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Introduction to this document

Deputising clause

Use our deputising clause to set out the terms on which an employee may be asked to act up as a deputy supervisor or deputy manager on a temporary basis to cover staff absence. Expect to pay an increased salary for extra duties and responsibilities.

An agreement to act up

Situations may occasionally arise where a supervisor or line manager is absent from work and you need to ask an existing employee to act up and cover their job role for a temporary period. It’s unlikely you’ll do this just to cover annual leave as normally other supervisors or managers would temporarily cover that on an ad hoc basis, but the situations where you might want a more structured solution in place include maternity leave, long-term sickness absence or a sabbatical. You can’t force someone to act up if they don’t want to, so our Deputising Clause makes it clear it only applies where the employee agrees to act as a deputy supervisor or deputy line manager. Assuming they are willing to agree though, you have to expect to pay more to compensate them for the fact that they’re going to be taking on extra duties and responsibilities. Thus, our clause provides that they will be entitled to receive an additional payment at a level that you will decide on a case-by-case basis, taking into account factors such as their level of experience, the seniority of the role being covered, the amount of extra work involved and the duration of the deputising period. Make sure you confirm in writing both the increased salary and the details of the extra duties and responsibilities that the employee will be expected to undertake.

Notice to revert

As the acting up is only temporary, at some point the employee will need to revert to their permanent job role. In this case, we’ve provided that you’ll give them at least one week’s written notice of this. As well as this being due to a change in circumstances, such as the return to work of the absent senior employee, we’ve also provided that this could be as a result of their own poor performance or conduct in the supervisory or managerial role. Likewise, if the employee wants to go back to their permanent job role (and lesser salary) at any time, we’ve stated they have to give you at least one week’s written notice too.

Discrimination

When deciding who to invite to act up as a deputy supervisor or manager, be careful to ensure the reasons for your choice are non-discriminatory. One option is to invite all relevant staff and then hold internal interviews or selection assessments.