Buyout #
The default is that academic staff will have a full teaching load. However, in practise many staff have only a fractional or, in some cases, zero wieghting due to some form of buyout. Buyouts come in many forms. These are:
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New staff ramp: The load of new appointees is ramped-up over their first three years to permit them time to initiate their research programmes and to undertake the relevant University teaching qualifications (currently the PGCLTHE). In year one they have a 0.33 weighting; in year 2 a weighting of 0.67; and in the third year a full load.
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Funded buyout: This is most commonly associated with research grants, where funds for replacement in teaching activities are awarded to a member of staff. {\bf The total amount of buyout depends on the level of funding, and this buyout will not be awarded without the department receiving those funds.} It is possible, with the agreement of the DoE and/or Head of Department (HoD), for this buyout to be spread over multiple members of staff. The funds received then go to pay for teaching support (usually in the form of teaching track staff and/or teaching fellows).
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Research leave: The University permits staff to take up to one term out of seven as research leave, with this accruing over time to a maximum of a full year owed. Staff may apply for this leave on an annual basis, with decisions on this leave being taken on the basis of the strength of the case for research leave being made by the member of staff, and the total amount of leave the department deems acceptable given the staff resource available for teaching in the following year(s).
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University buyout: Where departmental staff are appointed to positions outside the department, the University will excuse them from some fraction of their departmental commitments. The department should receive compensation from the University for this loss of staff effort.
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Departmental management: A recent innovation is that we now provide buyout rather than credit for the main departmental management posts. The posts, and their buyout, are
| Role | buyout |
|---|---|
| Head of Department | 1.0 |
| Director of Education | 0.5 |
| Director of Research | 0.4 |
| Director of Equality, Diversity & Inclusivity | 0.4 |
| Director of Facilities | 0.3 |
| Director of Postgraduate Studies | 0.15 |
| REF impact case studies leader | 0.2 |
| Head of Astronomy(*) | 0.2 |
| Director of CEA(*) | 0.2 |
| Director of ICC(*) | 0.2 |
| Head of Advanced Instrumentation | 0.3 |
| Head of Quantum Light and Matter | 0.3 |
| Head of Condensed Matter Physics | 0.3 |
| Head of Elementary Particle Theory | 0.3 |
(* it is expected that the Head of Astronomy will also be either Director of ICC or CEA.)
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Part-time appointments: We have some staff whose time is split between two departments, and others who have chosen to work on a part-time basis. In each case their teaching workload is proportional to the fraction of time they are working for the department.
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Planned or unplanned leave: We have historically dealt with planned leave (notably parental leave) and unplanned leave (usually compassionate leave for illness or bereavement) on an ad-hoc basis, with in particular cover in many shorter absences arranged by the staff member themselves (often as swaps or favours), and little transfer of credit to other staff. This process should be formalised for longer absences (greater than one week) such that teaching buyout is awarded in proportion to the time missed, and that staff on leave are not penalised with a heavy negative carry-over where they are unable to fulfil their duties. Similarly, the staff that cover them should receive credit.
Process #
The intention is that each year the HoD will publish a list of accepted buyout at or soon after Easter for the academic year starting the following October. The HoD makes the decisions on all cases, and any requests received after this list is published may be held over to the subsequent academic year to minimise disruption in the planning of teaching duties.