Please read about expectations before reading the information below on ensuring fairness.
While everyone accepts that you should not have to more work than you are paid for, it's not always as simple to ensure this as it sounds. For example, you are paid for 2 hours to mark assignments but it takes 3. Is this because you spent more time marking them than you were expected to? Is it because you were given more than 2 hours worth of marking? Here is some advice to help avoid feeling like you've been underpaid for your work and what you can do if you feel you are.
Prevention is better than cure
Before you sign up, compare how many hours you are being paid for with how many hours you are being directed to work. 'Directed' is a key word here. If the lecturer says it would be good for you to attend the lectures, but you don't have to, that's not a direction to work. As long as you feel you have the choice to attend or not (and understand that you won't be paid for it), there's no problem.
First determine how many hours you'll be paid for. So work out how many tutorials and repeat tutorials you'll be paid for, and how much extra marking you'll be paid for. Remember to count tutorials as 3 hours, and repeat tutorials as 2. If you're taking labs, it's simply the number of hours of labs you'll have, and any extra marking there might be. Do this for the whole semester.
Now work out how many hours you'll be directed to work. This isn't as easy, but it's worth persevering. You might need to ask whether you are required to attend lectures, have office hours, how long the assignments will take to mark, etc.
Case study: Michael
Michael is to take 2 lab groups over the semester. Labs are for 3 hours and held fortnightly, so there'll be 6 lab sessions for each group. Michael hasn't been asked to have office hours, do marking, or preparation outside the lab hours.
His department is offering Michael a contract totalling 36 hours over the whole semester, paid at the current rate.
Michael calculates his workload as 2x3x6 = 36. So he will be paid for every hour he is expected to work, and Michael happily signs the contract
Case study: Alana
Alana has been offered 2 tutorial groups on her favourite topic. Classes are held every week from week 2, so students have 12 tutorials in the semester. In addition to the classes, Alana has been asked to hold 4 hours of consultation times in the days prior to the second of the two assignments being due. She is strongly encouraged by her lecturer to attend the lectures, but told that she won't be paid for them.
The department offers her a contract for 12 tutorials, 12 repeat tutorials, and 4 hours of consultation. From this Alana calculates she is being paid for a total of 64 hours work:
12 tutorials (12 x 3 hrs)
+ 12 repeat tutorials (12 x 2 hrs)
+ 4 hrs consultation
= 64 hrs
She asks the lecturer for clarification of lecture attendance, and is told that she must attend all 20 lectures or she can't teach. When she asks how long each assignment will take to mark, she is told it will take 30 minutes for each of the 15 students in each tut group. When she asks about preparation time, she is told she is to use that time to prepare the lesson.
Alana realises she is being directed to work for:
12 hrs (preparation)
24 hrs (delivery)
20 hrs (lectures)
4 hrs (consultation)
30 hrs (marking)
= 90 hrs
Alana raises the problem with her lecturer, who consults their local HR officer. Alana and her lecturer agree that instead of attending lectures, they will instead have a 30 minute tutors' meeting each week (12 weeks) in which the key points from the lectures will be discussed. The lecturer also agrees to reduce the length of the assignments so that they can be marked in 20 minutes. So now she is being asked to do 66 hours of work. Alana's lecturer adds 2 hours of extra marking to the contract.
Satisfied that she is now being paid for every hour she works, Alana accepts the job offer.
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