Useful stuff
You will find below the most frequently asked questions received around contingent worker hiring, and the answers! If you have a question that is not answered below then please contact the Contingent Recruitment team on contingentrecruitment@virginmedia.co.uk for further guidance.
Rate card
I’ve heard about the Contingent Worker Pay Rate Card – what is this?
Launched in November 2017,the contingent worker Pay Rate Card provides the governance around the pay rates for all the contingent worker job titles hired for at VM and it is used to ensure that all contingent worker pay rates align with external contingent employment market conditions. For each job title there is a Pay Rate cap assigned in accordance to the medior skill level required for that role.
The contingent recruitment team manages the master Pay Rate Card and it is benchmarked on a six monthly basis. Representatives from the VM People Team and VM Procurement will conduct this periodical benchmarking and approve any adjustments to the Pay Rate Card. Benchmark data for the six monthly reviews will be gathered from our brand channels, our Second Tier Supply Chain and external neutral supplier sources.
Does the Pay Rate Card cover all contingent workers?
The Pay Rate Card is used only for contingent workers engaged into the business via the Hays managed service provider delivery model and their associated 2nd Tier supplying agencies.
In addition, the Pay Rate Card is used only for daily rate paid contingent workers. Hourly paid PAYE workers’ pay rates are already established by a comparison process with the permanent equivalent salaries and this process is governed under the AWR (Agency Workers Regulations) legislation.
The Pay Rate Card does not cover any external IT partners, predominantly sitting in T&I, for outcome based delivery / managed services and business process outsourcing, which have a different set of commercial drivers and cost control measures associated.
Is the Contingent Worker Pay Rate Card 100% accurate and how often will it be reviewed?
The Pay Rate Card has been developed using a wide range of insights on a job title basis and is reviewed and benchmarked every 6 months. There may be nuances/niches requirements within specific roles which impact pay rates and therefore adjustments to the pay rate cap may be required and these will be made by exception, on a case by case basis, where supported by a recommendation from the Contingent Recruitment Team.
How can I access the Contingent Worker Pay Rate Card?
The Contingent Recruitment Team maintains the centralised master Pay Rate Card. As pay rates can be commercially sensitive, the Pay Rate Card will not be an internally circulated document. Pay rate guidance and Pay Rate cap information for a specific new request is available from the Contingent Recruitment Team for those people involved in requesting and approving Contingent Labour (Hiring Managers, Cost Centre Managers, People Business Partners and Finance Business Partners). Please contact the Contingent Recruitment Team on contingentrecuitment@virginmedia.co.uk for any information relating to pay rates.
Isn’t the Pay Rate Card cap limiting the level of Contingent Worker skill and experience that we can bring into VM via the Contingent Recruitment Team?
No, that isn’t the intention. The Pay Rate Card determines an upper pay rate cap for a Medior skill level for each job title. In the event that a senior skill level resource is required, this just requires approval at the outset from both your People Business Partner and Finance Business Partner. If approved, then a senior level skill resource will be sourced within the senior pay rate cap appropriate for the role.
Does the Pay Rate Card cap mean that all new daily paid Contingent Workers, with the same job title, will be paid the same pay rate?
No, the Pay Rate Card cap is an upper limit and not a definitive ‘set’ pay rate. The Contingent Recruitment Team will always aim to source and negotiate with candidates for pay rates lower than the Pay Rate Cap set for the role, wherever possible, and depending upon the skill level/experience requirements of the role. The Contingent Recruitment Team will support your recruitment to accommodate any particular budget constraints and ensure that they find the right calibre of candidate for you, at the right rate.
Who approves any adjustments or exceptions to the Contingent Recruitment Team Pay Rate Card Structure?
VM People and VM Procurement will approve any new roles to be added to the Pay Rate Card and also any exceptions, where there is a particularly niche skill requirement for example that commands a higher pay rate. The Contingent Recruitment Team will have access to up to date market insights when reviewing each individual vacancy requirement and so exceptions will only be made where absolutely necessary, in order to ensure VM are aligned with market rates. If it is assessed that the Pay Rate Card caps are correct and market aligned, then any request to offer a Contingent Worker a higher pay rate than the Pay Rate Card cap structure will require People Business Partner and Finance Business Partner approval and you’ll need to provide a business justification to support your request.
How do I know what day rate to submit in my Contingent Resource Request process?
You should contact your Recruitment Partner to discuss the pay rate for your role BEFORE submitting a Contingent Worker request for approval internally, in order to ensure that the pay rate is accurate for the specific requirements of the request. Your Recruitment Partner will then advise you on the total charge rate for your resource request submission (this will include pay rate and any Supplier/Contingent Recruitment Team managed service charges).
What if I think the Pay Rate cap set for a role title is too low because the role I’m looking to fill has a specific niche skillset required?
You should discuss this with your Recruitment Partner, who will be able to advise you on the current market pay rates. If the role is niche, and it is determined that the Contingent Recruitment Team will not be able to source candidates within the current pay rate cap, then they will provide insight based recommendations to the VM People team and VM Procurement to increase the rate card cap for your specific vacancy. Your Recruitment Partner will then confirm back to you if any adjustment to the Pay Rate Card is approved, as an exception.
I’ve got my budget approved already and I have funding in place to pay a rate higher than the Pay Rate Card cap, so can I offer a higher pay rate provided that it is within my overall budget?
The Pay Rate Card is an additional financial control to ensure that Virgin Media are sourcing resource at the right market rate and that we are not exposed to higher than necessary costs. If you want to offer at a higher pay rate than the Pay Rate Card cap, then you will be asked to obtain approval from your People Business Partner and Finance Business Partner. You will need to provide a business justification to support the request for their consideration.
If the Contingent Recruitment Team has notified me of the pay rate but then aren’t able to source candidates within the Pay Rate cap, what will happen?
If market rates have increased due to market forces e.g. high demand for a particular skillset, and the Contingent Recruitment Team are unable to attract sufficient quality candidates within the current Pay Rate cap, then they will notify the VM People team and VM Procurement and provide recommendations (using external market pay rate insights) for an adjustment to the pay rate cap and for an exception to be made. This typically shouldn’t take longer than a day or two to approve. Once the increase in pay rate cap increase is approved, they will notify you and check with you that the increased rate is within the budgeted financial approval that you have for the role. If it is, then they will revisit the candidate pool and put forward suitable candidates that are within the revised pay rate cap. If you need to request additional financial approval, then they will place the role on hold, until you have confirmation of increased financial budget in place.
I want to ask the Contingent Recruitment Team to offer my existing Contingent Worker a pay rate increase. Can I do this provided I have the necessary budget in place?
As a hiring manager, you should carefully consider why a pay rate increase would be necessary and whether it is in line with the market conditions. Remember the nature of Contingent Labour is already at a higher cost to VM, in comparison with a permanent role, and you shouldn’t be allowing criticality to develop and drive a higher than market norm pay rate increase.
You should discuss the justification for a rate increase with your People Business Partner and Finance Business Partner. If they support the recommendation to increase the pay rate, then discuss with the Contingent Recruitment Team too, as they will have external market insight on pay rates. The Contingent Recruitment Team will then be responsible for managing the pay rate discussion with the Contingent Worker.
New suppliers
What if I want to work with a new supplier for Contingent Labour?
The Hays Managed Service Provider delivery model is the agreed primary source of Contingent Labour hiring for Virgin Media. Sitting within this model is a network of approved secondary suppliers, whose legislative and contractual requirements have been reviewed and agreed to. The Contingent Recruitment Team reviews their second tier supply chain on a six monthly basis. If you are looking to engage a new supplier within the second tier then you should discuss your requirement with the Contingent Recruitment Team and, if deemed necessary to access required skills gaps, then they will manage the selection and engagement of any new suppliers on behalf of VM.
You must not engage, or sign any contractual terms with, any recruitment agencies outside of the Contingent Recruitment Team process.
Policies
Is there a governing policy around Contingent Labour within Virgin Media?
Yes, Liberty Global has developed global best practice guidelines and policy principles to govern the use of Contingent labour. See link to the :
Recruitment support
How do I decide the best resource option to hire to deliver the workload in my business area?
Your People Business Partner will be able to support with advice on resourcing strategy for your business area and your Finance Business Partner can support with providing costs for typical salary and fixed benefits for permanent and contract/secondment roles to help you make a decision on the most cost effective and suitable option.
My Cost Centre Manager says that we have restrictions on the permanent FTE headcount that we can hire so I have to use Contingent Labour for the long term, even though I know that this costs the company more. What should I do?
You should advise your Cost Centre Manager to discuss this with both their People Business Partner and Finance Business Partner together to agree the most appropriate and cost effective route to engage.
What information will my Contingent Recruitment Partner need from me in order to source candidates for my Contingent Worker requirement?
When raising the request for your Contingent Resource, you should provide your Recruitment Partner with the VM Global Job Catalogue role that most closely fits your requirement.
The Pay Rate Card is structured using VM Global Job Catalogue business titles, so it is important that you select the relevant correct VM Global Job Catalogue business title for your Contingent Worker role. You should include on your resource request whether you require a Medior skill level or Senior skillset.
Your People Business Partner and Finance Business Partner will need to approve use of senior skill level roles, as we shouldn’t by default always source at the most senior skill level. You should also provide your Recruitment Partner with a detailed job description, outlining any specific required skills and experience for the role. This will allow your Recruitment Partner to align your role correctly to the Pay Rate Card cap structure and, over time, build an appropriate job description library for the roles that they recruit for you.
In the event you can’t find a VM Global Job Catalogue business title that matches your requirement, please speak to your People Business Partner for guidance. Once your resource request has been approved, your Recruitment Partner will contact you to take a briefing to ensure they source candidates in line with your specific requirements and leverage any pay rate negotiations with candidates.
I recruit the same Contingent Worker roles frequently; can’t I just submit my Contingent Worker resourcing request using the same pay rate I paid the last time I hired for the role?
Pay rates within the Contingent Worker market move frequently, so it is important to obtain the most up to date pay rates from your Recruitment Partner. Any niche skills required may impact the pay rate so you should always check with your Recruitment Partner before submitting your request.
I have identified a candidate and want to offer them the role and confirm the pay rate what are the next steps?
All candidate offers are to be made by the Contingent Recruitment Team to your identified candidates. It is best practice to avoid entering into any direct conversation with your identified candidate, with regards to pay rate, as this could be determined as a risk to VM in terms of breaching Co-Employment Legislation. The Contingent Recruitment Team are also informed with the current market benchmarking for your role and are best advised to negotiate the best possible rate in line with current market conditions. All you need to do is to supply the candidate’s CV to your Recruitment Partner, along with the detailed job description, who will then pick up the conversation directly with the candidate.
Approving vacancies
Who approves hiring requests for new Contingent Labour?
Each division has their own Contingent Labour approval process, however in all cases; approval is required from Cost Centre Manager, the People Business Partner and the Finance Business Partner.
The current approval process only allows me to engage a Contingent Worker for 3 months. If I know that I’m going to need a Contingent Worker for longer, then how do I get this approved?
If your Cost Centre Manager and People Business Partner both agree that alternative resourcing options are not suitable, then you should submit your request for approval for a new Contingent Worker through your divisional approval process and ensure that the request includes the realistic period of time that you require the person for and the supporting business justification. It is better to provide this information at the outset, so that the Contingent Recruitment Team can effectively negotiate pay rates with candidates. The Liberty Global External Labour Policy sets out guidelines around recommended maximum length of tenure for daily paid Contingent Workers.
Tenure governance
Typically contractors are hired for 6 months or less to support on a specific project. If your contractor need extends beyond 6 months, have you considered alternatives to hire – FTC / Perm – to ensure the most cost effective resourcing method? No contractors should be extended beyond a 2 year maximum.
Temp to permanent
If I can convert the work of a long term Contingent Worker to a permanent or fixed term contract role, can I offer the job to the Contingent Worker doing that job now?
No, you must not do this. You must follow the normal permanent recruitment vacancy approval, recruitment advertising and permanent recruitment processes in all cases. If the Contingent Worker chooses to apply for the vacancy, they will be subject to the same selection processes as all other applicants. If the Contingent Worker is successful in their application, and made an offer of permanent employment, then don’t forget to inform the Contingent Recruitment Team so that they can close down their Contingent Worker engagement.
Expenses
What if I want expenses included in the Contingent Worker pay rate?
For transparency purposes, expenses must be excluded from pay rate. If any pre-approved expenses are incurred then the Contingent Worker should submit the claim through their supplying agency expense claims process.
