Update on 13 May 2024: The link to the authorised signatory form has changed. The new link can be found below.

SEED Authorised Signatory approval is requested via this form. You may need to log into MS Office 365 first using your UoM credentials / 2-factor authentication.

This form is only for approval for budgets housed in the School of Environment, Education and Development. If your request relates to a budget held elsewhere, you will need to contact administrators in that School/Faculty/Directorate.

Information about common payment types and forms can be found below.

Time is needed from claims/requests for expenditure being submitted via the online portal to:

1. Batch 10 submissions for review by a member of the School Office team [managed according to a weekly rota]  
2. Once checked, submissions are allocated [in batches of 10] to SEED authorised signatory approvers for review/approval, flagging anything particularly urgent
3. Receive authorised signatory approval [authorised signatory approvers are given 3 working days to respond]
4. Allocate to a School Office team member to send out the confirmation of approvals [within 3 working days if possible, more quickly if payroll deadline is imminent].

For submissions where there are no queries or missing information we need 2 weeks from the date of submission for authorised signatory approval/s to be gained and for confirmation/s to be sent out.

For credit card requests, in addition to the time needed to gain the necessary approval/s, time should be factored in to make the purchase and to allow for delivery of goods. Purchases can also be dependent on card capacity for new purchases; if necessary the RBS Credit Card team must be contacted for approval to increase a credit card limit before a purchase can be made.

We advise that for fee and expense claims to be processed and then submitted to Fees and Expenses for payment in time to meet monthly payroll deadlines, that these claims should be uploaded for SEED authorised signatory approval 3 weeks in advance of the next payroll deadline. Payroll deadlines can be accessed here:  https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=50280.

Please note that turnaround times can be impacted by factors such as whether we have a full complement of staff in the School Office and/or authorised signatory teams and by other pressing priorities. We try to expedite urgent cases on an exceptional basis where possible, but we cannot unfortunately always guarantee that we can do this.

SEED School Office will reject and require resubmission for any approval requests that are:

• Missing required attachments (e.g. Card payment request form, receipts, New Starter Checklist)
  • You must attach the traditional Word/Excel form for approval. See below for details about which attachments / forms are required for different payment routes.
  • Please note that you will not be able to attach more than 10 attachments, files larger than 10MB, or copies of email message files. Please print any emails as PDF / Word copies and attach these instead.
• Missing required information / attachments not completed correctly
  
  • All budgets beginning with P or R must be quoted with a "task code". Please see below for more information about task codes.
  • Any claims for payment for work completed must state the dates when the work took place (e.g. May 2023 - June 2023, 18 May 2023 - 23 June 2023).
  • Any claims for reimbursement of expenses must state when the activity took place. (e.g. Conference for Topic, London 4-7 June 2023)
• Missing correct budget holder approval
  • Budget holder approval can be provided through an e-signature, or by attaching a copy of an email from the budget holder where they state their approval for the expenditure. Please note that you can only attach PDF / Word copies of emails.
  • Please visit http://app.manchester.ac.uk/authsigs/default.aspx to check who is the designated "budget holder" for any University of Manchester budget.
  • Budget holder approval from Louise Gorton can be arranged by emailing the SEED Research Support Office: FHum.PostAward@manchester.ac.uk. They will return the document to you with evidence of budget holder approval. You will then need to resubmit your document for authorised signatory approval using the online form linked in the section above.
• Charged to a budget not held by SEED
  • SEED School Office cannot arrange authorised signatory approvals for budgets held outside of SEED. Please visit http://app.manchester.ac.uk/authsigs/default.aspx to check the designated "budget holder" and "authorised signatories" for any University of Manchester budget.
• Fee and/or expense claims submitted too early
  • We are unable to process fee claims before all work mentioned has been completed, and expense claims before the activity the expenses relate to has occured. For example, a conference registration fee or other travel expenses cannot be reimbursed until after the conference or travel have taken place.

Budget Codes / Task Codes

Activity (AA) / Project (P) / Research (R) codes are also sometimes called ‘Cost Centres’. Typically in the form AA12345 or R123456.

Codes beginning with P or R should be accompanied by a ‘task code’, in the form A01, B0102, etc. Most P or R codes will have multiple task codes, splitting the budget into different areas of expenditure. Task codes are set up individually for each P or R code. These task codes are used for financial reporting, so it is important that you use the correct task code for any expenditure.

If you are unsure of your budget code (or task codes):

• For any externally funded research budgets (budgets beginning with R) please contact HumanitiesResearchFinance@manchester.ac.uk.
• For all other school budget codes (including task codes associated with budgets beginning with P) please contact seedandsossfinance@manchester.ac.uk.
• For budgets outside SEED contact finance.helpdesk@manchester.ac.uk.

IE codes

Income and Expenditure (IE) codes are 4 digits (e.g. 1000, 4130, etc.) and relate to the type of goods/services being paid for.

NB. 'Fees' here refer to expenditure that is paid directly to someone for work they have performed for The University of Manchester. 'Expenses' refers to the reimbursement of business expenses incurred while working for/studying at The University of Manchester.

For example if someone pays a 'conference fee' to attend a conference, they should claim this as an *EXPENSE*, not a *FEE*.  Payroll will withhold appropriate tax on all *FEE* payments, so it's important to get this distinction right.

All expense claims should be submitted in a timely manner and generally within no more than three months of the activity taking place (or by the June deadline for the current year, whichever is sooner). All claims should contain receipts.

The SEED School Office deadline for submitting PR5/PR7 expense claims within the 2024-25 academic year is Thursday, 19 June 2025. Only claims which have occurred between this date and the end of July 2025 will be allowed to be accrued after this point.

Fees/expenses are processed centrally by P&OD (Central Payroll), not by the School Office or the SEED Finance Office.

• Information about contacting P&OD’s Payroll Team

Payroll's cut-off date for fees/expenses to be processed is usually the 10th of every month (or the previous working day if the 10th falls on a weekend or bank holiday). The deadline is substantially earlier in July (usually late June) and December (usually late November). Claims received after this date will be paid the following month. Expenses can take up to 6 weeks to show in your bank account. Bank Holidays may disrupt these dates slightly.

Please note that this deadline refers to when documents are received by the Payroll Office, not when you submit your Staff Expense claim for approvals via MyView, or any forms via the Authorised Signatory Approval request online form.

To allow for all necessary approvals, the School Office recommends you submit all claims as soon as possible, aiming for the last week of the month to be paid at the end of the following month (e.g. submitted to School Office at the end of February to be paid at the end of March.)

July and December have earlier payroll deadlines. Please submit any claims to the School Office / MyView by the 2nd Thursday in June (for payment at end of July) or the 2nd Thursday in November (for payment in December).

Incomplete or incorrectly completed forms (including missing the budget holder approval) will delay payment.

• P&OD’s Payroll deadlines for 2024

• PR5 – Staff Fee Form (Staff Expense claims should be submitted online via MyView)
• PR7 – Non-Staff Fee and/or Expenses Form

PR5 forms should only be used by claimants who are currently on University payroll, as a PR5 does not include space to provide claimant bank details.

• UoM students are not on University payroll unless they have another contracted post for which they receive regular monthly salary payments.
• Teaching Assistants cannot submit PR5 fee claims - they must be set up as casual workers (see below).
• Honorary post holders will also not be on University payroll, even if they have been offered external teaching (eg. Dissertation supervision or marking). They should submit PR7 feee and/or expense claims.
• Payroll does not keep records from past PR7 fee claims. If someone has recently claimed via a PR7, they probably should claim via another PR7 (unless they have taken up contracted employment with UoM).

Please note that the University of Manchester will withhold tax from fee payments made via PR5/PR7 forms and pass this on to HMRC.

• If you submit a PR7, please also complete an HMRC New Starter Checklist - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/paye-starter-checklist - so your fee is taxed the correct amount.
• If you submit a PR7 for expenses with more than 3 receipts, please complete and submit an index for your receipts. This will also provide IE codes for your expenses.
  https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=57310

Both PR5s and PR7s should be submitted via the SEED authorised signatory online form linked under the 1st section on this page.

• A PR5 only requires authorised signatory approval on the form itself. However, we also require some evidence that the budget holder approves the expenditure. This can be a PDF copy of an email showing their approval.
  
• A PR7 also requires budget holder approver, which should be arranged before you request authorised signatory approval. See above under "Budget Codes / Activity Codes / Cost Centres / Task Codes / IE Codes".
  

Before beginning the casual appointment process:

Those on Tier 4 visas, or with any other form of visa that restricts their right to work in the UK, must be set up as a casual worker before starting their work. They cannot be paid via PR7 forms.

Casual setup should not be used as an interim solution when substantive staff contracts are delayed. This is not an appropriate solution in terms of status, contractual service, benefits etc, but also causes problems with their IT and further delays to them being paid their substantive salary.

Only people who are based in the UK, who have the right to work in the UK, can be set up as casual workers.

Casual appointments must be set up in advance of work commencing. Please follow the process below, allowing sufficient time before you need the casual member of staff to start work (approx. 6-8 weeks). You must not submit forms retrospectively for work already carried out.

Please ensure that your budget is within SEED. The SEED School Office cannot arrange casual appointments to be charged to budgets held outside of SEED. This can be checked here.

Any casual appointment requests, either fully or partially research funded or linked to your Personal Research Support allocation [PRSA] must first be sent to the Research Support Office [RSO] for budget review via FHum.PostAward@manchester.ac.uk. RSO will confirm that funding is in place to cover your appointment/s, including add-on costs.

**IMPORTANT: Any persons working prior to instigating a Right to Work check with P&OD or with hiring managers/school administrators will not be paid.**

How to request setup of a casual appointment

Approval

1. The appointing manager completes a CAS1 form. The form can be accessed here. Please include the anticipated total hours of work and total spend, including "on-costs" and holiday pay (see below).
2. Any casual appointment request which is fully or partially research funded, or linked to your Personal Research Support allocation [PRSA] must be sent to the Research Support Office [RSO] for budget review via FHum.PostAward@manchester.ac.uk. RSO will confirm that funding is in place to cover your appointment/s, including add-on costs.
3. The appointing manager uploads the CAS1 form, a job description and a contact email for the casual appointee via the SEED authorised signatory online form.

Determining the hourly rate

Research Assistants are normally paid at the bottom of Grade 5. Research Associates (i.e. has a PhD / higher level research work) are normally paid at the bottom of Grade 6.

If the casual post you have in mind is not a "research assistant"/"research associate", contact Martin Banks (SEED's P&OD Partner) to discuss where it should fall on the UoM Casual Payscale before submitting your CAS 1 form.

Please note that these hourly rates will include income tax and employee’s NI, but will not include employer’s NI contributions and other oncosts or holiday pay. Only the Research Support Office can provide a full costing for posts. As a rule of thumb for budgeting, you can assume that the actual cost to your budget is 125-130% the hourly rate paid to a casual.

Appointment

1. Once approved, the School office will send the approved CAS1 form to P&OD to request setting up the post.
2. You will receive another email the requesting additional paperwork from the Appointing Manager and Casual Worker. This is required to complete the set up. 
3. To submit these documents, please complete the SEED Casual appointment process form. This must be done prior to starting work or the employee will not be set up on the payment system by People & OD and cannot be paid.

Documents required

• CAS2 – completed by the Casual and signed by appointing manager*
• CAS3 - completed by the Casual
• Starter Checklist (GOV.UK) – completed by the new appointee OR a P45*
• Acknowledged copy of Appointment Letter (downloadable template which should be customised for each casual worker)– issued to the new appointee
• Copy of Passport
• PDF print from Share code RTW verification via Home Office website (only applicable to EU and other Passport holders and BRP card holders)
• Right to work check (if completed by the appointing manager)^

The CAS2, CAS3, and an Appointment Letter template can be downloaded from People and OD.

* If the appointee has a current Teaching Assistant or casual post we only require the CAS2 and Starter Checklist/P45. If the casual employee is already ‘live’ on the Casual system or holds a current Teaching Assistant role, they do not need to re-submit a CAS3 (unless payment details have changed).

^ RTW Checks must take place in person. People & OD can carry out these checks at the Simon building 2nd floor reception from 9:00am – 4:00pm Monday to Friday. An appointing manager can also carry out these manual checks by following the guidance on Staff net.

**IMPORTANT: Any persons working prior to instigating a Right to Work check with P&OD or with hiring managers/school administrators will not be paid.**

The casual employee must submit all the signed documentation, passport and proof of eligibility to work to the School Office via the SEED Casual appointment process form.

Post Appointment

How casuals are paid

1. The casual worker submits CAS4 forms, one form per week, noting their hours worked, to their appointing manager.
2. The appointing manager signs the CAS4 forms to confirm the hours worked, and sends the CAS 4 forms to the School Office.
3. The School Office will notify P&OD of the hours worked, which will be processed by Payroll.

NB: We recommend CAS 4 forms are sent to the School Office in monthly batches in the last week of the month, to be processed in time for payment at the end of the following month. E.g. CAS 4 forms submitted in the last week of September should be processed in time for end of October payroll. July and December have early payroll deadlines and so CAS4 forms should be submitted by the middle of the month before.

Access the CAS 4 form.

How to extend a Casual post

IMPORTANT: Casual staff must not work past the date of expiry of their casual appointment contract. If timesheets are submitted containing any dates that are outside of the contracted dates of employment, the School Office team cannot submit them for payment.

1. If you wish to extend someone’s post prior to their end date, you will need to update the CAS1 form with the new end date.
2. Submit the updated CAS1 via the authorised signatory approval form once more, along with updated budget holder approval. Please ensure that the Post number is included on the CAS1.
3. A member of the school office will send this CAS1 form to P&OD to extend the post.
4. Once confirmed by P&OD you will receive a copy of the confirmation and the casual can continue to work until their new post end date.

Further information

• SEED Guidance on appointing casual workers
• Links to all People directorate forms (including CAS1, CAS2, CAS3 and CAS4).
• All UoM Payscales
• Contacting P&OD about Casual appointments (including troubleshooting common issues).

Allocations for 2025/26

• Staff with 0.7 FTE or more are allocated: £1650
• Staff with less than 0.7 FTE are allocated: £1650 pro rata, but will be able to request top-up funding from their Head of Department
• If staff leave or join the university during the financial year the allowance is pro rata’d.

Eligible staff are Lecturers, Senior Lectures, Readers, Professors, Senior Tutors, Teaching Fellows and School-funded Research Associates and Fellows.  Staff not eligible are those in receipt of other research funds, for example, Presidential Fellows, externally funded research staff and professional tutors on externally funded doctorate programmes. 

Deadlines

Funds must be spent by 31 July 2026. They cannot be carried over into next year, or used to pay for events/orders that occur after July 2026, nor can retrospective claims for expenses incurred in previous academic years be submitted.

Due to approval / payment processing times, staff are strongly encouraged to claim for / make arrangements for expenditure as soon as possible and well in advance of the expenditure deadline.

Fee and expense claims charged to your 25/26 PRSA must be submitted to the School Office by 5pm on Thursday, 18 June 2026. Claims submitted after this date may be charged to the PRSA in the following academic year.

Casual workers to be paid from your PRSA must be set up (via a CAS 1 form) by 29 May 2026, with all work completed by 31 July 2026. Timesheets for casual work to be paid from your 25/26 allowance must be received by the School Office by 5pm on Thursday, 18 June 2026. Timesheets submitted after this date may be charged to the PRSA in the following academic year.

The purpose of the allowance

For those on Teaching and Research contracts it will normally imply research activity, for those on Teaching and Scholarship contracts it will normally imply activity such as pedagogic research and research for research led teaching and/or student experience. 

Eligible and non-eligible costs are listed in the policy (downloadable below). This is a university agreed list, against which Schools will be audited.

Downloads

• SEED Personal Research and Scholarship Allowance Policy (Word document)

Staff Expense Claims are submitted online via MyView. SLT pre-approval is no longer required as of 17 September 2021.

Your claim must be approved by both your line manager and the budget holder(s) within 7 calendar days, or MyView will auto-reject it. Therefore, we also recommend checking who MyView thinks is your line manager (click on the org chart icon next to your name) and emailing them directly to remind them to authorise your claim.

Suppliers should not paid by an individual staff member and reclaimed as expenses. See further guidance provided by People and OD. Guidance about other suitable payment methods can be found elsewhere on this guidance page.

University travel policy requires all travel/accommodation to be booked via Key Travel. Staff expense claims submitted via MyView in these categories will be rejected.

MyView is only available to individuals with substantive staff posts, while they are employed. If you cannot access MyView but need to submit an expense claim, submit a PR7 non-Staff expense claim (see above on this page for more information).

• More details about MyView (including a login link) and the University's Expenses policy.
• MyView Expense FAQ (including how to edit an claim or check on its progress)

View the non-catalogue purchase page.

I need to pay someone by invoice

• Check your supplier is an active University supplier by emailing procurementhub@manchester.ac.uk. Procurement can provide a list of active University suppliers by category (e.g. printers, graphic designers). 

Some academic societies are registered suppliers and can be invoiced, e.g. Royal Geographical Society, Development Studies Association and the British Psychological Society.

Blackwells UK is the University's preferred supplier for academic books.

Deltec Courier and Deltec International Courier Limited are the University's preferred supplier for courier deliveries.

• SEED academic staff complete this form to request a purchase order (PO). If your request relates to Student Experience Funding, please do not use this form; contact seed.hub@manchester.ac.uk or apply directly via the SEF Application form. Professional Services staff will have local requisitioners in their team that can assist.

My supplier is a registered University supplier

• In advance of any activity, your supplier provides you with a quote specifying the full cost of your order, including any delivery charges (they may do this via a proforma invoice).
• School Operations raise a requisition, which is sent to the budget holder for approval. Once approved, Procurement issues a PO to the supplier, requisitioner, the individual who completed the online request form and any additional email addresses provided when completing the request form.
• If your request is not submitted via our online request form, Procurement sends the PO to the supplier directly; if the supplier cannot be emailed, they will send it to the requisitioner. In this case, you will be asked to send the PO to your supplier, requesting them to submit an invoice quoting the PO number which is addressed to:
  
  The University of Manchester 
  Accounts Payable, G.025 
  John Owens Building, Oxford Road 
  Manchester, M13 9PL 
  United Kingdom
  
  Your supplier must submit their invoice by email to supplier.invoices@manchester.ac.uk.

My supplier is not a registered University supplier

Follow the guidance notes on supplier set up. Employment status queries should be referred to SEED’s  People Partner. 

To set up a new supplier, or reactivate a dormant one, fill out the Supplier set-up /reactivation form. Please send completed forms and supporting documentation to suppliersetup@manchester.ac.uk.

One-off payments

Suppliers that have never been paid by the University can be paid once only via a One-Off Payment Form, used to issue payment by direct bank transfer after a supplier has invoiced the University.

• Contact ap-helpdesk@manchester.ac.uk to check if a supplier has been paid before.
• One-Off Payment Forms can be downloaded from StaffNet.
• OOP forms require authorised signatory approval. Submit the completed form and a copy of the invoice via the SEED authorised signatory online form linked under section 1 on this page. 
• One-Off Payment Forms should only be used if you are confident that this supplier will not be used again. Do not use these forms to speed up payments by bypassing supplier set-up.  

Important information

For goods or services that exceed £5,000 (excluding VAT) three competitive quotations must be obtained prior to placing a purchase order, unless your order from a registered University supplier or you require a sole source supplier (provides unique products/services that you can only obtain through this supplier). For the latter, please provide this justification when requesting your requisition.

The University will not pay invoices that are not matched to a purchase order, or which are addressed to individuals without mentioning 'The University of Manchester'.  

The University’s payment terms are within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice (quoting a legitimate University purchase order number).

If your supplier requires you to pay for goods or services prior to receipt you can request this by using the Request for Payment in Advance of Goods/Service form.

If a supplier has requested an early payment of an invoice from the University’s standard terms of 30 days, you need to complete the Request for Early Payment of Supplier Invoice form.

If you request payment in advance of goods/services or early payment of a supplier invoice, you must first request a PO, so that the PO number can be included on the request form. These forms require SEED authorised signatory approval; once completed please upload your form, with a copy of the supplier invoice, via the SEED authorised signatory online portal.     

To arrange for the University of Manchester to invoice a supplier, follow the process here.

Sales invoices are issued by Central Finance. For assistance, contact the School Finance Office seedandsossfinance@manchester.ac.uk.

To host a workshop/conference at UoM where participants are required to pay a fee, you must (1) request a CA account code to be set up and then (2) an e-store so the participants can pay by creditcard and the income can be received onto that code.

To request a CA account code:

1. Email a complete costing for your conference to SEED and SOSS Finance seedandsossfinance@manchester.ac.uk.
2. Authorisation will then be sought from the Head of School. The Head of School will review/approve, and can also approve a waiver of overhead charges if appropriate.
3. If approved by the Head of School, SEED and SOSS Finance will request that Central Finance create a CA code.

Once a CA code has been created, you will need to need request an e-store. Please allow up to two weeks for your store to be built. 

If you require the funds to be paid into another University of Manchester budget code instead, the School Finance team will be able to arrange a journal transfer once the conference has taken place. Funds should stay on the CA code until this time, in case any refunds need to be issued.

Guidance and Forms:

• E-store guidance: https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/news/display/?id=14741
• University Conference Guidance for organisers: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=31366

Requests for external teaching expenditure, including guest lectures and dissertation supervision/marking, should be submitted via the external teaching surveys and not via the authorised signatory survey.

Information about rates of payment and other necessary details can be found on the request forms linked below.

Process

• Staff complete the request form – before the teaching takes place. We also recommend that you discuss the request with your discipline approver first, to iron out any concerns.
• Survey automatically sends discipline approver an approval request.
  • If rejected, you’ll be notified immediately and can discuss further.
  • If approved, the School Office will be notified and will contact the external, cc: the requesting staff member with details of the fully approved external teaching engagement – including the fee amount and instructions on how to claim.

Request forms

• Guest Lectures: Maximum of 1-3 two hour sessions per person per module.
• External Course Unit/Lecturing/Marking: Any other external teaching requests, besides PGT dissertation related tasks.
• For PGT dissertation supervision / marking, contact your discipline approver or SEEDSchoolOffice@manchester.ac.uk.

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs, or TAs) provide teaching support including conducting independent tutorials, seminar or workshop sessions, studio or laboratory-based work, marking of undergraduate coursework and exams, and supporting undergraduate or postgraduate fieldwork.  

Staff requests for Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Support, and for individuals to join the SEED TA Pool, must be submitted via the SEED TA Support and SEED TA Pool surveys.  

TA Training 

• SEED and Faculty TA training must be completed once before someone will be allocated teaching assistance work. Training does not need to be retaken annually. 

• After someone completes TA training, they will be eligible to teach from the next semester, if they are admitted to the TA pool. For example, completing TA training in Semester 1 will mean potential eligibility in Semester 2. 

• If someone has not yet completed TA training, they can apply to the TA pool (see below) to be contacted when the next training sessions are scheduled.  

How to join the SEED TA Pool 

• Anyone interested in teaching as a TA must apply to the TA pool once each academic year using the SEED TA pool application form. If someone has worked as a TA in a previous year, they will need to apply again. 

• Once someone applies to the TA pool, their TA training records will be checked and their primary supervisor/line manager (if relevant) will be notified automatically through email / Teams and asked to support or reject the application within 14 days. 

• All TA work will be allocated to current PGR students in the first instance. Post Doctoral Researchers and other PhD graduates may also apply to the TA pool. They are still required to have completed TA training. 

• A successful application to the TA pool for that year does not guarantee that TA work will be allocated. 

• Please contact SEED TA Support via seedteachingassistants@manchester.ac.uk if you have any questions about joining the TA pool the approval process. 

How to Request TA Support 

• All SEED teaching assistance must be requested through the SEED TA Support Request Form.   

• Applications will be considered 'in the round' following deadlines set in advance for each semester. Late requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 

• Individual Course Coordinators must SHOULD NOT indicate a guarantee promise TA of TA work to individuals directly. You may discuss possible allocations with individuals to gauge interest, but you must submit an online request and wait for the relevant department approvals. Failure to follow the school process will cause substantial delays in payment to TAs.

• TAs and Course Coordinators will be notified once allocations have been finalised. 

Adjustments/Reductions  

• The total number of hours allocated to each TA for each course unit will be stored centrally by PS staff. Adjustments can be made should the work requirement change, extend beyond that what was agreed i.e. as a result due to higher student numbers. In all cases, this requires would need to be approved by the department TA Coordinator before any additional hours are worked undertaken. 

• Approved changes must be reported to SEED TA Support by the TA Co-ordinator. 

• The maximum number of hours a full time PGR TA can work in any academic year is 180 hours; and this includes marking, fieldwork attendance, preparation etc. (Part-time PGR students are not affected, restricted, however consideration and approval of any hours exceeding 180 hours will be dealt with on an individual basis and in consultation with supervisors). 

• Amendments / adjustments that result in additional pay will appear under a separate heading in the TA’s payslip. This will include additional hours on a new module if the work is confirmed after a TA contract has been issued for that semester.  

Useful contacts

Department TA Coordinators  

As a Teaching Assistant, the Course Convener of the unit you are working on should be your first point of contact for queries relating to the nature and expectations of the role you have been allocated.

As a Teaching Assistant, your Mentor is there to enhance your teaching skills and your overall professional development. We recommend that TAs meet with their mentors at least once a year. These meetings are designed to assist you in developing your teaching abilities and are aligned with the Faculty TA policy. 

As a Teaching Assistant, your Departmental TA Coordinator should be your first point of contact for any queries relating to the hours you have been allocated.

As a Teaching Assistant, your Departmental TA Representative should be your first point of contact if you have feedback around how the Teaching Assistant experience is going well or how it could be improved.

As a Teaching Assistant, People and Organisational Development should be your first point of contact if you have questions about your contract.

As a Course Convener your Department TA Coordinator should be your first point of contact for queries relating to TA's allocated (and number of hours allocated), issues or concerns with TA's, additional TA support,

If either Teaching Assistants or Course Convenors have feedback on the training and development for TAs, or feedback on the TA processes in SEED more generally, you should contact the SEED Associate Director for Teaching Assistants.

SEED TA Support

For general queries, please contact SEED TA Support.  

Directorate of People and Organisational Development [P&OD] - people.teachingassistants@manchester.ac.uk  The University’s DPP&OD and payroll departments handle all processes after your TA appointment email has been issued. Please contact, so they should be contacted P&OD with any queries relating to documents, payments, tax, and national insurance. 

If you need to be added to Blackboard, Campus Solutions or timetabling please contact seed.programmes@manchester.ac.uk.

Links to Useful Guidance

• TA handbook 
• TA FAQs
  
• Quick Guide to completing
• TA Support Request Form 

Approval requirements for travel

In line with the University’s commitment to sustainable travel, all travel must be justified.

Some travel may require pre-approval of risk assessments before your travel can be booked.

We advise planning your travel with as much notice as possible. See the link to 'Travel' in the side menu for more information.

Troubleshooting common problems with Key Travel's website

• Budget code or activity code not recognised

Type your budget code or activity code (e.g. AA12345/R123456) in letter by letter until the budget appears as a drop-down option.

If you have a task code (e.g. A01), this needs to be added in a separate box that will appear after selecting your budget from the drop-down menu.

• No low cost carrier flights found

To book with a low cost carriers (e.g. Ryanair, EasyJet, etc), search for one-way flights.

Most will not appear if you search for return flights.

• Flights approved but you are notified that your booking 'cannot be booked'/'Itinerary no longer available'
  

Instead of re-booking through the website, email uom@keytravel.com with the trip ID number and full finance details (e.g. budget code + task code plus the budget holder's name and contact email).

Check the budget holder's name.

Booking travel

Following University policy, all travel/accommodation must be booked using Key Travel, but there are a few exceptions to this rule.

It is University policy for all 4*/5* hotel booking requests to be made at the Hyatt Regency Hotel directly through the AMBS administration team at AMBS hotel bookings

If Key Travel is unable to book your flights/accommodation or meet your requirements, then you must request HoS/HoSO pre-approval to book outside Key Travel before booking any travel.

• Submit your request using the SEED Budget Holder Approval process (see details above on this page). Choose 'Booking outside of Key Travel'. You must provide evidence that Key Travel cannot provide your travel. You can provide an estimate of your travel costs if the exact costs are not yet known. Please also submit a credit card expenditure form or one-off payment form if more appropriate regarding cost at the same time as well as evidence of budget holder approval. This can be in the form of an email screenshot.
• If approved, School Office will email a copy of the pre-approval to you. You will need to attach a copy of that approval to any payment/claim process, e.g. staff expense claim, purchase order, credit card request form etc. Details about all other payment processes can be found elsewhere on this page.
• The University's travel insurance provides insurance cover for travellers who are travelling on university business or undertaking an activity overseas that the University is responsible for, subject to the terms and conditions of the policy. If the University is responsible for the activity, then it should also be risk assessed and approved by the School. If the criteria apply then the travellers will be automatically covered by the University's travel insurance [except if staying in unregulated accommodation, for example: a friend's house or AirBnB, see below].

Price Matching Flights

Key Travel have a price matching policy whereby if you have found the same airfare cheaper, under certain conditions they will price match, meaning you do not have to seek approval to book outside Key Travel. In these instances, please read the information about flights.

Should you need to enact this, please email uom@keytravel.com with the requisite information detailed in the Key Travel Price Match Promise.

AirBnb

The University does not encourage the use of Airbnb type accommodation whilst travelling on university business. Therefore, the University's travel insurance policy does not cover any claims that are directly related to a travellers accomodation if the accommodation is unregulated Airbnb type, private rental, hostel, friends houses etc. 

Please note that university credit card payments cannot be made to AirBnB, even if you receive approval to book outside Key Travel.

If you receive approval to book AirBnB, you may reclaim the cost by submitting a staff expense claim after your travel.

Staff expense claims for travel/accommodation via MyView will be rejected as outside university policy unless evidence of HoSO pre-approval is attached to your expense claim.

Please note that university credit card payments cannot be made to AirBnB, even if you receive approval to book outside Key Travel.

If you receive approval to book AirBnB, you may reclaim the cost by submitting a staff expense claim after your travel.

Staff expense claims for travel/accommodation via MyView will be rejected as outside University policy unless evidence of HoS/HoSO pre-approval is attached to your expense claim.

Guidelines for Booking Outside of Key Travel

If it is necessary to make a booking outside of Key Travel, please refer to the guidance below to ensure that the appropriate documentation is provided to the SEED School Operations team when submitting via the SEED Authorised Signatory approval form (linked in 1st section above). For current PGR students only, please use this different form.

For further details, please consult the following link: Appropriate evidence for booking outside of Key Travel and how it should be presented

• University Travel Policy
• University Finance's Travel expenses information page

Catering should be ordered through Hospitality on Campus, helping to support our University’s financial position but also ensuring food is delivered in a safe and sustainable way, in keeping with our sustainability goals and Fairtrade pledges. We ask that bookings for over 50 people are made with 10 working days’ notice and smaller events with one week’s notice. The team is working at maximum capacity and these time frames are essential so we can plan and deliver your catering without over-stretching the catering teams.

To order, please contact:

• Hospitality on Campus Tel: 0161 275 6301 Email: hospitality@manchester.ac.uk

Should Hospitality on Campus not be able to fulfil your booking, we have a number of suppliers set up on Oracle who have been approved by our Health and Safety team for use on campus.  Please only use the suppliers named below to ensure food hygiene and safety standards are adhered to:

• Impact
• Kro
• Benugo
• I knead Pizza

SEED Teaching rooms that are not already booked for timetabled teaching can be booked via Resource Booker (link: https://resourcebooker.manchester.ac.uk/) or by emailing seed@manchester.ac.uk. This includes the glass-walled meeting rooms in the Arthur Lewis Building.

The University also has a number of dedicated meeting spaces/venues across campus such as Manchester Meeting Place, Barnes Wallis Building, Core Technology Facility and Whitworth Building. Contact the University Conferences and Venues team conference@manchester.ac.uk to discuss your requirements.

• Please note that meeting rooms at the Hyatt should not be booked unless there are no suitable campus facilities unavailable.
• If the event cannot be delivered on campus the booker will be directed to the Key Travel events team who will find a suitable venue in Manchester. 
• University credit cards must not be used to book hotel rooms, meeting space or events in Manchester city centre.

Dinners on campus are well received by guests and as a team we are proud to support these events and showcase our venues, offering great, local produce prepared by our in-house chefs.  The minimum numbers for on campus dinners is 25.  Should you wish to hold a smaller dinner event, minimum numbers of 25 people will be charged.

If you would rather hold a small dinner off campus, the following restaurants (some with private dining facilities) are set up on Oracle and can be used in this instance:

• Tattu
• Gusto Italian
• Little Yang Sing
• RNCM
• Zouk
• Benugo
• Brewdog
• Old Abbey Tap
• Kro

To book or discuss planning a dinner, please contact the Conference and Venues team:

• Contact Conference & Venues Tel: 0161 306 4100  Email:conference@manchester.ac.uk

If you are planning a social event, in addition to seeking budget holder approval for any expenditure, please ensure you have: completed the social activities risk assessment, and checked the event adheres to the current COVID-19 Government guidelines.

• Further advice

Risk assessment queries should be sent to SEEDestates@manchester.ac.uk.

These include:

• PR3A: Foreign Currency Claim Form (Before Travel)
• PR3B: Foreign Currency Claim Form (After Travel)
• PR19A: Sterling Advance Claim Form - Cash Passport (Before Travel)
• PR19B: Sterling Advance Claim Form - Cash Passport (After Travel)

Cash Passports are issued loaded onto a physical payment card, which you must collect from People and OD Services. You must apply for cash passport/currency advances at least 21 days before you need the card to be issued to you.

Please note:

• Every PR19A must be followed by a later PR19B.
• A PR19A must be submitted for SEED SLT approval before funds requested can be loaded on to a cash passport. A PR19B should follow later [with supporting documents listed below] to allow funds to be reconciled.
• If a PR19B has been submitted but the funds have not been removed under no circumstances must the card continue to be used. In this instance, the Cash Passport team must be informed prior to your next trip otherwise the card may be terminated without notice, irrespective of the location of the cardholder.

Submission of staff advances forms and the corresponding returns for UG/PGT student fieldwork trips should continue to be made through the Fieldwork team: seed.placements@manchester.ac.uk

Submission of staff advances and return forms for any other activity should be submitted via the SEED authorised signatory online form linked under the 1st section on this page. For PR19B return forms, please also include:

• A copy of the transaction record for your cash passport
• A receipt index in both GBP / local currency (if your purchases were not in GBP)
• Copies of all your receipts, numbered according to the receipt index.

Please note that for advance returns with currency (aside from student fieldwork returns) we do not have the facilities to secure money, so:

• the currency should be retained by the staff member submitting the advance return;
• the School Office team will contact the individual when the form has been authorised;
• It is then the individual’s responsibility to submit their forms to people-od.operations@manchester.ac.uk and walk any remaining currency to P&OD Services (2nd floor, Simon Building).

All international travel (and some domestic) requiring funds to assist with food and basic travel must be processed using a Cash Passport (CP).

• A PR19A needs to be completed and authorised by the school
• They submit it to Cash.passport@manchester.ac.uk for processing
• There must be a minimum of 14-days’ notice given to CP prior to the funds being requested. Requests outside this will not be processed.
• For your first trip, you are requested to complete the MasterCard agreement and return it to CP.
• CP will then allocate a cash passport to you for your use only, which you will need to collect from People & OD reception, 2nd floor, Simon Building when it is ready (we will let you know).
• When you have activated the CP, we will load the card with the funds requested (and authorised by your school).
• Whilst using the CP you are required to keep an eye on your balance by regularly logging onto your account and viewing your statement.
• You are liable for any expenditure not backed up by receipts so please get receipts for everything.
• Upon return to the UK, you must complete a PR19B and submit this, along with all receipts to the school for checking. CP must receive the PR19B no later than 14 after your return. Please also provide a copy (PDF) of the transaction’s history for the trip which you can download from the app and website.
• The school will forward the completed PR19B to CP for processing through payroll making any adjust (if required, for example the UoM may owe you money or vice versa).
• The CP can be used contactless, with a signature or using a PIN. When you activate the card, you have an option to retrieve the PIN, this can be changed at any UK ATM machine.
• The CP cannot be used for online purchases
• You are solely responsible for the CP, if it is lost or stolen you must report it to MasterCard
• If you forget your PIN, we are unable to assist, you will have to contact MasterCard

RBS Expenditure Request form

Direct card payments by the university should only be used as a last resort, for payments that are under £1000 (or equivalent in other currencies). Justification is required why this cannot be arranged via a University registered supplier (purchase order and invoice).

• Be sure to include instructions about *how* to make the payment on your card form (e.g. website link, supplier phone number, booking reference number/name of person who made the order, etc.)
• Card payments require at least 10 working days' notice to arrange the required authorised signatory approvals and allow time for School Office to make the payment. For card payment requests required for a deadline with less than this period of notice, you may be advised to pay directly and submit a staff expense claim using MyView instead.
• For budget holder approval, please contact your PI for project related funds, HoD for academic/department related funds and line manager for PS related funds. UPDATE: As of 11 September 2024, budget holders must provide approval by email, which you should attach as a PDF copy alongside the Card Expenditure Request Form.
• Authorised signatory approval should be sought AFTER you have budget holder approval. Submit the completed form via the SEED authorised signatory online form linked under the 1st section on this page.

Please indicate who your local cardholder is when submitting your authorised signatory request.

Please note that university creditcard payments cannot be made to AirBnB, even if you receive approval to book outside Key Travel.

From Monday, 17 January 2022, all vouchers must be ordered via vouchers@manchester.ac.uk.

Necessary Approvals

Voucher requests require budget holder and authorised signatory approval. Authorised signatory approval should be sought after receiving budget holder approval.  

Budget holder approval must be supplied in the form of an email, printed as a PDF, saved seperately and then uploaded as a PDF with your voucher request form for authorised signatory review. SEED authorised signatory approval is requested by completing the online form linked in the first section above.

If you are ordering more than one voucher at a time, you must record all your voucher requests on one form. You may have to add rows to the form to fit all vouchers. The vouchers team will reject requests for multiple vouchers if they do not appear all on the same form.

The minimum denomination of a voucher that can be ordered is £10.

The vouchers team’s timescales are 5 working days to review and process an order, from receipt of the fully authorised request. Once ordered, vouchers take approximately 2 working days to be received by the vouchers team. 

Love2Shop, Blackwells and Amazon can be ordered as physical or e-vouchers (online use only). Please note that physical vouchers are only available in denominations of £5 and £10 (i.e. if you would like to request £50 of Blackwells vouchers, please include it on the voucher request spreadsheet as 5 x £10 vouchers ).

Guidance/Download links

• Further guidance and forms

Computer hardware must be ordered via Central IT services, following school approvals. The University of Manchester will fund one device (usually a laptop) per staff member. If you require a second device, you will need to provide context for this additional request (e.g. original device is unfit for purpose).

SEED staff can request computer hardware and peripherals (including laptops, mice, keyboards) via the SEED Staff Computer Hardware Request Form.

• Finance forms Cash Passport forms (PR19A, PR19B), New Supplier Setup Form, One-Off Payment Form
• A-Z People and Organisational Development forms: CAS1, CAS2, CAS 3, CAS4, PR5, PR7 - see also POD (People and Organisational Development) guidance about using their forms
• Guidance for completing PR7 Non-Staff Fees and Expenses
• Receipt index (to be used with a PR7 with more than 3 receipts)
• HMRC New Starter Checklist (to be used with a PR7 FEE or FEE&EXPENSE claim)

University recommended print and design suppliers can be found here.