Probation procedure for academic staff
All staff appointed to academic roles at the College shall normally serve a probationary period before being considered for confirmation in post.
DETERMINING THE LENGTH OF ACADEMIC PROBATION
The length of the probationary period for academic staff will be set at the time of appointment and will be determined primarily by the academic level. The length of the probationary period will not be shortened once employment has commenced with the sole exception of promotion to a more senior level whilst still in a probationary period, and in such circumstances, the terms of the probation will have been deemed to have been passed at the point of any promotion coming into effect.
For newly appointed Lecturers, the probation length will be for a period of 2 years. In exceptional cases probation may, at the time of appointment, be reduced, if a case can be made with reference to the skill and experience of the individual, but always with a minimum length of 12 months for those newly appointed to the College. Examples of previous experience that may be considered in exceptional cases for reducing the length of probation would include:
- Previous employment as a lecturer elsewhere. In which case evidence of interim/final probationary reports would be helpful but not essential.
- Previous and continuous employment as a Teaching and Scholarship staff member at Birkbeck. This would be more relevant for appointment on the Teaching and Education academic pathway. If probation in this or any other role at the College has already been completed, no further period of probation will be required.
For those newly appointed at the levels of Senior Lecturer, Reader, or Professor, the probation length will be for a minimum period of 12 months and with an Interim Review undertaken by the Probationary Supervisor prior to the 6 month point or just passed.
For staff whose appointment is for a fixed-term contract that is shorter than the standard probation length for their academic level, the full period of the appointment should be under probationary terms. Prior to the probationer leaving, either the Interim or Final Probationary form should be completed as appropriate to the stage that they would have been considered at had their employment continued. This will be submitted to the Academic Probation Panel for information, and a copy saved to the individual’s personal file. If the person returns to working at the College, probation review would pick up from the point that the probation review had been earlier concluded.
For academic leadership roles where the contractual terms and conditions are covered by those for Professional and Support staff, the probationary period will typically be for a period of 12 months and the probation process to be followed will be that for the Professional and Support staff groups.
For proleptic appointments that begin with employment under the terms and conditions for Research staff and which are then followed by a move to open-ended employment on Academic terms and conditions, for those that begin with a Researcher contract at levels 1, 2 or 3 i.e. Grades 6, 7 and 8, the probation length will be for a period of 2 years, and for those that begin with a Researcher contract at Level 4 i.e. Grade 9, the probationary period will be for 12 months. For appointments on these terms and conditions there will not be an option for probation to be reduced as a result of promotion between levels whilst still working under Researcher terms and conditions of employment.
ACADEMIC PROBATION PROCEDURE
During the probationary period performance will be assessed across the five main areas of:
- Education and Student Experience
- Research and/or Scholarship
- Leadership and Management
- Engagement
- General Performance and Conduct
The inclusion of a formal academic probationary period in a new member of staff’s contract of employment indicates an obligation on the part of Birkbeck to supervise and support properly a staff member’s progress during their probationary period.
During this academic probationary period, the probationer will receive support from a Probationary Adviser, their Head of School or Line Manager (if this is not the same person) and the Executive Dean. For those appointed at the level of Senior Lecturer, Reader or Professor, typically the Head of School (or other line manager as appropriate) will be the designated probationary advisor.
It is the role of the probationer, Head of School (or other line manager as appropriate) and Probationary Adviser to ensure that they are familiar with the academic probation procedures and that they comply with the probation scheme’s requirements.
A link to this procedure will be given to the probationer within their terms and conditions of employment.
The Human Resources Business Partnering Team and the faculty central administrative team, who support this process, are available to provide guidance to the faculty in the implementation of all stages of the Academic Probation Procedure and to provide advice and support throughout the whole process, including the Appeal Procedure.
PROBATIONARY ADVISER
The Head of School is responsible for appointing an experienced academic member of the school to be the probationer’s designated Probationary Adviser for the period of their academic probation.
In the event of the Probationary Adviser leaving the College or being absent on leave for a term or more, a new or temporary Probationary Adviser will be appointed by the Head of School and the probationer notified.
The appointed Probationary Adviser shall provide guidance and support to the probationer as noted in the ‘Role of the Probationary Adviser’ Guidance (see Appendix A).
For those appointed at the level of Lecturer, it is recommended that discussions between the Probationary Adviser and probationer regarding the above points should take place formally at least three times a term during the first year of appointment, every three months thereafter, and informally on a more frequent basis. Summary written records of all meetings should be produced and agreed with the probationer. These should be used to feed into the formal probationary reports. The feedback discussions should highlight areas where the probationer is doing well and areas for improvement along with action plans to address these areas.
For those appointed at the levels of Senior Lecturer, Reader or Professor, discussion meetings should take place at least twice termly. Summary written records of all meetings should be produced and agreed with the probationer. These should be used to feed into the formal probationary reports.
Where areas for improvement have been identified, the Probationary Adviser (with advice from the Head of School (or other line manager as appropriate) should investigate with the probationer how these improvements can be made and develop an appropriate action plan.
If serious concerns related to performance and/or conduct arise, the detail should be made known to the Head of School, who may escalate those concerns to the Executive Dean. Advice from the HR Partner for the faculty area should also be sought. In some cases, and as outlined in later sections, it may be necessary to formally review matters of performance or conduct out-of-cycle of the scheduled Academic Probation Panel meetings. Particular focus should be applied in the first six months of employment within which expectations should be clearly set and support as appropriate be provided.
Where any probationer is impacted by personal circumstances that might impact their ability to perform, the Probation Advisor and/or Head of School should support dialogue to understand all aspects of any additional challenges, and to enable any supportive advice giving or other intervention. By agreement, the detail in respect of any reduction in performance outputs, should be recorded on the reports that are submitted to the Academic Probation Review Panel.
THE ROLE OF THE PROBATIONARY ADVISER
The Probationary Adviser is responsible for:
INDUCTION OF THE PROBATIONER
The Executive Dean is responsible for ensuring that the probationer understands fully their role and the procedures, relationships and other relevant information regarding the faculty and school on taking up their post. The Executive Dean may delegate this responsibility to the Head of School, but in this case, they must ensure that it has been properly discharged.
The Probationary Adviser is responsible for ensuring that the probationer is fully aware of their duties and responsibilities within the faculty and school and that they receive an induction in accordance with University induction procedures.
The Head of School is responsible for allocating duties to the probationer in such a way as to facilitate their successful completion of academic probation. This involves allocating a lighter than average teaching and administrative load, for those appointed at the level of Lecturer, so that the probationer can meet the requirements of their academic probation.
All newly appointed academic staff are required to demonstrate national attainment in learning and teaching through the following routes:
Have fellowship status or higher of Advance HE, or PGCE:HE at the point of being confirmed in post.
At the end of the academic probationary period, confirmation in post will be subject to the College’s Academic Probation Review Panel taking the view that the probationer has met the requirements of the academic probation procedure.
If Advance HE fellowship is not obtained (or PGCE:HE certificate provided) at the time the confirmation in post review takes place, the probationer’s confirmation in post will remain pending. Fellowship status must be completed within 12 months of the probationary end date and submitted to academicprobation@bbk.ac.uk. Once received, the probationer will be formally confirmed in post.
If Advance HE is not received within the required timescales a further report will be required.
If there are concerns over performance or conduct at a sufficiently serious level those matters may need to be considered by the Chair of the Academic Probation Review Panel outside of the annual meeting date.
ACADEMIC PROBATION PANEL MEETINGS
The Academic Probation Review Panel will meet twice a year, typically in April and October. Out of cycle panel meetings will be convened whenever there is need e.g. in the event of serious concerns over performance requiring consideration at the level of the panel.
The Academic Probation Review Panel will consider the documentary evidence supplied for each probationer against the criteria for academic probation to assess progress during and at the completion of the probationary period.
For those appointed at the level of Lecturer, it is expected that a first Interim Report be completed in readiness for the Probation Panel meeting that is closest to the six months point or just passed. A second Interim Report would be prepared in readiness for the Probation Panel meeting that is approximately 12 months after the Probationer’s start date. The potential Confirmation in Post report should be prepared in readiness for the Probation Panel meeting that is approximately two years after the probationer’s start date.
For those appointed at the levels of Senior Lecturer, Reader or Professor, the formal Interim Review should be scheduled prior to the six month service point or just passed, and to ensure the report reaches the Panel meeting within six months of the probationer’s start date. The potential Confirmation in Post report should be prepared in readiness for the Probation Panel meeting that is prior to the probationers having completed 12 months service.
Confirmation in Post reports must include any action plans agreed at the point of Interim Review with evidence of implementation of any agreed actions.
The Academic Probation Review Panel has authority to make decisions on the documentary evidence supplied for each probationer and shall decide the outcome for each individual.
In considering the progress of each probationer, the panel will give their individual circumstances full and fair consideration, and where a note of any ‘personal circumstances’ is recorded, this will be taken into account within any assessment by the panel.
OUTCOMES OF THE PROBATIONARY REVIEW PANEL
INTERIM PROBATION PROGRESS REPORTS
Progress is satisfactory:
The Chair of the panel will write to the probationer (copied to the Head of School, Executive Dean and Probation Adviser) within 10 working days of the panel meeting to confirm that satisfactory progress has been made.
Progress is not satisfactory:
The Chair will write to the probationer (copied to the Head of School or other line manager as appropriate, Executive Dean, and Probationary Adviser) setting out the reasons that their progress is not considered satisfactory against the academic probation criteria. The Chair will request that a meeting be convened with the probationer, their Probationary Adviser, and the Head of School to discuss these issues and to devlop an agreed action plan (with timescales) to facilitate an improvement in their performance against the relevant criteria. This action plan must be agreed by the Executive Dean.
FINAL PROBATION REPORTS
Probationer is confirmed in post:
The Chair of the Panel will write to the probationer (copied to the Head of School or other line manager as appropriate, Executive Dean and Probationary Adviser) within 10 working days of the panel meeting to confirm that they have completed their academic probation period satisfactorily and confirming them in post.
Probationer has not completed probation satisfactorily:
The Chair will write to the probationer (copied to the Head of School or other line manager as appropriate, Executive Dean, Probationary Adviser and the HR Partner) setting out the reasons that their progress is not considered satisfactory against the academic probation criteria, indicating one of two options:
The meeting will be convened with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Knowledge Exchange and Innovation (or other nominee of the Vice-Chancellor), the probationer, and the Head of School. A member of Human Resources Business Partnering Team will be in attendance to provide professional advice and support. The probationer will be given the opportunity to be accompanied at the meeting by a Trade Union Representative, or by a Birkbeck colleague of their choice.
The meeting will adjourn, during which time the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Knowledge Exchange and Innovation (or other nominee of the Vice-Chancellor), Executive Dean and Head of School, will decide as to the appropriate action to take based on the evidence heard from the probationer and will reconvene or follow up in writing within a week to inform the probationer of one of the following outcomes:
- The probationer will be given 12 weeks’ notice of their dismissal due to non-confirmation in post; or
- Academic probation is extended for up to one year (as paragraph a above).
OUT OF CYCLE CONSIDERATIONS OF THE ACADEMIC PROBATION PANEL
In exceptional cases, where concerns over performance or conduct are at a sufficiently serious level that it would not be appropriate for formal review to be held off until the next standing panel meeting, the Chair of the Academic Probation Review Panel, joined by at least one other member of the Panel will convene out of cycle.
In such cases, the Head of School (or other line manager if applies) will initially meet with the probationer to outline the concerns and inform them that the matter(s) will be referred for formal consideration at an Academic Probation Review Meeting.
A meeting will be convened, chaired by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Knowledge Exchange and Innovation (or other nominee of the Vice-Chancellor) as Chair of the Academic Probation Panel, and will include at least one other standing member of the Panel.
The Executive Dean or Head of School (as appropriate) will also attend the meeting to outline the performance and/or conduct concerns. An advisor from the HR Business Partnering team will also attend in the capacity of advisor to the Panel. There will also be a designated minute taker.
The purpose of this meeting will be to assess the nature and seriousness of the concerns raised, to consider any mitigating circumstances and support previously provided, and to give the probationer an opportunity to respond to and discuss the concerns. The Panel will then determine the most appropriate course of action.
The probationer will be given at least five days' notice of the meeting and will be provided with a copy of the relevant documentation in advance. They will also be notified that they have the right to be accompanied at the meeting by a Birkbeck trade union representative or a Birkbeck work colleague. Companions may assist staff in stating the probationer's case but may not answer instead of the probationer.
Following the Academic Probation Review Meeting possible outcomes include:
- No further action
- A detailed performance and/ or conduct improvement plan outlining clear objectives and timescales. A follow up review meeting will be scheduled to assess if performance or conduct improvements have been met
- The probationer is dismissed with their notice period, as appropriate, paid in lieu.
APPEALS
A probationer given notice of dismissal may appeal in writing to the Director of Human Resources within 10 days from the date on the letter sent from the Chair of the Panel.
The Appeal Panel will consist of:
- The Vice-Chancellor as Chair (or nominee if the Vice-Chancellor had chaired the probation panel).
- Two members of the academic staff appointed by the Chair.
No member of an Appeal Panel shall have been previously directly concerned with the case under appeal. A member of the Human Resources Business Partnering Team will be in attendance to provide professional advice and support to the panel.
The Appeal Panel shall hear the appellant (who may, if they wish, be accompanied by a Birkbeck colleague of their choice or a Trade Union representative) and the respondents, i.e., the Chairman of the Panel (or nominee); the panel is free to call relevant witnesses and to see relevant documentation and take other such action as deemed appropriate by the Chairman of the Panel.
It shall be the function of the Appeal Panel to determine whether or not the Academic Probation Review Panel:
- could not reasonably have reached the conclusion in question; and/or
- had taken into account factors that were irrelevant or failed to take account of factors that were relevant.
The appellant will be informed of the decision of the Appeal Panel within 10 days of the panel meeting.
The decision of the Appeal Panel is final and will be reported to the College Governors.