Contingent worker management

In order for your Contingent Worker to be paid, they are required to complete their electronic timesheet in the timesheet portal called 3SS. You and your Contingent Worker will both have your own log in details for the 3SS system. Your Contingent Worker will record the hours they work each week into this system. You are required to approve your Contingent Worker’s timesheet(s) in the 3SS Timesheet Portal by 3pm every Tuesday to ensure they get paid on Friday of that week. Late approval will impact your contingent worker being paid on time so perhaps set yourself a calendar reminder so this is not missed!

Here is the link to the 3SS system so you may log in and approve timesheets:

If you do not already have your 3SS ID and password to enable you to approve timesheets this will be sent to you shortly. If you have any queries then please contact the Contingent Recruitment Team via contingentrecruitment@virginmedia.co.uk for further guidance.

If you are out of the office then please ensure you set up a delegate in the 3SS system to approve the timesheet(s) on your behalf – Please note all timesheet approvers must be Virgin Media permanent employees.

It is your responsibility to check that the hours submitted accurately reflect the hours / days worked by your Contingent Worker, including any breakdown of overtime – your approval is taken as confirmation that this is the case.

Overtime is not a standard entitlement and must be added to the assignment before overtime hours can be submitted. Any overtime worked will be presented as a separate line on the timesheet for your approval.

If the timesheet is incorrect then you should reject it, including a comment clarifying the reason for rejection. The Contingent Recruitment Team will then investigate and a revised timesheet will be re-presented for your approval.

It is important that you know that, as part of Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) compliance, if your Contingent Worker hasn’t submitted a timesheet for more than two consecutive weeks they will lose access to all Virgin Media IT systems and their building access.

The Contingent Recruitment Team remind the Contingent Workers weekly to submit their timesheets to avoid this happening but they would also appreciate your support in ensuring your Contingent Worker’s timesheets are submitted on a regular basis to ensure IT and Buildings access is not lost. Perhaps ask your Contingent Worker to set up a calendar reminder also!

I would like to give my Contingent Worker a rate increase – what is the process?

The Pay Rate for your Contingent Worker is set at the beginning of the assignment and agreed between VM and the agency supplier, in line with the VM Global Job Catalogue and Rate Card. You should not seek to change rates of pay, nor enter into direct discussions around pay, with your Contingent Worker. All such discussions should be held directly with your Recruitment Partner.

For further information around the Pay Rate Card please head to the Useful Stuff page.

I would like to give my Contingent Worker an Individual Performance Bonus – what is the process?

Any financial bonus incentives against individual performance targets apply to PAYE and Umbrella Company Contingent Workers where applicable. Payments to Limited Company Contingent Workers are by local agreement only.

At the start of an assignment, you will have been required to provide generic or specific performance objectives to your Contingent Worker, which mirror those in place for permanent employees if applicable. Bonus payments will be made if your Contingent Worker delivers against these agreed objectives. You should notify your Recruitment Partner of the name of the Contingent Worker and amount to be paid, with 5 days’ notice and this will be paid with the Contingent Worker’s normal weekly pay.

Your Contingent Worker is not entitled to team or company performance related bonuses, nor benefits in kind.

The bonus will not be paid if your Contingent Worker resigns or if the contract is ended early due to performance/misconduct concerns and this should be clarified in advance.

If you have any additional queries then please contact the Contingent Recruitment Team via contingentrecruitment@virginmedia.co.uk for further guidance.

All Contingent Worker expenses and travel should be in line with the Virgin Media Travel Entertainment policy.

Expenses:

Any expenses incurred by your Contingent Worker are to be submitted through the 3SS system, must include receipts and must be submitted no later than 30 days after the calendar month in which the expense was incurred.

Expenses incurred by Contingent Workers should NOT be submitted through Oracle as this is only for permanent employees.

Travel:

Contingent Workers should not normally travel on VM’s behalf. Where this is unavoidable the relevant VM company policies should be followed.

For local travel, your Contingent Worker should use their own vehicle and claim their mileage expenses back through their agency supplier using mileage rates agreed in their contract. They must also provide evidence that their insurance covers travel in connection with business.

Contingent Workers must not be issued with corporate credit cards.

If you have any additional queries then please contact the Contingent Recruitment Team via contingentrecruitment@virginmedia.co.uk for further guidance.

If your Contingent Worker is going to be late into work then they will notify both you and their Recruitment Partner by 09:00am or within 30 minutes of their start time.

Your Recruitment Partner will contact you if they are notified first.

If you have received no notification within the timeframe stated above please contact contingentrecruitment@virginmedia.co.uk for further guidance.

Where there is repeated lateness, without a request for a workplace reasonable adjustment to that effect, please refer to the Performance Management section below.

If your Contingent Worker is off work sick then they will notify both you and their Recruitment Partner by 09:00am or within 30 minutes of their start time.

Your Recruitment Partner will contact you if they are notified first.

If you have received no notification within the timeframe stated above please contact contingentrecruitment@virginmedia.co.uk for further guidance.

Your Recruitment Partner will attempt to contact any Contingent Workers not arriving into work, who have not advised as to the reason why they are absent.

What if my Contingent Worker has an extended period of sickness?

If sickness exceeds 5 working days, and you have a concern, speak to your Recruitment Partner for further guidance.

What if my Contingent Worker has repeated instances of sickness?

If there are 3 or more periods of sickness, and you have a concern, speak to your Recruitment Partner for further guidance.

Do not request any evidence relating to sickness absence –Your Recruitment Partner will administer this where appropriate.

If you are required to complete a Return to Work document use the version provided by your Recruitment Partner and NOT the standard Virgin Media one and ensure that you use the correct terminology, i.e. agency worker and NOT employee. For guidance, speak to your Recruitment Partner.

If there are concerns around your Contingent Worker’s behaviour or performance, these should be discussed with your Recruitment Partner as soon as these concerns arise. All concerns must be documented so discussions can then be had to agree on appropriate actions. You must not have any direct conversations with your Contingent Worker around performance to mitigate co-employment risk. As a guide:

• Contingent Worker performance reviews and plans can be used, however these should NOT be VM branded.
• Performance should only be reviewed against the role the Contingent Worker was contracted to fulfil; any significant change of role or responsibilities should be discussed in advance with your Recruitment Partner and appropriate actions agreed.
• Ensure any specific events of poor performance are logged and dated.
• Use of personal mobile phones is by local agreement and should not be permitted during working hours where department guidelines prohibit this.

If you have any additional queries then please contact the Contingent Recruitment Team via contingentrecruitment@virginmedia.co.uk for further guidance.

What is a Workplace Reasonable Adjustment?

A Workplace Reasonable Adjustment is to make sure workers with disabilities, or physical or mental health conditions, aren’t substantially disadvantaged when doing their jobs.

This applies to all workers, including trainees, apprentices, Contingent Workers and business partners.

If your Contingent Worker makes a request to you for a workplace reasonable adjustment, please notify the Contingent Recruitment Team of the request as soon as possible, providing your view of the accuracy and appropriateness of the request.

This is not an exhaustive list, but here are some topics to be aware of, which might lead to a request for workplace reasonable adjustment:

• Health concerns
• Injury
• Disability
• Special needs
• Maternity
• Caring for dependents

Check out the VM Workplace Adjustment Guide here https://jive.aa.liberty.biz/docs/DOC-133867

Remember:

• Do act quickly and make a note of the details and date of the request.
• Don’t ignore the request or provide a direct answer to your Contingent Worker.
• Do refer your Contingent Worker to the Contingent Recruitment Team for further support.
• Don’t forget – your Contingent Worker does not need to disclose any of the above to you, but if they do, notify the Contingent Recruitment Team straight away.

If you have any additional queries then please contact the Contingent Recruitment Team via

contingentrecruitment@virginmedia.co.uk for further guidance.

The holiday year runs from January 1st to December 31st – days may not be carried over into the next year.

Your Contingent Worker should give you a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice for any holiday requested. Any exceptions to this are at your discretion but punctuality of any holiday pay entitlement may be affected.

All holiday requests are subject to your approval – this is usually an email confirmation, it is not submitted into any system.

Once you have approved the holiday, your Contingent Worker must then notify their agency supplier by email.

For Contingent Workers engaged on a PAYE engagement:

Where sufficient holiday entitlement has been accrued the Contingent Worker will be paid for their holiday time. Holiday pay, where applicable, is managed by the agency supplier of the Contingent Worker – holiday pay is not submitted or approved on timesheets. Days unworked are usually presented as zero hours on the timesheet – you should still approve this in the 3SS system if it is shown correctly.

Where approved holiday time exceeds accrued holiday entitlement it can still be taken but would be unpaid.

Where applicable, any holiday pay accrued but not taken, will be paid at the end of the year (or end of assignment, if earlier).

For Contingent Workers engaged via a Limited Company / Umbrella Company engagement:

Holiday entitlement is included in the standard rate for this type of Contingent Worker engagement and therefore any holiday time taken is unpaid.

Your Contingent Worker can schedule unrestricted holiday leave but again, this is subject to your approval.

How are Bank Holidays managed?

Entitlement is the same as for standard holiday – sufficient working time must be accrued. Bank Holidays should be submitted as zero hours on the timesheet unless actually worked, in which case they would be billed at an overtime rate.

If you have any additional queries then please contact the Contingent Recruitment Team via

contingentrecruitment@virginmedia.co.uk for further guidance.

If your Contingent Worker informs you that they are pregnant you must inform the Contingent Recruitment Team as soon as possible and ensure that they have also informed their agency supplier representative.

Virgin Media will be required to conduct a Maternity Risk assessment with the Contingent Worker and your Recruitment Partner will work with you to coordinate this.

Your Contingent Worker will be paid Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) subject to eligibility – this will be administered and paid by their agency supplier. They must give their agency supplier at least 28 days’ notice of the date they want their Statutory Maternity Pay to start. They should provide medical evidence with the due date of their baby to their agency supplier as soon as possible.

This will be in the format of a Maternity Certificate (MATB1 form) which will be provided by their doctor or midwife generally at their first antenatal appointment after their 21st week of pregnancy.

If your Contingent Worker does not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay then their agency supplier will advise them of this and explain to them why they do not qualify, which will be in the format of a SMP1 form. Any original paperwork such as the MATB1 will be returned with this form.

Important Note:

All contingent workers are entitled to time off and payment for any appointments they need to attend relating to their pregnancy, regardless of whether they qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay or not. For this payment to be processed, they must contact their agency supplier to inform them of the appointment. You should not see this time on their timesheet.

For a paternity request you must inform the Contingent Recruitment Team as soon as possible of the request and ensure that your Contingent Worker has also informed their agency supplier representative.

There are set criteria that specify whether a Contingent Worker is eligible for Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay, which will need to be confirmed with their agency supplier.

Your Contingent Worker must inform their agency supplier when they want to take their leave at least 28 days before the baby’s due date. They can choose when to take the leave; it can start on any day of the week on, or following the child’s birth, and they must complete their leave within eight weeks of the actual date of birth (or eight weeks after the expected date of birth if the baby is born early). They may take either one week or two consecutive weeks, but not odd days.

If you have any additional queries then please contact the Contingent Recruitment Team via

contingentrecruitment@virginmedia.co.uk for further guidance.

You will receive an email from the Contingent Recruitment Team 8 weeks’ prior to the end of the assignment to ask if your Contingent Worker is likely to be extended or if they will finish. Please let the Contingent Recruitment Team know whether you will be seeking further approval to extend or whether this assignment is likely to end on the designated date. This will ensure that your workflow continues without interruption if the Contingent Worker is extended, or gives the Contingent Worker sufficient notice to find an alternative role if they are coming to an end.

If you are in T&I, and would like to extend your Contingent Worker, then you will need to request the extension via the Topaz / SARC system to obtain the necessary approvals to extend. Please be mindful of the timelines involved with this approval process to ensure minimum disruption to your Contingent Worker’s time at Virgin Media and get your request in early.

Please note that the maximum allowed contract service time is 6 months, with the possibility of extension leading to a maximum of 12 months. After 12 months the reason for hire should be reconsidered and a new external labour request should be submitted, as per the Liberty Global External Labour Policy.

If you have any additional queries then please contact the Contingent Recruitment Team via

contingentrecruitment@virginmedia.co.uk for further guidance.

If your Contingent Worker moves department/division, and as a consequence will be billed against a different set of cost centres/project codes, it is vital that you inform the Contingent Recruitment Team immediately so they can make the necessary changes to the billing information prior to them moving. For these changes to be actioned please email your request to virginmediavp@hays.com

Your Contingent Worker may attend training courses in the following categories:

• VM System Specific Training (computer and paper). Business requirements may indicate that your Contingent Worker receives training in new techniques or software used at VM to enable them to do their work to the required standard.
• Health and Safety Training – relating to Site rules, regulatory practice and ways of working.

Your Contingent Worker may not attend VM funded training courses designed for the purposes of self-development. This is to mitigate any co-employment risk to VM.

If you have any additional queries then please contact the Contingent Recruitment Team via

contingentrecruitment@virginmedia.co.uk for further guidance.

Seasonal events:

If Virgin Media is paying (or subsidising payment) for a team /departmental / full company event, e.g. a Christmas party, then your Contingent Worker is not automatically entitled to attend. There is nothing restricting their attendance; however neither Virgin Media, nor their supplying agency, is obliged to pay for their attendance and therefore if the Contingent Worker does attend they would need to pay for themselves.

Roadshows / Town Halls / Divisional Meetings:

Your Contingent Worker should only attend dependent upon the content and itinerary for the meeting. As guidance, if the subject matter is confidential, company-sensitive or inclusive of resource-impacting announcements then it would be best practice not to invite non-Virgin Media employees. For general team /division /business updates attendance should not be an issue.

Payment for Attendance Time:

As a guide, non-mandated events are generally unpaid (unless locally agreed), whilst mandated events, deemed necessary for the contract role, are usually paid.

If you have any additional queries then please contact the Contingent Recruitment Team via

contingentrecruitment@virginmedia.co.uk for further guidance.