Partnering, or the Wage Compliance Team where applicable. 

If you feel you have raised any wage related enquiries to your local School contact that have not been resolved satisfactorily, you are able to email wage.compliance@uq.edu.au directly and a team member will be in contact with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

QuestionAnswer
How does the Casual Academic Hire and Payment (CAHP) system work? A School allocates casual academic staff to teaching activities to create a schedule through CAHP. Casual academic staff are paid according to a pre-determined schedule of activities. A timesheet is only required if your scheduled activities change. For example, if you were unable to complete a teaching activity or if you completed a teaching activity additional to your schedule.
What is the Teaching Activity Schedule? 

The Teaching Activity Schedule displays all teaching activities assigned to you, the duration of the activity, and what you can expect to be paid. Learn more about the Teaching Activity Schedule on the Systems Training Hub.

My schedule looks wrong/I am not satisfied with my schedule. What should I do? Contact your supervisor to discuss any issues with your schedule. If you are not satisfied with your schedule, you should discuss this with your supervisor or the School Manager. 

I have a clash on my timetable. What should I do? 

Please contact your supervisor to resolve any timetable clashes.

How often should I be logging into the CAHP system to check my Teaching Activity Schedule? 

If a casual academic staff member is scheduled to work during the current semester, they should check their Teaching Activity Schedule in CAHP on a fortnightly basis.  In addition, casual academic staff members are required to log in on a fortnightly basis to confirm their hours. If you do not confirm your hours via the CAHP System, you will NOT be paid in the relevant fortnightly pay period. You will receive an email each fortnight as a reminder. 

I need to work more hours than what has been scheduled.  What should I do? 

Casual academic staff are to raise this with the relevant authorised officer for their School, Centre or Organisational Unit, and seek their written approval to work any additional hours.  This should occur prior to the hours being worked.  Once approved, you are required to submit a timesheet for the additional hours worked.

How do I submit changes to my teaching activity schedule? 

 

If you deviate from your work schedule, you can submit a timesheet to amend your work schedule either for the current pay period’s schedule or a previous pay period’s schedule via the CAHP Timesheets. 

Anytime you would like to review your timesheet and the amount you will be paid for a given fortnight, you can login to the CAHP system. Follow the instructions for viewing your Teaching Activity Schedule

A change has been made to my teaching activities. Why can't I see this change on my Teaching Activity Schedule? 

 

The Teaching Activity Schedule only displays activities that have been approved by the School Manager or delegate. Once the change in the schedule has been approved, it will be displayed on your Teaching Activity Schedule. 

If you have any questions about your Teaching Activity Schedule, contact your supervisor or School Manager.

I think I have been paid incorrectly. What should I do? 

 

The system will pay according to the activities created through the schedule, the timesheet and the lists of associated pay rates. You can use the Teaching Activity Schedule  to see what hours have been paid to you. 

If you are paid an incorrect amount, you can make changes/additions by submitting a CAHP Timesheet. Payment will be corrected in the next pay run after you submit your timesheet. If you have any further questions, contact your supervisor. 

Are the dollar amounts displayed inclusive or exclusive of tax and other deductions? 

The dollar amounts are gross amounts. Any taxes or other pay modifications are still to be applied. 

Can I supervise coursework Masters and Honours projects? 

No, casual academic staff should not undertake supervisory responsibilities.  

Should each mandatory training be completed separately or combined as one block? 

Casual academic staff are encouraged to complete mandatory online training in one block of time wherever possible.  

Should I complete mandatory training if I am not scheduled to work?

No, you should disregard the Workday notification as you will not be required to complete training if you are not scheduled to work. 

How do I know what mandatory training I should complete? 

You can refer to the ‘Required for You’ banner on the Workday Learning app to identify any outstanding training which requires completion. 

Casual academic staff will also receive weekly email reminders directing them to complete the identified modules.

How many hours can I work? 

No more than a maximum of 1725 hours per calendar year. 

My PhD has been conferred. What should I do? 

You will need to submit evidence of your PhD qualification in Workday (Update my Worker Personal Data Guide).

How do I enter mandatory training on my timesheet?  Payment for completion of mandatory training by casual academics will be administered directly by Human Resources once completion of the course/s has occurred and the quiz/es passed.  You will be paid for the estimated time associated for the course/s.  You therefore do not need to claim payment for completion.