Download and complete the TSR advert template for managers (Word, 24 KB) providing brief details of the duties, the timescales and who to apply to and email it to tempassignment@st-andrews.ac.uk stating ‘TSR Opportunity’ in the subject line of your email.

Ensure that the completed Advert Template is signed off by the Head of School/Unit.

Once it has been reviewed the TSR team will then post your assignment on the webpage for the specified period.

Advertising TSR work

Once you have identified the need for a TSR in your School/Unit, please complete a TSR advert template for managers (Word, 24 KB) and submit it to tempassignment@st-andrews.ac.uk with a subject header of 'TSR advert'. Adverts must be approved by the Head of School/Unit and cc'd to them when emailed to the TSR team.

The description of duties and the skills/experience should be brief and cover the key requirements.  Up to 6 bullet points in each section is suggested but you may add/delete as required.  However, due to the short-term nature of the assignment, it is not expected that much more information will be necessary. 

The TSR should be for a brief period of work (up to 12 weeks).  If you need longer-term support, then you should consider if a more formal secondment is required (please refer to the Secondment policy).  

The work can be part-time or full-time and you may make multiple appointments from the same advert if you need more people to cover the work.  You may also offer the work as a job share. 

Before posting the advert, HR will check the work is commensurate with the suggested grade. If the TSR work is to backfill for an absent employee or is directly comparable to another role in your School/Unit, please detail that in the email when submitting the form. 

The advert will be posted on the TSR Current Opportunities list and you will receive notification by email of when it has gone live. 

Expiry dates

The advert will remain open on the TSR webpage until the expiry date is reached unless you confirm that you wish to close it early.  You may do this if you no longer need additional staff or if you have identified a suitable candidate before the expiry date.  Staff are encouraged to apply as soon as possible and are aware that, due to the pressing need to cover the work, the TSR may be filled on a ‘first come first served basis’. 

You may also request the expiry date to be extended if you have not filled the assignment. 

Applications and Interviewing

All applications will be submitted directly to the person stated on the form and the School/Unit will be responsible for collating these and contacting successful and unsuccessful applicants. 

You should thank unsuccessful applicants for their interest and provide brief feedback to them as to why you are not taking their application any further.

You should invite successful applicants for a short informal interview to explain the TSR work in more detail and ascertain their suitability for the assignment.  This can be held face to face, via MS Teams or by phone.  Two people from the School/Unit should be involved in the appointment process to ensure transparency and fairness.   

If you have interviewed more than one person, you should notify unsuccessful candidates and provide brief feedback to them. 

Appointment of successful applicant

Once you have identified the successful candidate, you should complete the online TSR Details of Appointment form and confirm the appointment with the candidate by email, cc'ing the candidate’s line manager.

While the start date and duration of the assignment will normally match those specified on the advert, these may be subject to change and should be agreed at the outset between you, the substantive line manager and the successful candidate. 

All pre-booked holidays (as indicated on the application form) should be honoured even if they fall within the period of the assignment.  You should discuss planned leave with the candidate at the interview.  However, if this causes issues in terms of being able to undertake the work to your deadlines, you may not be able to offer them the assignment.

If the successful applicant works part-time, then you must ensure that the TSR can be carried out in the normal contracted hours - you cannot hire someone to work additional hours in order to undertake the TSR.  The hours of work and working pattern for part-time staff should be clearly stated on the Details of Appointment form.

As there is no change to the employee’s substantive terms and conditions or additional payment for the TSR, HR are not required to issue any paperwork, nor do you need to arrange transfer of salary costs.

You should arrange the necessary access to buildings, systems, equipment etc for day one of the assignment so that the temporary member of staff is able to start work straight away. 

You may appoint more than one employee to the assignment if a job-share is appropriate or you have more work than can be undertaken by one person within the duration of the assignment. A separate Details of Appointment form must be completed for each employee. 

Failure to appoint

If you are unable to find a suitable candidate for your TSR then you can ask the TSR team (tempassignment@st-andrews.ac.uk) to readvertise the assignment with an extended closing date.  In addition, you should review your advert to ensure that it is clear what the work entails as well as the level of experience required.  You may wish to amend the remit slightly to make it more attractive to candidates.  Providing some context about the work may also help as well as indicating if you would be prepared to consider part-time hours or appointing more than one candidate to undertake the work. 

Ending a TSR

While it is hoped that the interview process will have resulted in a good match between assignment and employee, sometimes things don’t work out as expected.  In such cases, you should clarify requirements with the employee offering additional training if necessary.  If this does not remedy the situation, then the employee should return early to their substantive post.

You may then readvertise the assignment, if it is still required, following the advertising instructions above. 

Assuming everything works out, the employee will return to their substantive post the day after the assignment ends.

All Current TSR Opportunities will be posted on the webpage and you should check it regularly for new openings.   There will also be a link to TSR opportunities in In The Loop.