You should be receiving an hours of work form from your employment supervisor prior to the first week of classes. This form outlines the various tasks expected of you and your assignment as well as an explanation of the time required to complete them. You can find a fillable PDF of the hours of work form at the following link:
The hours of work form states the following: “Include nature of tasks and expectations of grading. Indicate any weeks where the projected workload is likely to vary from an average of 10 hours.” Your employment supervisor is required to provide a detailed overview of the type of work, the quantity of work, and an expectation of the time required to complete the work.
We would advise you to not sign an hours of work form until all of this detail is provided, and we would also advise you to not begin working until a detailed form has been provided to you and discussed with you. These forms are designed to provide guidance and transparency to ensure that you are provided with a reasonable amount of time to complete all of the tasks as assigned. If you have concerns about the lack of detail provided in your hours of work form, please do not hesitate to speak to your employment supervisor. If concerns persist please reach out to your union. You can reach us at chiefsteward_tas@cupe3906.org and we can provide support and ensure you are provided with a sufficiently detailed hours of work form.
When you receive a draft hours of work form, ask yourself if what is being expected of you is being clearly communicated? What are you expected to do? When? How many? For how long? If this is provided, that is a good start. You should then ask yourself if these expectations, however clear, are reasonable? Can you mark what is being expected of you in the time provided? Are you given enough time to mark everything that is being expected of you? Generally professors are reasonable, but that is not always the case.
Below you will find four sample Hours of Work forms – two are “good” in that they contain a clear overview of the expectations and two are “bad” because they do not provide any detail. It is inappropriate for your supervisor to simply say “marking-130 hours” without providing a sense of what you are marking, how many you are marking, and how much time you are expected to take on each assignment.
These forms can be amended based on workload, especially if you feel you are unlikely to be able to complete the tasks as assigned. Article 12.04 of the Collective Agreement states: “As soon as an employee has a reasonable belief that they will be unable to perform the duties of the position within the hours specified, they shall request and will be granted a meeting with their Employment Supervisor within 5 business days.” If you are having trouble securing a meeting, please let us know. It is important to be proactive when you feel you are about to be overworked instead of waiting until you have been overworked.
Good Hours of Work forms-
Bad Hours of Work forms-
