AW-07 · Staff Lifecycle: Requisition, Onboarding, Access, Leave, Appraisal Records and Offboarding

1. Purpose and scope

Purpose. To ensure that IoL departments request staff once a year through a cycle in which the Operational Committee recommends, the Dean decides the IoL staffing priorities and Dubai Health HQ allocates the positions; that no recruitment begins before HQ approval; that every new member of staff has the right access, briefings and records from day one; that probation, leave and appraisal records are complete; and that a leaver's access, assets and records are recovered on the last working day.

Scope statement. This procedure manages the IoL part of the staff lifecycle from the January staffing call to the closure of the leaver's record, with the HQ HR system as the system of record for the appointment and the SDO central repository for the request, prioritisation and onboarding records.

Applies to. Annual staffing requests from all IoL departments, for new positions and replacements charged to the University or DAHC budget entity; urgent replacement requests during the year; and all HQ-employed staff whose line management sits in IoL, on any contract type. Secondees hosted by IoL are covered for induction, access and offboarding only [IoL to confirm].

Does not apply to. HQ recruitment, grading, offer, contract and payroll procedures, which IoL applies and does not write. Individual HR service requests handled directly with HQ HR. Adjunct, visiting, honorary and clinical-educator appointments (AW-08). Teaching allocation, workload, credential verification and faculty development (WF-08). Performance management beyond the administration of the appraisal cycle; grievance, conduct and wellbeing referral (AW-09).

Rules that hold throughout. Departments submit staffing requests once a year, by the end of February, on the IoL staffing request template. Every submission is reviewed by the Operational Committee before the Dean's decision. IoL does not allocate positions: IoL prepares the documentation and the justification, and HQ determines the allocation. Unfunded requests are recorded in the carry-forward register and may be resubmitted in the following cycle with updated justification. No recruitment activity begins before HQ approval, and IoL does not make offers. Each request names its budget entity, University or DAHC. A request returned for completion and not resubmitted within 10 working days is closed.

2. Trigger, boundary and interfaces

3. Roles and accountability

Process owner. Head of Administration and Operations (HAO). Custodian. Administration Affairs (SDO), whose HR Officer operates the procedure and keeps its records. The Department Chair is the line manager for departmental staff; for other staff the line manager named in the HQ HR system holds the same role.

The Dean holds the highest IoL authority in this procedure; the Dean's own leave, role changes and personnel records go to the Dean's superior, named in AW-05.

[CONTROL] Segregation. The Chair who requests a post does not decide its priority: the Operational Committee recommends and the Dean decides, and only requests included in the Dean's decision reach HQ. No one approves their own leave, probation confirmation or role change, and the person recommending such a decision never approves it. Personnel, probation and appraisal records are visible only to the individual, the line manager, the SDO HR Officer and HQ HR. A request concerning the Chair's own post is prepared by the HAO [HAO to confirm; IOL-OPS-008 v0.1 does not state the route].

[CONTROL] Delegation tiers. Staffing approvals are not value-tiered: the priorities are the Dean's decision after Operational Committee and HAO review, and the allocation is HQ HR's and HQ Finance's, with requests exceeding budget referred to the HR and Remuneration Committee and the Board. The one value-bearing approval is the starting salary of an approved hire: up to the midpoint of the grade, the HAO, or the Dean above the HAO's limit (AW-05); above the midpoint, Level 3 with the Chief Operating Officer (COO), under DOA Manual Chapter 6. The limit dividing the HAO from the Dean is stated in AW-05 [HAO to state; IOL-OPS-008 v0.1 names both without a dividing line].

4. Procedure

1. Issue the staffing call. In January the SDO HR Officer issues the staffing call memo to every Department Chair with the IoL staffing request template, the evidence requirements (activity plan, workload, service risk and expected outcomes) and the end-of-February deadline. Next: step 2.

2. Prepare and submit the staffing request. The Chair prepares one request per position stating the position, grade, request type (new or replacement), justification from the departmental activity plan (workload, service risk and expected outcomes), proposed start date and budget entity. An academic or research request states whether the post carries research duties; this is the first record of the KPI 4.1 attribute and is carried through to onboarding. The Chair submits by the end of February and SDO enters the request in the submission log. An urgent replacement follows the exception route. Next: step 3.

3. Validate and cost the requests. The SDO HR Officer validates each request against the approved organisational structure and the existing vacancies, checks the justification against the evidence requirements, and estimates the annual cost with the SDO Head of Finance and HQ HR, consulting the Chair. The estimates are handed to AW-02. [CONTROL] No request reaches the Operational Committee without a validation and costing sheet. Decision point. Complete and costed: step 4. Incomplete: returned to the Chair with written comments and resubmitted to step 3. Timeout. Not resubmitted within 10 working days: the request is closed in the submission log.

4. Operational Committee review and ranking. The Operational Committee, under its terms of reference (AW-01), reviews every validated submission, consults the Chairs and recommends priorities as a ranked list minuted by the committee secretary. [CONTROL] No request is submitted to the Dean without Operational Committee review. Next: step 5.

5. HAO review of budget and operational impact. The HAO reviews the recommended list for budget and operational impact across both budget entities and presents it to the Dean. Next: step 6.

6. Dean decision on the staffing priorities. The Dean decides which requests are included in the IoL staffing priorities submitted to HQ; the decision is recorded as the approved IoL staffing plan. Decision point. Included: step 7. Not included: step 9.

7. Prepare and submit the pack to HQ. The SDO HR Officer prepares the submission pack with the justification, costing and priorities of every included request, and the HAO, or the Dean, submits it to HQ HR and HQ Finance. [CONTROL] Only requests included in the Dean's decision are submitted; SDO reconciles the pack to the approved plan first. Next: step 8.

8. HQ allocation decision. HQ HR and HQ Finance determine the allocation of positions and budget; requests exceeding budget are referred by HQ to the HR and Remuneration Committee and the Board. The SDO HR Officer follows up and records the outcome for each request. [CONTROL] No recruitment activity begins before HQ approval; advertising, interviewing or any commitment to a candidate ahead of it is reported through AW-24. Decision point. Allocated: step 10. Not funded: step 9. Pending beyond the HQ cycle: SDO escalates through the HAO and the request stays open.

9. Record and carry forward unfunded requests. The SDO HR Officer notifies the Chair of each request not included by the Dean or not funded by HQ, records the reason, adds it to the carry-forward register and informs the Operational Committee. A carried-forward request may be resubmitted in the following cycle with updated justification, re-entering at step 2. [CONTROL] Every unfunded request is recorded with its reason. End: request carried forward.

10. Coordinate recruitment and appointment. The SDO HR Officer notifies the Chair of the approved position by outcome memo and opens the recruitment file. HQ HR conducts the recruitment; the department participates in selection through the Chair, and each panel member's conflict declaration and the scoring record are kept in the file. The starting salary is approved as section 3 states. HQ HR runs the pre-employment checks and issues the offer and the contract; IoL does not make offers. [CONTROL] A panel member with a personal or financial relationship with a candidate withdraws, and the withdrawal is recorded. Decision point. Appointed with a confirmed start date: step 11. Recruitment unsuccessful: the Chair asks HQ HR to re-advertise within the approval period, or the position returns to step 9.

11. Prepare for arrival. On the confirmed start date the SDO HR Officer raises the AW-15 access request at the role's standard profile, allocates workspace through AW-14, arranges equipment through AW-13 and agrees an induction plan with the line manager. [CONTROL] Access is requested at the profile for the role, never copied from a colleague's account. Next: step 12.

12. Deliver induction and capture the OBEF attributes. Within the induction period [HAO to state the number of working days] the appointee completes the IoL induction checklist under the line manager: data protection and information security briefing (AW-16), health and safety briefing including simulation-area rules (AW-17), the controlled documents for the role (AW-03), the code of conduct and reporting lines; the signed checklist is filed. [CONTROL] No access beyond the induction profile until the data protection briefing is recorded as complete. [CAPTURE] For every academic or research appointment, within 10 working days of start, the SDO HR Officer records on one onboarding form the ORCID identifier (created during induction if absent), the canonical University affiliation string as WF-18 prescribes, research duties yes or no (from the job description), doctoral qualification yes or no (with the evidence reference) and full-time or part-time status. The form goes to the WF-08 Data Steward; ORCID and affiliation go to WF-18. [CONTROL] Attributes are taken from the job description and the qualification evidence, not from the appointee's own account of the role; a blank is an incomplete onboarding, not a nil. Next: step 13.

13. Manage probation, leave and attendance. The line manager holds probation reviews at the intervals HQ HR policy sets, records each, and confirms or extends probation in the HQ HR system before the end date. Staff request leave in the HQ HR system; the line manager approves against the team calendar and WF-08 teaching commitments; sickness absence is recorded on the first day. [CONTROL] No self-approval of leave. Decision point. Probation confirmed: step 14. Recommendation not to confirm: it goes to HQ HR before the end date and is not an IoL decision alone.

14. Process role changes and administer the appraisal cycle. Changes of title, grade, hours, line manager or research duties are requested by the line manager, approved by the HAO, or the Dean above the HAO's limit (AW-05), and recorded by HQ HR. [CAPTURE] Any change to research duties, hours or qualification level is re-notified to WF-08 on the step 12 form, because it moves the KPI 4.1 denominator. The SDO HR Officer schedules appraisals to the HQ annual cycle, confirms completion and files the signed record and development plan; the development plan for academic staff is shared with WF-08, the appraisal is not. [CONTROL] Appraisal records are access-restricted as section 3 states. Decision point. Appointment continues: step 13 at the next cycle date. Notice of resignation, contract end or retirement: step 15.

15. Receive notice and plan the exit. The SDO HR Officer opens the offboarding checklist, confirms the last working day with HQ HR and notifies AW-15, AW-13, AW-03, AW-05 and WF-08. The line manager plans the handover of records, controlled documents, learner-facing duties and research data. Next: step 16.

16. Recover, revoke and close the record. On the last working day assets are returned and confirmed in AW-13; controlled documents and records are handed over with custody updated in AW-03 and AW-04; locally held personal data is transferred or deleted under AW-16; access is revoked by AW-15 the same day and confirmed in writing. An exit conversation is offered and filed apart from the personnel file. The SDO HR Officer closes the checklist, notifies HQ HR of the final leave balance and asset status, and files it. WF-08 removes the person from the allocation; the WF-18 affiliation record is end-dated, not deleted. A vacancy to be refilled re-enters at step 2 or through the urgent route. [CONTROL] A leaver with live access after the last working day is an AW-16 incident. End: leaver's record closed.

Exception routes. Urgent replacement: following a resignation or where a critical service risk arises, the Chair prepares an urgent replacement request with justification outside the annual call; SDO validates and costs it as at step 3, the Operational Committee reviews it on an expedited basis (step 4), the HAO reviews it (step 5) and the Dean decides (step 6); approved requests proceed to step 7, others are recorded at step 9. IOL-OPS-008 v0.1 sets no turnaround for the expedited review [HAO to state]. Late annual submission: held to the next cycle unless the Chair shows a critical service risk, in which case it takes the urgent route [HAO to confirm; IOL-OPS-008 v0.1 does not state the route]. Immediate departure (dismissal, safeguarding, security): access is revoked on instruction from the Dean and HQ HR before the checklist is worked through. Transfer within Dubai Health: the onboarding and offboarding steps apply; the HQ HR record is transferred, not closed.

5. Service standards

6. Records, retention and controls

Records are kept in the Administration Affairs (SDO) central repository and in the systems named below, and retained for a minimum of seven years or the period required by the Dubai Department of Finance, whichever is longer; personnel records follow the HQ HR retention schedule where it is longer [SDO to confirm the schedule].

Key controls. (1) No request reaches the Operational Committee without validation and costing, and none reaches the Dean without Operational Committee review. (2) Only requests included in the Dean's decision are submitted to HQ. (3) No recruitment activity before HQ approval. (4) Every unfunded request is recorded with its reason in the carry-forward register. (5) Starting salary approved at the AW-05 level under the grade midpoint rule. (6) Panel conflicts declared and conflicted members withdrawn. (7) No access beyond the induction profile before the data protection briefing. (8) No self-approval of leave, probation or role change. (9) Probation and appraisal records access-restricted. (10) Access revoked on the last working day and confirmed in writing. (11) OBEF attributes captured from evidence within 10 working days and re-captured on every role change.

OBEF touchpoint capture rule. ORCID, affiliation string, research-duties flag, doctoral flag and full-time or part-time status are captured at onboarding by the SDO HR Officer from the job description and the qualification evidence, and re-captured on any role change. They are not reconstructed at OBEF submission time. WF-08 applies the exclusion rule; AW-07 supplies the facts the rule needs.

7. Performance measures

8. Change control