C04025 FAQ

Section I

Coverage

1. Which members of staff are returned in the Staff Record?
   
   All staff for whom the institution is liable to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions and/or who have a contract of employment with the institution must be included in the record. Atypical staff (staff who hold atypical contracts only) must be returned from 2004/05 onwards. The definition of atypical is available at: http://www.hesa.ac.uk/manuals/ISR0405/staff_intro.htm#atypical
   
   
2. Are agency staff returned?
   
   No, agency staff should not be returned in the Staff Record, as the institution is not their employer and is not liable to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions for them.
   
   
3. Are staff who do not have a contract of employment with the institution but with a company that is consolidated into the institutions’ accounts returned?
   
   No, such staff should not be returned in the Staff Record because they do not have a contract of employment with the institution and the institution is not liable to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions for them.
   
   
4. Are staff who are self-employed returned?
   
   No, self-employed staff should not be returned in the Staff Record, as the institution is not their employer and is not liable to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions for them.
   
   
5. Are staff who do not have a contract of employment with the institution returned?
   
   Yes, if the institution is liable to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions for such staff.
   
   
6. Are staff with honorary contracts returned?
   
   Staff with honorary contracts should be returned if the honorary contract is deemed to be a contract of employment. If the honorary contract is not deemed to be a contract of employment, then such staff should not be returned. (See also Q33.)
   
   
7. What if staff do not have a contract of employment, and do not earn enough for National Insurance contributions to be made - should they be included in the return?
   
   Yes, these members of staff must be returned in the Staff Record if the institution is liable to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions for them, and would have paid the contribution had the staff earned enough. The fact that they did not earn enough is not in itself a reason to exclude such staff from the record.
   
   
8. If staff have asked for their wages to be paid into a trust fund, should they be included in the return?
   
   Yes, if such staff hold a contract of employment with the institution and/or the institution is liable to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions for them, then they must be included in the return.
   
   
9. Is there a census date for the Staff Record?
   
   No, there is no census date for the Staff Record. All staff who meet the criteria for inclusion in the record at any point during the reporting period must be returned.
   
   
10. What is the reporting period for the Staff Record?
    
    The HESA reporting period is from 1 August to 31 July.
    
    
11. What if the member of staff has left the institution by July, should they be included in the return?
    
    Yes, all staff who meet the criteria for inclusion in the record at any point during the reporting period must be returned.
    
    
12. If an HEI has staff recorded on the system who will not have not done any work during the reporting period, and as such their FTE = 0, should they be included in the return?
    
    No, such staff who have not been called upon to work during the reporting period should not be included in the return. [Note: there are certain circumstances where returning staff who have not done any work during the reporting period is valid e.g. in cases where staff are being returned with leaving details in order to satisfy the muster.] (See also Q25.)
    
    
13. Are gardening, catering and support staff returned in the Staff Record as well as academic staff?
    
    Yes, all staff who have a contract of employment with the institution and/or for whom the institution is liable to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions must be included in the record, regardless of the type of work they do.
    
    
14. If an HEI has staff who do not have a contract of employment and who work for very short periods, e.g. 2 weeks per year or 2 days per year, are these staff included in the return?
    
    Yes, if the institution were liable to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions for such staff, i.e. would have paid the contribution had the staff member earned enough.

15. Data requirements

16. Is it necessary to provide the same amount of information for all staff regardless of the type of contract they hold and the nature of the work they do?
    
    No, the range of data required will depend on the nature of the contracts held, and also the standard occupational classification of the activity for which the contracts exist. For those staff with contracts of employment and/or for whom the institution is liable to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions, but whose relationship for all contracts held with the institution during the reporting period would be defined as 'atypical', there is a requirement to return only a minimum data set.
    
    
17. Where can information on occupational coding for higher education staff be obtained?
    
    Further information is available at: dox/datacoll/C04025/OCM.rtf
    
    
18. Where can information on the data that has to be returned for each category of staff be obtained?
    
    Further information is available at: index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=344&Itemid=233
    
    
19. Is it possible to return information over and above that which is required for a member of staff?
    
    Yes it is, but all of the data returned must pass the validation checks. Such 'extra' data will however not be forwarded to statutory data users.
    
    
20. What if the data required for completing the minimum dataset is not held for staff with atypical contracts?
    
    There is a legislative requirement to monitor equal opportunities for all staff employed by the institution at both a national and local level. The minimum data set includes nationally required equal opportunities information and other data needed by HESA to process the return. The institution will therefore need to collect sufficient data to enable it to meet the minimum data requirements for all staff who meet the criteria for inclusion on the record. Institutions will in addition need to collect data to meet their local monitoring responsibilities, although this information is not returned to HESA.
    
    
21. If a member of staff has an atypical contract, which is classified as SOC code 1, how should they be returned?
    
    The member of staff should be returned as having an atypical contract.
    
    
22. Will it be possible to distinguish between an atypical cleaning contract and an atypical academic contract?
    
    Yes, these contracts will be identified by SOC activity codes. At least one SOC code must be returned for each atypical contract.

    Muster

23. What is a muster?
    
    In this context, the muster is a linking mechanism designed to track staff within an institution from one year to the next.
    
    
25. Will there be a muster for the Staff Record and if so which staff will be tracked?
    
    Yes. Staff holding contracts in SOC groups 1-3 that are not atypical will be tracked by the muster.
    
    
26. How does the muster work?
    
    Staff returned without leaving details in 2003/04 must be returned in the Staff Record for 2004/05. The muster will check that this is the case for staff holding contracts in SOC groups 1-3 that are not atypical.
    
    
28. What if staff holding contracts in SOC groups 1-3 that are not atypical left in 2003/04 and the institution forgot to return them as leavers?
    
    Such staff must be returned as leavers in the 2004/05 Staff Record (with 2003/04 leaving dates).
    
    
29. How will the muster be affected by staff with contracts in SOC groups 1-3 in 2003/04 and contracts in SOC groups 4-9 in 2004/05 who were not recorded as leavers in 2003/04?
    
    The muster tracks people and not contracts. Therefore the criteria for the muster will be satisfied if such staff are returned in 2004/05, even though they hold contracts in SOC groups 4-9 in 2004/05. (See Q23.)

    Structure of the record

30. Why are there two tables in the Staff Record?
    
    The staff record is collected in two sections; the person table, which records attributes of the person, and the contract table, which records attributes of the contracts held by the member of staff. The person table should contain one record for every person employed by the institution during the reporting period. A record in the person table must link to at least one record in the contract table. If, for example, three contracts are held, the record in the person table must link to three records in the contract table.
    
    
31. Is it possible to amalgamate the contracts into a single record if a member of staff has more than one contract?
    
    There are two cases where this is possible:
    
    a) Institutions in England: Institutions in England have been granted a concession to compress contract information into a single record for each member of staff. Institutions who choose to amalgamate multiple contracts must do this across their entire return and inform HESA in advance of the collection (by the 31 July 2005) of their intention to do this. If an institution elects to return only one contract per staff member, there is a standard algorithm that must be used to prepare records for the contract table. This is available at: http://www.hesa.ac.uk/manuals/ISR0405/amalgamation.htm
    
    b) Staff who hold multiple atypical contracts with the same characteristics: Where within the HESA reporting period staff have multiple atypical contracts with the same characteristics, i.e. Activity code and Cost centre, only one contract record need be returned, identified as 04126 in RECID, and recording the total FTE worked.
    
    
33. What is meant by ‘contract’? For example a member of staff may have a post with both management and academic responsibilities?
    
    Each person's employment with an institution will be governed by a legally binding contract, and each contract that exists must be recorded on the contract table. The member of staff in the example may be employed under a single contract of employment or two separate contracts. This will depend on the institution's employment practices.
    
    
35. If a member of staff is employed on a contract, which runs from, for example, September to January, and the contract is extended, with no gap, how many records should be returned?
    
    If an existing contract is extended then one record should be submitted. If the contract is deemed to be a new contract then two records should be submitted. This is a matter for an institution to determine and will depend on its employment practices.
    
    
37. If a member of staff has two contracts, one of which is atypical, is it possible to return the minimum data set in the person table?
    
    No, in order for the minimum dataset to be returned in the person table all contracts held by a member of staff must be atypical.
    
    
38. If a member of staff has a single contract, which involves two different jobs, one of which is atypical, how should this be returned?
    
    In this case the minimum dataset cannot be returned (see Q31.) One record should be returned in the person table and one record, with details of the post that is not atypical, should be returned in the contract table. Information on the atypical job should be returned as a secondary activity in field 27, Activity code 2 or field 30, Activity code 3 in the contract table.
    
    
40. Should payments for honorary responsibilities within a contract be returned, and if so in which field?
    
    Payments for honorary responsibilities within a contract would be expected to be returned in field 23 of the person table, 'Total monies paid during this reporting year'. However, this field is not required for the 2004/05 academic year. (See Q58.)
    
    
41. How are academic staff who have two contracts recorded? For example, one sessional post and the other as a full-time academic.
    
    One record should be returned in the person table and two records in the contract table, detailing the specifics of each contract.
    
    
42. If a researcher has three monthly contracts that are renewed over the reporting period, how many records should be returned in the contract table?
    
    It depends on whether the contracts are consecutive or concurrent. For consecutive contracts, issued one after the other with no breaks or changes, the answer to Q30 applies. For concurrent contracts, a record should be returned for each contract held.
    
    
43. If a member of staff leaves and then returns within the same reporting period the HEI creates two records for the person in its internal systems. Should two records or one record be returned?
    
    The person table should contain just one record for every person employed by the institution during the reporting period. The contract table should contain a record for each contract held by the member of staff during the reporting period.
    
    

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    Section II

    Person Table fields

    Field 3 Staff identifier
    Field 4 Date of Birth
    Field 7 Ethnicity
    Field 8/9 National identity 1/2
    Field 11 Date appointed at current HEI
    Field 14 Highest qualification held
    Field 15/16 Academic discipline 1/2
    Field 17 Regulatory body

    Field 3 Staff identifier

45. If the year of entry is known for existing members of staff can it be used instead of XX?
    
    Yes.
    
    
46. Are institutions expected to check if the STAFFID allocated to a member of staff has already been used?
    
    Yes, institutions are expected to keep a record of who the identifier is allocated to in order to ensure that a given identifier is not allocated to more than one member of staff. HESA is not in a position to offer a central look-up service, as the staff record is anonymous.
    
    
47. If staff at one institution are also employed at another institution, should both institutions return the same STAFFID?
    
    Ideally yes, but it is realised that at times this is difficult and it is accepted that there will be some members of staff who currently have two numbers.
    
    
48. Some staff with atypical contracts only at one institution are employed at another institution in a full-time post. Is it necessary to obtain the STAFFID from the other institution?
    
    If this is possible yes, but there is no requirement to track staff with only atypical contracts.
    
    
49. What procedures should be followed in order to track members of staff whose contract is for an activity where the SOC code is in groups 1, 2, or 3?
    
    If a member of staff whose contract is for an activity where the SOC code is in groups 1, 2, or 3 has already been allocated a HESA Staff identifier by a previous institution, then that identifier should be returned instead of allocating a new staff identifier (and, ideally, where a member of staff is employed by two institutions concurrently, then the same staff identifier should be used by both institutions). In order to accomplish this linkage, institutions will need to obtain the HESA staff identifier from the previous employer. HESA is not in a position to offer a central look-up service, as the staff record is anonymous. However, in order to help inter-institution liaison, HESA circulates a Staff Liaison Contacts Directory for operational purposes. Institutions are also encouraged to provide staff who are leaving the institution with details of their staff identifier so they can pass this to a future employer.

50. Field 4 Date of Birth

51. Can institutions return the Inland Revenue default date of birth of 19010101?
    
    Yes, HESA will accept the Inland Revenue default date of birth.

    Field 7 Ethnicity

52. Why can’t ‘White Scottish’ be returned for Scottish staff at institutions in England?
    
    Code 13 ‘White Scottish’ can only be used by institutions in Scotland, and so should not be offered as an option to staff at institutions in England when they are asked to identify their ethnicity. The valid entries in this field are the ONS categories that were available in Census 2001; these varied slightly between administrations.
    
    
53. Some staff at HEIs are still classified as code 10 ‘White’. If the institution has taken a policy not to re-survey its staff, how should these staff be coded in Staff Record? Should a judgement be made?
    
    It has previously been indicated that from 2003/04 onwards Code 10 ‘White’ would no longer be available. Staff previously returned as ‘white’ must therefore be re-surveyed, as it will not otherwise be possible to determine whether they are ‘White British’ or ‘Other white background’.
    
    
54. When should code 98 ‘information refused’ be returned?
    
    Code 98 'Information refused' should be returned for staff who either have not responded to a request for information, or who have responded specifically stating that they do not wish to provide information about their ethnicity.
    
    
55. Can an institution use the ‘not known’ code for people who genuinely don’t know their ethnicity, for example people who are adopted?
    
    Yes.
    
    
56. Some staff return an option that is not included in the list of valid entries e.g. Japanese, Columbian etc, how should such staff be returned?
    
    Code 98 ‘Information refused’ should be returned for such staff who indicate that they do not wish to return a code within the coding frame.

    Field 8/9 National identity 1/2

57. In what circumstances would someone have two national identities?
    
    National identity reflects how individuals choose to classify themselves. A member of staff could for example choose to identify themselves as both Scottish and Welsh if they have one parent from each country.

    Field 11 Date appointed at current HEI

58. If there is a break in employment service should this field be updated?
    
    Yes, this field should be updated regardless of the length of the break in service.

    Field 14 Highest qualification held

59. Why are overseas qualifications no longer separately identified within the coding frame?
    
    Statutory users of the data no longer require this level of detail.

    Field 15/16 Academic discipline 1/2

60. If a qualification is in just one subject, what is returned in field 16?
    
    If a qualification is in one subject then this must be returned in field 15, Academic discipline 1 and the default code ‘XXXX’ must be returned in field 16, Academic discipline 2.
    
    
61. How should staff with natural science as their subject be coded?
    
    Natural science should be returned as C000 (Biological Sciences) and F000 (Physical Sciences) in fields 15 and 16.
    
    
62. How should staff be coded whose academic discipline cannot be exactly to a detailed subject within JACS ?
    
    If a staff member’s academic discipline cannot be exactly matched to a detailed subject within the JACS coding frame, then code to the broad subject area i.e. C100 Biology, C300 Zoology, F300 Physics.

    Field 17 Regulatory body

63. Is veterinary surgery considered to be a medical, health and social care profession?
    
    Yes, and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), which is the statutory regulatory body for veterinary surgeons, is included in the list of valid entries for this field.
    
    
64. Can information be returned on the regulatory body for medically qualified academics who do not work in health and social care professions?
    
    Institutions may return this information for such staff if they wish, but there is no requirement from statutory data users to do so.
    
    
66. The British Psychological Society is not in the coding frame, is this an omission?
    
    No. Although the British Psychological Society (BPS) is a professional body, it is not yet a statutory health or social care regulatory body. The BPS is currently negotiating with the Department of Health for its inclusion within the professions regulated by the Health Professions Council, but if agreed this will not take effect before 2005. It may then be necessary to add a code to the coding frame.
    
    
67. Can you clarify which staff should be coded ‘00’ Not currently registered to practice?
    
    Code ‘00’ must be used when any of the Activity code fields (24, 27, 30) in the contract table have been coded 2A, and any of the Cost centre fields have been coded ’01-09’ or ‘29’, and
    
    1) the member of staff is not currently registered to practice with a statutory health or social care regulatory body, or
    
    2) it is not known whether the member of staff is currently registered to practice with a health or social care regulatory body, or
    
    3) the member of staff is registered to practice but with a professional body not listed in this field, as this field only collects information about registration with statutory health or social care regulatory bodies.

    Field 23 Total monies paid during the reporting period

69. How should Field 23 Total monies paid during the reporting period be coded for 2004/05?
    
    The Total monies paid during this reporting year is not required for the 2004/05 academic year. Institutions must complete this field with 9999999.

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    Section III

    Contract Table Fields

    Field 5 Contract identifier
    Field 7 Mode of employment
    Field 9 FTE during reporting period
    Field 12 Senior management post holder
    Field 14 Proportion of basic salary against general income
    Field 16 Salary point
    Field 17 Basic Salary at reference date
    Field 18 NHS contracts
    Field 19 NHS contract grade
    Field 20 Healthcare professional specialty
    Field 23 End date of contract
    Field 24 Activity code 1
    Field 25 Cost centre 1
    

    Field 5 Contract identifier

70. Can an HEI return post numbers in this field?
    
    Yes, post numbers can be returned in this field, but the combination of STAFFID and CONTID must be unique.
    
    
71. If there are two members of staff in the same post, will using the same post number in this field cause a problem?
    
    No, it is the combination of staff identifier and contract identifier that must be unique, and so as these staff will have different staff identifiers, using post numbers in this field will not cause a problem.

    Field 7 Mode of employment

72. What is the definition in weeks of term-time only?
    
    There is no single definition of term-time only as the number and length of terms may differ from one institution to another. Institutions are therefore advised to use a definition applicable to their institution.
    
    
73. Should full-time staff who only work during the term be classified as full-time or part-time?
    
    Full-time staff who only work during the term should be returned as code 2 ‘Full-time, term-time only’.

    Field 9 FTE during reporting period

74. Should the FTE for staff on maternity or sick leave be reduced?
    
    No, FTE should not be reduced to take account of temporary arrangements such as maternity or sick leave.
    
    
75. How should staff seconded to a post within the reporting institution be reported?
    
    Where the member of staff is seconded within the institution, any activity in posts should be returned, so where the secondment is for all of their time, the contract fields should contain information about the seconded post only. Where the secondment is for part of their time, the contract table should contain two records if the institution issues two contracts. If only one contract is issued ACT2/3, CCPROP2/3 and CCENTRE2/3 should be completed as appropriate. For example:
    
    1) Member of staff holding post 1, seconded to post 2 from Jan-Jul 2005.
    Two contracts - Post 1: FTE from Aug-Dec 2004 and Post 2: FTE from Jan-Jul 2005.
    One contract - FTE from Aug 2004-Jul 2005 and ACT2/3, CCPROP2/3 and CCENTRE2/3 completed as appropriate to reflect the secondment details.
    
    2) Member of staff holding post 1, seconded to post 2 from Aug 2004-Jul 2005.
    Post 1: 0 FTE and Post 2: FTE from Aug 2004-Jul 2005.
    
    
76. How should staff seconded to a post at another HEI be reported?
    
    For secondments to another HEI the reporting institution should reduce the FTE (to zero if the secondment is for the whole year) and the recipient institution should return the contract(s) they have issued.
    
    
77. How should staff seconded to a post outside the HE sector be reported?
    
    For those seconded to a post outside the sector, the reporting institution should only return the details of the contract they have issued. The institution should reduce the FTE (to zero if the secondment is for the whole year).
    
    
78. What FTE should be returned if a full-time member of staff is on maternity leave during the whole reporting period, i.e. from 1 August to 31 July?
    
    An FTE of 100.0 should be returned. This is because the FTE in the contract is not changed for maternity leave arrangements.
    
    
79. If academics are paid a flat rate for 5 or 6 hours work a year, how is FTE calculated for these staff?
    
    It is suggested that institutions estimate FTE for those contracts that involve working irregular hours using total salary information and hourly/daily pay rates. A comparison should be made based on the standard that is set for full-time staff within the institution.
    
    For example, full-time staff who work for 52 weeks a year and 37 hours a week will work 1924 hours a year, therefore 6 hours per year would result in an FTE of 0.3%.
    
    
80. What if FTE equals 000.0 when rounded up, will this be rejected?
    
    This case should not occur. In general the standard that is set for full-time should be no more than 2080 hours per year (40 hours per week), therefore a member of staff who works for say, 1 hour per year, will have an FTE of 0.05%, which, when rounded, will be 0.1% FTE.
    
    
81. How should staff who are contracted to deliver a piece of work be returned?
    
    Institutions will need to calculate an FTE for members of staff who are contracted to deliver a piece of work. In setting a rate of pay for the task the institution will have taken a view as to the size of the task and therefore how long it might take. It is expected that this will be used as the basis for calculating the FTE.
    
    
82. How should we calculate FTE for staff who work irregular hours?
    
    Where a member of staff does not have regular hours/patterns of work, or is appointed on a very short-term basis, it may be difficult to calculate FTE. (It is suggested that institutions estimate FTE for those contracts that involve working irregular hours using total salary information and hourly/daily pay rates).

    Field 12 Senior management post holder

83. Should acting directors be included in this field?
    
    Yes, if acting directors have senior management/administrative responsibilities, then they should be included. Senior management post holders include for example, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Assistant Principal, Assistant Director, Dean, Head of School, Examinations Manager, Registrar or Head of Administration.

    Field 14 Proportion of basic salary against general income

84. How should staff whose whole salary is paid from general income be coded?
    
    If a staff member's salary is completely paid for by general institution finance then this field must be coded 100.0. However, if the salary is completely paid for by any other source then this field must be coded 000.0.

    Field 16 Salary point

85. How are staff on spot salaries and personally negotiated or locally determined salaries that do not have a salary point returned?
    
    Field 17, the Basic salary at reference date should be completed and the default code XXX should be returned in Field 16 Salary point.
    
    
86. What should be returned for staff whose salary is not from a nationally negotiated (JNCHES) pay spine?
    
    This field must be completed with the default 'XXX' code for those members of staff whose salary is not from a nationally negotiated (JNCHES) pay spine.

    Field 17 Basic salary at reference date

87. What should be returned for staff with Salary points in Field 16?
    
    If a salary point from a nationally negotiated (JNCHES) pay scale is returned in Field 16 Salary point then the default code 'XXXXXXX' must be returned in this field.
    
    
88. Should regular payments for additional duties, responsibility allowances or honoraria, be returned in this field?
    
    No, Basic salary at reference date should not include any regular payments for additional duties, responsibility allowances or honoraria, regardless of their source. Subsequent back-dated pay awards should also be excluded. Such additional payments would be expected to be returned in field 23 of the person table, Total monies paid during this reporting year. However, this field is not required for the 2004/05 academic year. (See also Q58).
    
    
89. What about London weighting, should this be excluded from this field?
    
    Yes, London weighting should be excluded as it would also be expected to be returned in field 23 of the person table, Total monies paid during this reporting year. However, this field is not required for the 2004/05 academic year. (See also Q58).

    Field 18 NHS contracts/Field 19 NHS contract grade

90. Are HEIs expected to hold information on NHS contracts including honorary contracts?
    
    Yes, these fields apply only to clinical academic staff and so any institution dealing with clinical academic staff appointments must ensure that the relevant contract (including an honorary contract) is in place for clinical work. The relevant contract ensures that the institution is insured against risks associated with the clinical elements.

    Field 20 Healthcare professional specialty

91. Should this field record the individual’s qualification or the professional area they are working in?
    
    This field applies to members of staff with clinical academic contracts and indicates the healthcare professional specialty associated with their contract of employment as issued by the institution.

    Field 23 End date of contract

92. Should dates that are after the end of the reporting period be returned?
    
    No, only dates within the HESA reporting period (1 August to 31 July) should be returned. Dates that are after 31 July will be returned in the appropriate year. For example, a contract end date of 20 September 2008 should be reported in the 2008/09 academic year.
    
    
93. Does this field have to be completed?
    
    Yes, as there can be no blank fields in the Staff Record. If the contract has not ended then the default code ‘99991231’ should be returned. No date should be returned until the period of the contract has actually come to an end and/or the member of staff has left the institution.
    
    
94. If a member of staff works in one department and then moves to another should the record be closed?
    
    No, if this is not a new contract then do not close the record; just return an additional cost centre.

    Field 24 Activity code 1

95. Why is the Vice-Chancellor who is not engaged in teaching and/or research coded to 2A and not to 2B?
    
    The Vice-Chancellor is the academic head of the institution and not just the chief executive. Senior academics who act as vice-chancellors or directors/heads of schools, colleges, academic departments or research centres should be coded to group 2A: Academic Professionals. It is acknowledged that these individuals are primarily engaged in managerial functions and are not generally involved in teaching or academic research. Placement in this group however is a reflection that their qualifications and academic experience in HE will be similar to senior academics actively involved in teaching and research. The classification of occupations used in the staff record has been developed specifically for the HE sector and is a variant of the national standard (SOC).
    
    
96. Is it possible to return more than one activity for atypical staff?
    
    Yes. Atypical staff, like all other staff, must have one activity per contract. However up to three activities can be returned in ACT1, ACT2 and ACT3 as appropriate.
    
    

97. Field 25 Cost Centre 1

98. How should a member of staff with a contract that spans across more than three cost centres be returned?
    
    During consultation on Staff Record very few institutions indicated that more than three cost centres would be required. If more than three cost centres are applicable then return data for the three cost centres where the member of staff is most active.
    
    
99. Should data be returned for the three cost centres with the most activity for staff whose contract spans across more than three cost centres, even though our finance department apportions activity in a different way?
    
    Yes, these differences will be minimal overall.
    
    
100. Should institutions be reporting using the new agreed cost centres structure?
     
     Following from the recent review of the HESA Finance Record it was agreed that a simplification of the current list of cost centres was required, achieved by merging or removing existing cost centres. To this end a pattern of cost centres has been finalised that strikes a good balance between being simple and providing a rich presentation of information. The changes are summarised in Cost Centres Summary. It is obviously necessary to implement the cost centre changes across the full range of HESA data streams. For the 2004/05 Staff Record, institutions are encouraged to use the new shorter list of cost centres, but where this might present difficulties, institutions can in 2004/05 continue to use the existing fuller list of cost centres. During such transition HESA will undertake appropriate amalgamation before onward use of the data. From 2005/06 onwards, validation will prevent the use of the "old" cost centre list.

     Field 26 Proportion in cost centre 1

101. How should a member of staff whose activity has moved from one cost centre to another within the reporting period be reported?
     
     Proportion the activity within each relevant cost centre according to the time spent in each cost centre.