Frequently asked questions

Employment

Sessional employees are staff engaged by the hour and paid on an hourly basis.

All sessional academic staff will receive a Letter of Offer from the University. If you work across multiple Schools and or locations you will receive a Letter of Offer for each. Letters of Offer are generally offered at the start of the year and are valid for the entire year to ensure continuity of your Information Systems access such as UON email, Blackboard and Library services. Hours of work are allocated by the School and you will be provided Timetable information accordingly.

University staff are paid every second Thursday. Most academic staff will receive their payslip in HRonline. This includes both full and part time, ongoing and contract staff, and sessional/casual staff who have accepted the terms and conditions of computing access.

Payslips will be mailed to your postal address if: you are sessional/casual and did not accept the terms and conditions of computing access; you take leave for more than three months; you leave the University, they will be mailed to your postal address

To make sure you are paid on time, you will need to submit your timesheets before the cut off dates each fortnight.

To claim hours for payment you will need to submit timesheets through HROnline, access instructions here

All timesheets must be referred on for approval (usually the School Executive Officer or nominated Appointment Coordinator for casual academics)

Staff will be notified by email about when payment summaries are available to be downloaded from HRonline. Sessional academic staff and those who have left employment will receive their hardcopy summary via post.

Pays are processed on a fortnightly basis, with official pay day being Thursday of pay week.

Ongoing and fixed term staff members are automatically paid and are not required to submit timesheets.  However, any absences should be accounted for by submitting a leave request.

Overtime must be pre-approved by your supervisor before you work the overtime hours.  Overtime is to be claimed in HRonline via the non-casual overtime claim form through the Pay Menu.  Claims need to be submitted and approved by 4pm the prior Friday to pay week.

Your supervisor can request a change to your work hours, days or work pattern through an Employment variation form.  For further information, please contact your HR Client Advisor.

Sessional/casual academics and professional casual staff must complete timesheets in order to be paid.  Timesheets are completed in HRonline. For HRonline help, please click here.

Pay cycle and HRonline cut off dates - submission of online timesheets for 2023.

Pay cycle and HRonline cut off dates - submission of online timesheets for 2024.

Changing your bank details

If you need to change your net pay banking details, you can modify them by logging into HRonline through My Pay, Bank details.  For help, please click here.

In addition, you can add bank deductions for a nominated fixed amount.

Rates of pay

The rates of pay vary depending on your staff classification.

Salary increases are determined through enterprise bargaining and reflected in our enterprise agreements.

Allowances

There are circumstances where you may be entitled to an allowance for the tasks or role you perform. Please consult your enterprise agreement for more information.

Payslips

Payslips are available to all current staff members of the University.  They are available on pay day, which is Thursday of pay week.

To access and download your payslips, please log into HRonline via the My Pay menu, through Payslip History.

If you leave the University, your final payslip will be emailed to your personal email address.

Requests for documentation

Requests for documentation (such as Statement of Service, payslip copies, letters to banks, Employment Separation Certificates, copies of payment summaries prior to 2019 etc.) should be requested via an email to payrollservices@newcastle.edu.au.

Please allow at least 5 working days for these requests to be actioned.

Pay related enquires

For any payroll related enquiries, please contact the team at payrollservices@newcastle.edu.au or the HR Helpdesk (option 1)

For any superannuation enquires or assistance, please contact the team at superannuation@newcastle.edu.au or the HR Helpdesk (option 7)

As there are a range of leave options depending on your needs and employment type please refer to Leave pages on our website for all leave-related questions.

On each contract the end date is written and all timesheets must be submitted prior to this end date.

IT access is only given until the contract expiry date. If access is needed past this date then an affiliate user form may be needed. This is subject to approval based on individual requirements.

Once the contract is renewed all IT access will be reinstated for the new period.

Please refer to the HROnline FAQs for further information.

UON offers attractive superannuation arrangements for staff. Our UON approved superannuation provider is UniSuper Limited. As the University's Enterprise Agreements specify that contributions are made to UniSuper, Choice of Fund is not available to staff employed under these Agreements.

Additional voluntary contributions can also be made either pre or post tax. Salary packaging is available to all staff in accordance with the Salary Packaging Policy (PDF, 136KB).

UniSuper provides an on-campus consultant to help with information and general advice about UniSuper membership and their range of products. If you’d like to book an appointment with Andrew Syarief from UniSuper, all you have to do is access the UniSuper online booking system. For more information please contact Andrew Syarief on 0427 303 578 orAndrew.syarief@unisuper.com.au

Staff will be notified by email about when payment summaries are available to be downloaded from HRonline. Sessional academic staff and those who have left employment will receive their hardcopy summary via post.

Technology

Your University ID card is your staff card while at the University. This card gives you access to the library and if you apply for approval, is used as your electronic access card to restricted rooms and spaces.

All staff, including conjoint staff, need to get an ID card and carry it with you when on campus or at a University of Newcastle  facility. You can carry your card in your bag or wallet or if you need it frequently you can request a lanyard when your card is created.

How to get a staff ID card

Bring photo ID such as a driver's licence or passport and your staff number to one of the locations below. If you do not have photo ID you will need to bring 100 points of identification (PDF, 25KB).

Cards will be created at the time of your visit however, please be aware that the student Hub experience peak student periods like Orientation or Exam weeks.

Please ensure that you arrive at least half an hour prior to the offices closing to get a staff card printed.

Locations

Newcastle campus (Callaghan)

Newcastle City precinct

Central Coast campus (Ourimbah)

Other locations (Port Macquarie, Sydney CBD, Orange, Singapore etc)

Please complete a staff ID request form (PDF, 79KB).

IT and computing services support first-rate information technology facilities, networks and services for teaching, learning, research and administration activities.

HROnline for human resources and employment information.

Maximo is used for a range of facilities management requests.

17TripleZero Service Portal is used for logging all IT request.

For teaching technology:

The University's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is a collection of technologies used to provide online learning spaces, deliver online content and activities and facilitate online communication and collaboration to support teaching and learning at the University, including:

CanvasPanopto, Turnitin, University Academic Integrity Model (AIM)

LDTI provide resources to help with classroom technology.  The LDTI team can also provide advice or assistance with moving your course materials and activities into a partial or fully online environment.

IT support provide technical help for teaching technologies in the classroom.

When you start at UoN you are allocated a six digit staff number in our HR and Payroll system. This will be included in the letter sent to you before you start. Your manager or supervisor can give you your staff number on your first day, if you don't have the letter.

You use this staff number to create your unique Uni-ID and password, which are your key to accessing our computers and online systems.

Follow the steps below:

  1. Open the Activate User Account form.
    Activate your account form
  2. Enter your Staff Number (i.e 312345) and fill out the corresponding questions including creating a password for this account
  3. Read the Conditions of Use Policy and click the 'I Accept' button if you agree to these conditions.
  4. Click Submit once you have successfully completed the Captcha test.
  • In the event you can't remember your password, and want to reset it, you can do so anytime, anywhere by using the NUaccess Reset Forgotten Password utility. To register for this service, click HERE.

IMPORTANT NOTE: University of Newcastle students should click HERE to access the NUaccess Reset Forgotten Password utility for students. Affiliates should contact the Service Desk for assistance.

The library offers many services including library classes, computers, study spaces, research guides and borrowing.

Teaching

Enhancing the student experience and student satisfaction through addressing issues raised in student feedback is a key strategic objective for the University of Newcastle. The Strategy, Planning and Performance (SPP) team administers the Course Experience Survey (CES) to gather student perceptions of their experiences in individual courses. This includes onshore and offshore semester, trimester and seasonal (Summer/Winter) courses. Ongoing feedback from students on their course experiences helps highlight what is being done well and further areas for focus.

The CES replaces the Student Feedback on Courses (SFC) and Student Feedback on Teaching (SFT) surveys used prior to 2020. In the CES, students are asked about the course generally, then are prompted to select any teachers in the course that they would like to provide feedback specifically. For each teacher they select, students complete a series of questions comprising the teacher feedback.

RESOURCES:

Course Experience Booklet for Staff

How to increasing Response Rates

CES Promotion Slide Pack