Frequently asked questions
1. Can students work more than 10 hours per week?
2. How do UBC Payroll timesheets work?
3. When will I be reimbursed?
4. Is there a deadline to submit project proposals?
5. Is there a minimum number of hours that I must offer a student?
6. What is the difference between hiring a Work Study or Work Learn student?
7. I'm hiring an international student. Besides the Work Learn Authorization, what do we need to submit?
8. The international student I've hired does not have a SIN yet. What do I do?
9. How do the position classification guidelines work?
10. Is my student a unionized employee?
11. How many students can I hire?
12. What is the total number of hours that students can work?
13. How do I submit a student appointment form?
14. Why have paper Work Authorization Forms been replaced by e-forms?
15. How does my department get signed up and trained on e-forms?
16. What are the alternatives to submitting Student Staff Appointment e-forms?
17. I've already selected a student to hire - why does the job need to be posted to CareersOnline?
18. My project was approved but I didn't submit the Student Staff Appointment e-form within 21 days - what happens to my funding?
1. Can students work more than 10 hours per week?
Students cannot work more than 10 hours per week in the Winter Session (September to April). However, students can work up to 20 hours per week in the Summer Session.
The weekly limits are the result of negotiations between bargaining units and UBC Human Resources, and are meant to prevent work from interfering with students' studies.
2. How do UBC Payroll timesheets work?
The student will be paid every two weeks – at the middle and the end of each month.
You are responsible for keeping track of and submitting the hours the student has worked to UBC Payroll. Departments have different internal systems for students to record their hours and submit them to their supervisor for approval. Contact your office's financial administrator to discuss the process for recording and submitting student hours.
You (or your office's financial administrator) must input the student's name and the number of hours they worked for each pay period on a UBC Payroll timesheet. You must deliver these timesheets to UBC Payroll by their deadline to ensure the student is paid on time. For timesheets and deadlines, visit the UBC Payroll Forms web page.
For the Winter Program, UBC will provide lump sum amounts to the account used to pay the student's wages in:
- December – for hours your student worked in September, October and November
- March – for hours your student worked in December, January and February
- May – for hours your student worked in March and April
For the Summer program, there is only one reimbursement, in October, for hours your students worked from May to August.
We keep track of student's hours via monthly reports we receive from UBC Payroll.
4. Is there a deadline to submit project proposals?
There is no deadline to apply for wage subsidy funding, but do note that available funding traditionally runs out by late August or early September for the Winter Session, and by late April for the Summer Session.
Most on-campus employers submit their Winter Session project proposals in August and September so that students can begin working at the beginning of the year. For the Summer Session, project proposals are submitted in early April.
We also accept project proposals for Term 2 in January, as funding permits.
5. Is there a minimum number of hours that I must offer a student?
A project can be 1 to 10 hours per week and be short-term or last from September to April.
However, if you are proposing a short-term project (e.g., one month long), please consider extending the duration of the position because students can hold only one Work Study or Work Learn position per session. For example, you might want to add to the expected duties in your project proposal.
We also ask that you inform the student in advance about the number of hours they can realistically expect to work in the position so they can make an informed decision about whether to accept the job.
6. What is the difference between hiring a Work Study or Work Learn student?
Work Study (domestic undergraduate and graduate) students and Work Learn (international undergraduate) students have different eligibility requirements to participate in the program. As long as your project proposal was approved, you may hire either a Work Study or Work Learn student. The subsidy you receive will be the same.
If funding remains for only one of the programs when you submit your project proposal, you will be notified that only students eligible for that program will be able to apply.
7. I'm hiring an international student. What additional information do we need to submit?
You must provide the following additional documents:
- a copy of their valid study permit
- if they are applying for a SIN, a copy of the application receipt from Service Canada
Please ensure that all necessary documents are attached as PDFs when submitting the student appointment e-form for the position. These documents are required to process the student's appointment with UBC Payroll.
8. The international student I've hired does not have a SIN yet. What do I do?
Students need a SIN to be appointed to their Work Learn position by UBC Payroll, so the sooner the student applies for a SIN, the sooner they can begin working. As the student's on-campus employer, you will need to provide a contract of employment, which the student will bring to Service Canada to apply for a SIN.
For detailed instructions, review the "Social Insurance Numbers for international students: information for Work Learn employers" document (below) or have your student review the International Student Handbook.
Social Insurance Numbers for international students: information for Work Learn employers (86KB PDF)
9. How do the position classification guidelines work?
The position classification guidelines (download below) apply to Work Study and Work Learn. They were developed through consultations between UBC Human Resources and on-campus bargaining units. They reflect current practices and standards in the types of positions that exist on campus.
Work Study and Work Learn Position Classification Guidelines 2011 (86KB PDF)
When you create a position for a student, you must fit your position into one of five categories based on the expected duties and on the description you provide in the proposal. If you have trouble classifying the position, contact your Human Resources advisor.
10. Is my student a unionized employee?
Students hired through Work Study and Work Learn are not union members, and do not have to pay union dues, although some of their duties may be equivalent to those typically performed by union members.
11. How many students can I hire?
If the position involves the work of a unionized bargaining unit, you can hire up to three students for each individual project proposal that you submit. If the position does not involve unionized work, there is no limit on the number of students that can be hired. However, you are not allowed to hire students to replace a position that could be filled by a full-time employee.
12. What is the total number of hours that students can work?
Students in Work Study and Work Learn can work a maximum of 300 hours per session: 300 hours between September 1 and April 30 (Winter session), and 300 hours between May 1 and August 31 (Summer session).
Students appointed to a single-term position in Winter Session (September 1 to December 31, or January 1 to April 30) can work a maximum of 150 hours.
Any additional hours worked by your student exceeding the maximum will not be reimbursed, and your faculty/department is responsible for paying the full hourly wage.
13. How do I submit a student appointment form?
New for the Winter 2011/2012 Session, faculties and departments will submit student appointment forms electronically, using UBC Human Resources and Payroll's e-PAF system. An administrator within your unit may already be trained on e-forms and have access to UBC’s HRMS and e-PAF system.
You and the student will receive email notification once the student appointment e-form has been approved. The student can begin work on the appointment start date indicated in the email.
14. Why have the paper Work Authorization Forms been replaced by e-forms?
Instead of students filling in paper Work Authorization forms and handing them in at Career Services, UBC departments will now submit Student Staff Appointment forms electronically via the e-Paf system. After Career Services reviews and confirms the student’s eligibility, the e-form is automatically forwarded to Payroll, allowing for timely processing and reducing late payments and payroll inquiries.
Using the e-PAF system to create e-forms for student hires will expedite the approval process and allow for the tracking of the workflow as the e-form is moved forward by the initiator, approver(s) and Payroll. The new process also reduces considerable paper waste.
15. How does my department get signed up and trained on e-forms?
New user access to the ePAF system is available by:
- Completing the eForm Access Application form for an initiator and an approver (details and definitions are on page 2 of the form)
- Forward completed forms to Financial Services or bring the completed form to your training session. Once you have sent in your application, it should take 2-3 business days for Financial Services to set up your ePAF account.
Financial Services has set up training sessions on the ePAF system in August and September. Please contact Elizabeth Tsao at 604.822.2554 or etsa@finance.ubc.ca to book a training session. In addition, a training manual is available (PDF).
16. What are the alternatives to submitting Student Staff Appointment e-forms?
Faculties and departments are strongly encouraged to use the e-Paf system for Student Staff Appointment forms. However, if you are unable to get set up on the e-PAF system in time for this session, you can create and submit a paper Student Staff Appointment Form (DOC) to Career Services for your Work Study or Work Learn students. Please note that if you choose to use paper forms, you will not have access to the workflow benefits of the e-PAF system and it may take longer to have your Student Staff Appointment Form approved for eligibility and processed by Payroll.
17. I’ve already selected a student to hire – why does the job need to be posted to CareersOnline?
All approved positions will be uploaded to CareersOnline, allowing students to search for on-campus positions in one place. Although supervisors can state in the job description if a candidate is already identified, we encourage employers to conduct open competitions for all positions, so that all students have fair and equitable access to these job opportunities.
18. My project was approved but I didn’t submit the Student Staff Appointment e-form within the 21 days – what happens to my funding?
Approved projects receive a guarantee of wage subsidy funding for 21 days from the approval date. If the Student Staff Appointment form is not submitted within the guarantee period, the project loses its guaranteed funding. The project supervisor can proceed to hire the student and pay their full salary, AND/OR re-apply for Work Study and Work Learn funding and be placed on the waiting list in case additional funding becomes available.
Questions about Work Study or Work Learn?
Check out the
604.822.8278
careers.workstudy@ubc.ca
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