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Student Visa Holders – Working for the University of Hertfordshire

Important information for international students working for the University & Hertfordshire Students' Union

University regulations relating to students employed by the University of Hertfordshire can be found in the University Policies & Regulations, which are available on the UH website

The University of Hertfordshire has its own restrictions on how many hours its students can work, regardless of what your BRP states. This applies to all employment at the University, e.g. Student Ambassadors, Residential Assistants (RAs), Visiting Lecturers (VLs), Aramark, Sports Village etc.  Where full time work may be undertaken during vacations, the University permits a maximum of 37 hours per week.

If you participate in the Go Herts Award scheme, these voluntary activities count towards your weekly working hours limit. It is your responsibility to monitor your hours.  Contact the HR team for advice if you are unsure as to how many hours work you can work as a University of Hertfordshire student: recruitment-hourlypaid@herts.ac.uk.

Whilst on a Student visa, you are only permitted to have one job at the University at any one time and will not be able to take on multiple roles within the University, for example, you cannot work for Aramark as well as working as a Student Ambassador. This rule applies also to jobs in Hertfordshire Student Union (HSU).

Students are not permitted to start work for the University until they have fully completed the recruitment process. This includes signing and returning your appointment letter AND receiving confirmation of your start date from the HR Department. Failure to follow the recruitment process fully could mean that you are not able to be paid, and you could also be in breach of your visa conditions. Recruitment documents are available from your recruiting manager – however your recruiting manager should not confirm your start date before HR have done so.

Student Unions' Sabbatical/School Officers

If you decide to run for election as a Hertfordshire Students' Union Sabbatical Officer/School Officer and are successfully appointed, this will have implications for your Student Visa.  Before you decide to run for election, it is important that you contact the Student Immigration Team to discuss how being elected as a Sabbatical Officer would affect your visa/studies. If you are elected as a Sabbatical Officer partway through your studies, you will not be able to continue your studies alongside your full-time Sabbatical post. In this situation, you would be required to defer your studies and the University would notify UKVI that you are now working as a Sabbatical Officer. You would need to extend your Student Visa if it is expiring during the term of your Sabbatical post in order to complete your course when you return to study. If you are coming to the end of your studies when you are elected, then you would need to apply for a Student Visa extension to cover the length of the post.

If you are elected as a part-time School Officer, you can continue studies alongside this post. However, you must not exceed your working hour’s restriction. Any work carried out in a part-time School Officer position counts towards your weekly working hours limit. Working as a part-time School Officer must not impact on your studies. In either appointment (both School & Sabbatical Officers), you will be required to see a Student Immigration Adviser to read and sign a declaration form, to make sure that you are fully aware of what is expected of you whilst in post. You will not be permitted to start your role if you have not signed the declaration form.

You are not able to work for the Student Union and have a job with the University at the same time.  You should also be aware that HSU will share information about your employment as a Sabbatical Officer with the appropriate teams here at university, and vice-versa.

Contact Us

Student Immigration Team (Advice)

Student Immigration Team (Advice & Compliance)

Today 2pm - 3:30pm
Ask Herts (Hutton Hub), College Lane