City of SUNDERLAND PERSONNEL SERVICES

Flexible Working Handbook A Guide for Managers

Produced by: CORPORATE PERSONNEL SERVICES

September 2004

Flexible Working Handbook

Contents Page Introduction

3

Background

3

Benefits

3

Commitment

4

Use of Handbook

4

Requesting Flexible Working

5

Frequently Asked Questions

7

Policy Overview

8

Appendix 1 – Application process

10

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Introduction Sunderland City Council is committed to providing a range of opportunities to help employees balance family and work life commitments, without compromising service requirements. The development of our flexible working arrangements demonstrates the Council’s understanding that employees are able to work most effectively and efficiently when they can successfully balance work commitments with those of their personal lives.

Background For a number of years, the Council has had in place mechanisms to provide employees with some flexibility, such as part time working, job share arrangements and a Flexible Working Hours Scheme. However, as a modern employer we must have the working practices in place that will assist us in becoming an employer of choice, improving service delivery and meeting the demands of the communities we serve. During 2002, the Council received an award from the DTi’s Work-life Balance Challenge Fund to develop flexible working within the Council. As part of this, the Consultants carried out a number of consultation sessions with Chief Officers, managers and employees. The majority of the feedback relating to flexible working was positive and specific emphasis was placed on improving the Flexible Working Hours Scheme. Research has shown that employees are placing more value on the quality of their working lives and seeking greater flexibility so that they can manage work commitments alongside personal and family life. The results of the employee attitude survey showed that: • Up to 72% of respondents felt that the flexible working available to them could be improved • 50% of respondents value the opportunity to work flexible hours • And almost 45% of respondents have caring responsibilities outside of work. Furthermore, the Flexible Working (Eligibility, Complaints and Remedies) Regulations 2002 implement the new statutory right set out within the Employment Act 2002. This is the right for parents of young children to be able to better manage their caring responsibilities and their working lives, by providing them with the right to request ways of working. The legislation demands that the employer considers such requests seriously. It is envisaged that this legislation will be extended.

Benefits of Flexible Working The Dti, ACAS, NJC for Local Government Services and the Equal Opportunities Commission have all published guidance on flexible working and the benefits it can bring. The potential benefits can include:

Benefits to the Council • • • • • • • •

An opportunity to match service availability and delivery with the diverse needs of our communities Improvements to employee motivation, productivity and creativity Assisting in us in becoming an employer of choice, recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce from a wider pool of better qualified employees Improving the ability to respond to change Reducing sickness absence The potential to reduce the numbers and cost of temporary or casual contracts A useful tool for managers and employees who are discussing the options for making reasonable adjustments, in line with the duties of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Additional support to assist with the achievement of the Council’s Corporate Equality Policy. Page 3 of 10

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Benefits to our Employees • • • • • • •

Improvements to the balance between work and caring responsibilities The opportunity to participate in interests and activities The opportunity to make better use of working hours The potential to reduce time spent travelling to work Improved health, confidence and concentration Improved job satisfaction The opportunity to have a meaningful career for those employees who are unable to work full time, for a variety of reasons.

The Commitment Recognising the benefits, the Elected Members, Chief Executive and the Executive Management Team are committed to the development of flexible working arrangements, and have approved the policies detailed in this Handbook. The Council will: • Ensure that fair and equal consideration is given to requests for flexible working in line with relevant policies, the Council’s Corporate Equality Policy and any changes to terms and conditions of service • Demonstrate that we value all employees as individuals and our committed to supporting their specific needs, where we are able • Encourage and enable managers and employees to work in partnership to understand and to meet the needs of both the service and the individual by providing guidance and development • Publicise the commitment to flexible working and work-life balance practices • Monitor, review, develop and consult on suitable flexible working arrangements, to meet the needs of the Council and employees.

The Use of this Handbook The aim of this handbook is to provide an overview of the Council’s flexible working arrangements and the additional support available, rather than “how to do” procedures, in order to avoid duplication. Therefore, when dealing with a specific request for flexible working the full policy should be referred to. This handbook will be updated as new policies are developed. The policies are available on the intranet and from your Directorate’s Personnel/HR Section. Your Directorate’s Personnel/HR Section and Corporate Personnel Services are happy to meet with managers to explore flexible working arrangements within your team, and provide practical advice including: • The flexible working options available and solutions to problems • Guidance on managing employees with flexible working arrangements to prevent and resolve difficulties and problems • Legal issues, including discrimination legislation and case law, compliance with the Working Time Regulations and Health and Safety requirements • The Council’s commitment and consistency with the Council’s Corporate Equality Policy • The impact of changes on terms and conditions of employment, such as pay and annual leave entitlement. Feedback on any of the Council’s flexible working arrangements is welcomed and will be used for review purposes. Please contact AskPersonnel by phone or email (Tel:553 1755, Email:[email protected]) who will pass your comments to the Employee Relations Research Team.

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Requesting Flexible Working The Council has exceeded legal requirements by agreeing to consider requests for new working arrangements from all employees who have at least 26 weeks service, providing no earlier requests have been made within 12 months.

Flexible working arrangements Employees can request to: • Change the number of hours they work • Change the times they are required to work • Work from home (for all or part of the week) This procedure has been designed to simplify and standardise the process of requesting a flexible working arrangement. All requests for flexible working should be made under this procedure. Supporting policies such as the Job Share Scheme and the Homeworking Policy have been developed to provide specific detail and guidance about the options available when considering such requests. Employees are able to request flexible working arrangements that encompass more than one way of working, for example an employee could request to reduce their working hours and work from home. Requesting Flexible Working Procedure

Annualised Hours Policy

Career Break Scheme

Job Share Scheme

Part Year Working Policy

Homeworking Policy

Managing Applications There is a clear step-by-step procedure for managing applications (See Appendix 1); and the Directorate’s Personnel/HR Section supports each step. Employees have a responsibility to request working arrangements that are practical and will allow them to fulfil the purpose of their job roles. The application provides the employee with the opportunity to set out the reasons why their preferred working pattern is compatible with the needs of the business or service, as far as they are able to tell. All requests should be considered by a suitable Manager of appropriate seniority, who has the authority to make a decision, and is able to consider the service implications of the request, as well as recognise the needs of the employee. Meetings should be used as an opportunity to talk openly and honestly, with the aim of identifying opportunities, benefits, barriers and solutions. Although the original request may not be feasible, there may be a suitable alternative arrangement. Employees with the legal right to request flexible working arrangements could make a claim to an Employment Tribunal under certain circumstances. These include basing the decision on incorrect facts and not adhering to the procedure and timescales. All applications must be considered in a fair and non-discriminatory manner, within the agreed timescales and employees must not be treated any less favourably as a result of making an application.

Considering the Application Considerations will vary depending upon the request being made. For example, an application for part year working will have different considerations to a homeworking request. Furthermore, considerations will vary between teams and different service requirements and demands.

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The following list contains examples of things to consider when assessing a request for reduced hours: • Do all tasks within the role still need to be done or could they be done differently? • Does the role have specific daily, weekly, monthly deadlines and could these be changed? • How vital is it to have the employee available for work for the whole week? • What effect (if any) will there be on service delivery, either positive or negative? This will include customer demand, performance and quality. • How can arrangements be adapted to maintain or improve service delivery? • Is there sufficient work at the times the employee is proposing to work? • Can the working hours be targeted to peaks in workload or customer demand? • What working arrangements are already agreed within the team? • Could salary savings provide additional support during peaks in workload? • Will the change incur additional costs, and what is the extent? • Are there any restructuring plans that may affect this role? • What other solutions are available?

Agreeing the Request It may be relatively easy to agree a request, particularly if it is simply to vary start and finish times. Other requests will need further investigation and possibly adaptation. The Directorate’s Personnel/HR Section will advise upon the practical arrangements needed to make the changes on a permanent basis i.e. changes to terms and conditions. Where there is uncertainty it may be appropriate to agree the request on a trial period, giving both the manager and the employee an opportunity to assess the change prior to making a permanent commitment. Full written details of a trial period must be given to the employee, who in turn should provide written confirmation showing they accept the terms of the trial period. Once the changes have been agreed, it is advisable to inform the other team members. This will keep them updated about the changes and give an opportunity to address concerns about how the changes will affect their own workload and flexibility. Involving the team in developing systems to make the arrangement work may prevent problems and resentment. The discussions will not affect the decision made.

Refusing the Request The recommended starting point is to review requests positively, with the aim of reaching agreement or finding a suitable alternative working arrangement. However, it is recognised that some flexible working options simply may not be operationally practical for certain jobs and a solution may not always be possible. Legitimate business reasons for refusing a request and the process and documentation for dealing with this are detailed in the Procedure. Advice must be sought from the Directorate’s Personnel/HR Section. An open two-way discussion with clear reasons for refusing the request will help to maintain good working relationships despite the disappointment of not currently being able to work more flexibly. The employee has the right to appeal the decision to the Head of Service (or Director, or other appropriate Senior Manager depending on the seniority of the Applicant).

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Frequently Asked Questions Why is the Council extending the right to request flexible working? It is increasingly recognised that flexible working is essential to a modern Council, allowing us to think more creatively about service delivery and, in return, assisting employees balance their home and work commitments. This is an increasing area of competition between Councils trying to recruit and retain the best staff. Furthermore, it is highly likely that the legal right to request a flexible working arrangement will be extended to include other employees in due course.

Will the introduction of flexible working arrangements impact upon service? Balancing employees’ needs for flexibility whilst ensuring the service is not adversely affected is key to any work-life balance approach. Employees, managers and the Personnel Service have a responsibility to consider the effects on the service, including how barriers can be overcome. Full details on the legitimate business reasons for refusing a request are detailed in the Procedure. Introducing flexible working into a team has the potential to positively influence recruitment and retention rates, employee satisfaction, service delivery, and can reduce absenteeism levels. Furthermore, requests may not be to reduce hours of work, just to work in a different way. Compressed working arrangements within the Contact Centre, for example, have proved successful, as this has allowed the Council to offer longer opening hours. The introduction and continuation of a new working arrangement can require some effort and commitment. It is, therefore, recommended that management adopt an approach that provides joint responsibility with employees for making the flexibility work. This will include developing guidelines, communications system, work expectations and performance measures together, and raising concerns at an early stage if problems with the arrangement arise.

How will performance be managed? It is widely accepted that simply seeing employees at work is not a good performance measure. One of the advantages of moving from traditional working patterns is the greater emphasis on measuring outputs and outcomes. It may be necessary to adapt existing performance, monitoring and feedback systems depending upon the agreed change. Some flexible working arrangements will entail the employee working longer hours to gain time off on another day e.g. compressed hours. Employees must recognise that their work cannot be adversely affected by their flexible working arrangement and they are required to perform at the agreed standards. If subsequent problems arise with a flexible working arrangement, the manager and employee should meet quickly to discuss how to overcome the problems. Agreeing the change on a trial period might prove beneficial.

What if several team members request the same working pattern? In reality it is unlikely that everyone in a team will want the same working arrangement, as team members will have diverse needs. Furthermore, many employees will often only need a small amount of flexibility; which they may be able to get through the Flexible Working Hours Scheme, without the need for a formal change. However, if all team members request the same working pattern, the requests would need to be considered collectively. If the requests would adversely affect service delivery, for example by leaving shortages in essential work cover, then the requests could not be agreed. However, following the procedure, the manager together with the team members should look for solutions. For example, it may be possible to use a rota system to provide the flexibility needed, and in some cases service delivery may improve if, for example, the result is the ability to offer longer office opening hours.

What if the employee requesting the change has a performance issue? This does not automatically mean that the request cannot be agreed. It is possible that changing the working pattern may actually increase motivation and commitment, and possibly Page 7 of 10 September 2004

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alleviate an outside pressure. Performance measures and standards will need to be set, so that performance can continue to be monitored. The employee must be aware that they must fulfil the requirements of their job role. Each request must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Some key issues to be aware of when managing employees with flexible working arrangements: Employees are: • Still required to meet the standards of their job • Expected to share responsibility with the rest of the team when dealing with unexpected pressures, crises and amending team rotas • Required to keep their colleagues and manager advised of their hours and activities • Entitled to participate in development opportunities Employees are not: • Expected to perform a full time role in part time hours • Required to change their hours without adequate notice of consideration to their personal circumstances • Entitled to change their hours beyond the agreed arrangement without prior agreement of the manager

Policy Overview In order to manage the implementation of successful flexible working requests, a range of policies have been developed. These are detailed below with a brief synopsis.

Annualised Hours Policy Annualised hours is a system where an employee’s hours are totalled over a set period, often one year. Employees work more or less each week as agreed, and usually fitting in with seasonal peaks and troughs of the service, up to the annual maximum. In some cases, weekly or monthly payment varies with the hours worked. In other cases, payment is averaged over the twelve months. All annualised hours agreements will be subject to a pilot period and regular review and monitoring. Agreements must be fully compliant with legal requirements, in particular the Working Time Regulations and the Council’s Corporate Health and Safety Policy. Further advice on this is available from your Directorate’s Personnel/HR Section.

Career Break Scheme The term “career break” applies to an unpaid break in career for a variety of reasons. The purpose of the career break must be clearly stated in each application, which will then be considered on its own merits. The scheme encourages the retention of experienced and skilled employees, who may otherwise need to resign in order to meet their personal commitments. The length of the career break will be for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 5 years (which includes the combined length of previous career breaks).

Job Share Scheme Job sharing is a formal arrangement whereby, instead of an appointment of a single postholder, two or more employees share all the duties of a full time post with the full time salary and accompanying conditions of service of the post being divided proportionally among the job sharers. The precise working arrangements will be discussed between the job sharers and their supervisor. Examples of job share arrangements include: • Two and a half consecutive days a week • Two days one week and three days the next week • Alternate weeks Job sharing allows employees to reduce weekly working hours without having to change job or career prospects. The Council can benefit by retaining skilled and trained employees and benefit from a dual Page 8 of 10 September 2004

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input of ideas and experience. All full time jobs will be available for job share. The only grounds on which the Council will exempt a post will relate solely to the nature of the job in question being inappropriate to job share.

Part-Year Working Policy Part-year working enables employees to work for set periods of less than 52 weeks a year to meet with service requirements and help employees for example to meet their caring and/or family commitments. The number of working days, hours etc and other arrangements are for the initial agreement between the employee and their manager. Term-time working is the most common example of part-year working currently operating within the Council and is widely used in schools. Characteristics that make jobs particularly suitable to part year working include: • Work which has seasonal peaks and troughs • Project based work which can be organised around a particular pattern • Posts linked to education.

Homeworking Policy For the purpose of this scheme, homeworking is defined as working at or working from home for a proportion (upto 100%) of the employee’s normal working week. • Working at home: Where the person uses their home as their office for part of the week or on an ad-hoc occasional basis for completing certain tasks such as writing reports or reading documents. •

Working from home:

Where people are based primarily at home instead of travelling to the office, or base, to work. This can include employees whose main form of work is peripatetic. This can save on personal time and costs of commuting, business mileage and provide more efficient use of time and energy.

In both circumstances homeworking is a practical consideration where an individual’s work is selfregulated and is distinct to the extent that it can be undertaken outside the office or base. Whilst not all jobs are suitable for homeworking, all jobs will be considered on their own merits. Jobs that will not be suitable or practical are those that provide a direct service either to the public or to internal service users, e.g. a public reception or a general office role. However, even to this rule there are exceptions – such as home help!

Flexible Working Hours Scheme Many of the Council’s employees can participate in the Flexible Working Hours Scheme. The working day is as follows: Flexible time Core Time Flexible time Core time Flexible time

7.00 a.m. - 10.00 a.m. 10.00 a.m. - 11.30 a.m. 11.30 a.m. - 2.15 p.m. 2.15 p.m. - 2.45 p.m. 2.45 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.

During flexible time, staff may vary their starting and finishing times, subject to the requirements of the Service, notably the requirement to provide satisfactory cover for the period during which the offices are open to the public. Management reserves the right to regulate the starting and finishing times of staff, where necessary to ensure appropriate levels of service. A credit upto a maximum of 15 hours, may be carried over from one accounting period to another. This is to enable changing workloads or commitments to be satisfied. Debit balances remain at a maximum of 10 hours over the accounting period. Flexible leave is 2 days (or 4 half days) in each accounting period. Page 9 of 10 September 2004

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Appendix 1 Making a Flexible Working Application – How the Process Works Nominated HR Manager receives an application for flexible working.

Within 28 days Manager and employee meet to discuss the application. Employee may be accompanied by TU rep or work colleague

Within 14 days

Request is Accepted

The Manager writes notifying the employee of his/her decision. Request is Rejected

Both the employee and the manager will need to consider what arrangements they need to make for when the working pattern is changed.

The employee needs to decide if they wish to appeal against the Manager’s decision. If so, they must appeal in writing, setting out the grounds for their appeal. Within 14 days Employee’s written appeal is received Within 14 days Head of Service and employee meet to discuss the appeal. Employee may be accompanied by TU Rep or work colleague Within 14 days The Head of Service writes notifying the employee of his/her decision.

Appeal is Accepted

Both the employee and the Head of Service will need to consider what arrangements they need to make for when the working pattern is changed.

Request is Rejected In specific circumstances, the employee can take their case to an employment tribunal or binding arbitration.

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