Contingency Staffing Policy¹

The Northern College of Acupuncture recognises that as a teaching institution and for normal business continuity reasons it needs to have contingency plans in place for when staff members are unavailable.

All staff members are encouraged to plan ahead, and warn the College with as much notice as possible of periods of absence.

The lead time when a staff member notifies the College about their absence can vary considerably but can be categorised as:

• Long period of notice (one month or longer). Examples are planned sabbaticals, maternity or paternity leave, resignations
• Short period of notice (one to four weeks). Examples are planned sickness leave (surgical procedures etc) or major life events (bereavement, family problems etc.)
• Emergency situations (less than one week). These occur in circumstances outside the staff member’s control such as adverse weather conditions, sickness or family emergencies.

For long periods of notice, College Policy is to review the staff member’s work and find suitably qualified and trained personnel to replace the staff member who will be unavailable. This may be by:

• Use of temporary casual or contract staff or locums if the absence is short-term;
• Recruitment, for staff members resigning or being unavailable for a long period;
• Redistribution of the work to other existing staff members with the capacity to take it on. This may involve a redistribution of roles and responsibilities.

The rationale is to cover the absence seamlessly, so that the normal running of a course, clinic or administrative function is unaffected.

In short notice or emergency situations, the College will endeavour to preserve the normal running of the College as far as is reasonably practicable. The response to such situations can include:

• substitution of staff (e.g. a suitably qualified tutor who can deliver the same teaching session as originally planned)
• Reorganisation of the syllabus so that it is still delivered but not in the same sequence as originally planned.

Any substitutions or reorganisations will be communicated to affected students and staff via email or telephone and teaching materials will be made available as soon as is practicable via the VLE.

For teaching staff, every effort will be made in advance, at the point when the teaching dates are finalised and final syllabuses are produced, to identify substitutes who are qualified to provide emergency cover for their colleagues.

Similarly, locums will be appointed to cover possible staff absences for areas including the clinics and reception.

For administrative positions, tasks will be left until the staff member’s return, or if urgent will be delegated to the most appropriate staff member who will undertake the work and inform the responsible person of their actions on their return.

Emergency cover for Course Directors

The Student Services Manager/Officer responsible for the course is responsible for monitoring the Course Director’s calendar and communications (especially emails), identifying tasks requiring immediate attention and allocating these to the most appropriate member of the management team or senior tutor.

If a Course Director is off work for more than ten days (or has a planned period of absence beyond normal leave, e.g. for surgery), the Principal, or a representative appointed by the Principal, will call a team meeting (teaching team plus administrators) and allocate tasks. Staff will be paid extra time/overtime for their additional time taken to provide cover.

Emergency cover for Clinic Supervisors

Clinic reception staff are responsible for contacting our appointed and listed clinic locums for emergency cover. Should no locums be available at short notice, cover will be provided by the appropriate member of the management team (currently the Course Director for the nutrition clinic and the Principal for the acupuncture and herbs clinics).

^[1] Policy reviewed by Academic Board May 2021. Next review May 2024.