(See 5 U.S.C. Every job deserves some flexibility. Agencies may limit the number of hours an employee may work on a daily basis. An agency may establish limitations on when basic work requirement hours may be performede.g., the days of the week on which an employee may perform such hours and limits on the number of such hours on a given day. As part of the limitations that an agency establishes for an FWS, an agency may bar employees from performing work on a holiday without approval. When combined with telework, FWS can provide agencies with the flexibility to maintain safe social distance between employees in the workplace by reducing the percentage of employees who are in the office at any given time. Periods of peak activity and idletime are better managed so that more work can be done in the same number ofhours. There are variations on this typeof schedule. What Is Flexible Time Off? Definition and How It Works The scheme allows employees to vary their start and finish times to suit their personal circumstances, therefore employees will be able, on a day-to-day basis and in What is flexitime (flexible work) and what are its advantages and (See 5 U.S.C. September 28, 2021 The Big Idea Series / Rethinking Back to Work Summary. How will your proposed schedule sustain or enhance your ability to get thejob done and the ability of the work unit to maintain production and service? It is advisable to document the specific arrangement. True flexibility that meets business and personal needs is unlikely to succeed without support from the top. Examples of abuse include inaccurate time sheets or a continuingdecrease in productivity that indicates an employee is not working duringflexible hours. All persons hired temporarily to replace employees who are on leave of absence shall be so advised and shall be informed of the approximate date the regular employee is expected to return. Even if telework isnt always an option, organizations should offer flexibility to both office and frontline workers. ), Compensatory Time Off in lieu of Overtime An agency may grant compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay at the request of the employee under an FWS for regularly scheduled or irregular or occasional overtime hours of work. A full-time employee will receive holiday pay for 8 basic work requirement hours on the holiday during which no work is performed. Questions that leaders, team members, and other stakeholders might discuss include: Although clear policies and consistent implementation are important, overly restrictive policies are not the answer. A manager has an opportunity to practice skills and enhancehis/her personal reputation as a good manager. Competitive edge. Other firms are offering employees special leave days to celebrate a religious The more carefully planned, the more likely allinvolved will see the benefits and the better the chances for success. The last shows that flexible scheduling is a critical (yet unsolved) competitive issue for many organizations. In both these examples the role of leaders is to establish guidelines regarding what works and what doesnt in a way that is facilitating but not controlling, ensuring that workers understand their accountability for guaranteeing staffing mandates and, in the case of health care, the quality of patient care. Its no wonder that managers struggle with how to let employees work when and where they do so best. Approval of such requests shall be subject to the operational needs of the department and shall conform to the provisions of Article 12 (Unpaid Leaves of Absence). What actions can I take to ensure strong collaboration and working relationships? For example, one large tech firm adopted a model called Retail Flex, allowing its in-store employees to work remotely when handling tech assistance and online sales. An employee may also vary the length of the workweek. Such localized flexibility practices can help maintain equity among employees in different parts of the world so that team members work at mutually convenient times. If you were to randomly ask leaders or employees at your company to describe flexibility, they should be able to give a clear answer and their answers should be consistent. In organizations where managers are the gatekeepers of flexibility (most often the case), employee access can be very uneven, with accommodation dependent on who ones boss is rather than on the quality of ones work or the equitable support of nonwork needs. (See 5 U.S.C. Consider this example from Canada, where, as in the United Kingdom and Australia, the right to request a flexible schedule is gaining legal ground. Sabbatical Leaves 13.1 A teacher holding a professional certificate with seven (7) or more consecutive years of satisfactory, active service in Harford County Public Schools may be granted a sabbatical leave of absence for the purpose of furthering professional growth by means of graduate study or other means approved by the Superintendent. In addition, in this particular biweekly pay period, there is a Federal holiday. Neither is inherently bad, but both can have unintended consequences, particularly when used in isolation. No Such Thing as a Standard Policy How should HR define flexwork? Without clear and adequate communication, there is a possibility thatflextime may come to be viewed as an entitlement. A leave request is a message in which you ask your employer or supervisor for time off work. Flex leave can be taken at either the beginning or end of a period of leave.. Flex leave is where an employee works less than their ordinary hours Core hours are the designated period of the day when all employees must be present for work. Although leaders must help shape the structures and policies for flexible work, they dont need to have all the answers. Evidence indicates that when women use flexibility more than men do, they face lower pay, stalled careers, and backlash. Flexible hours are the part of the workday when employees may (within limits or "bands") choose their time of arrival and departure. Note: If the agency chooses to make Sunday hours available under a maxiflex work schedule, an employee generally would be entitled to 25-percent Sunday premium pay for up to 8 hours of his or her basic work requirement based on electing to work flexible hours during a daily basic tour of duty that begins or ends on Sunday. How do they define flexibility? Leaders soon realized that this pace was unsustainable for themselves and for employees and encouraged teams to develop guidelines to ensure both work and nonwork time (clear-cut shifts, daily breaks, and dedicated solo work hours, for example). This variation reflects the fact that the word flexibility is vague; its implementation can differ from organization to organization, department to department, and even within teams. Many are demanding more flexibility. Establish sanctions for abuse. Research shows that if leaders believe that employees are telecommuting to increase productivity, such as by working long hours to meet job demands, then career benefits are likely to ensue. Leaders must be careful how they talk about various forms of flexibility. Leaders listen, set goals, and provide resources to make flexibility possible. It saved millions of dollars by reducing office space around the world, and employee stress plummeted as a result of fewer commutes. Work-life flexibility has long been gender-siloed, seen as a womens issue, with women bearing the brunt of its effects on career and pay across occupations. Name: ________________________________Date:____________________, Class Title: _____________________________. However, agencies may choose not to establish core hours on each workday, thus providing maximum flexibility for employees. Paid time off can help relieve the employees burden and may take the form of regular PTO, which employees can use for any reason, or specific caregiver leave. In this type of flex day schedule, some employees arrive and The third expresses frustration about the barriers to flexibility. In other words, the company provides the scaffolding flexibility options, equipment, and supportive performance-management systems and individual employees and teams decide how to organize their work within it. Credit hours are hours that an employee elects to work, with supervisory approval, in excess of the employees basic work requirement under an FWS. Study Leave 4.8.1 Any teacher who applies for and is awarded one of the 75 full-time equivalent Study Awards, available nationally each year to all primary teachers and principals, shall be granted leave on pay for the period of the study. These frameworks should be communicated widely. How to Create a Flexible Vacation Policy - Workest - Zenefits In response, leaders need to stop viewing flexibility as an HR policy and regard it as an opportunity for organizational transformation that will benefit both their employees and their businesses. Whenever a person becomes ineligible for reemployment and such person has not been re-employed, then, if at the point of layoff such person was eligible to receive a sick leave accrual payoff, such person shall be paid for existing sick leave accruals in accordance with Section 1408 of this Agreement. Read the best practices on how to run your workforce. International Personnel ManagementAssociation, Minimum Wage by State in 2023 All You Need to Know, 4 proven steps for tackling employee absenteeism, 8 ways to reduce overtime and labor costs. Employees working at least 30 hours per week can earn $180 monthly contributions toward their student loans, with a cap of $15,000. The employee may remain on the job as long as health permits. the .gov website. Name: __________________________________ Date:______________, Class title: _______________________________, Division: _____________Work unit/section: ____________________. Workforce Online, September 2002 Register Now! It also facilitated communication across time zones and increased employee productivity and engagement. It alsohelps retain valuable employees because they can adjust their hours to meetpersonal needs instead of having to use leave or resign. Communicate with all employees about the possibilities for flexible work and aim to achieve equality. Therefore, the employee earns night pay for 1.5 night hours. The State of Colorados Work-Life alternative work arrangement programsstrive to offer flexibility to employees and managers. Policies that enable employees to take vacation when desired or sick leave when needed are often accompanied by disincentives for using them. True flexibility will require truly new thinking. Expect some adjustments along the way. Both should remain flexible because both have an interest inmaking the arrangement work. For example, some prefer to work 10 hours shifts from Monday to Thursday and have Friday off. As recent reviews suggest, an employee (often a woman) who is teleworking is more likely to take on even more family demands and report greater work-life conflict. by facilitating maintenance of social distance in the workplace). Annual Leave (a) An employee may elect with the consent of the employer, subject to the Annual Xxxxxxxx Xxx 0000, to take annual leave not exceeding five days in single day periods or part thereof, in any calendar year at a time or times agreed by the parties. Previous leaves of absence will be considered as not causing the teacher to lose years of service credit prior to that leave. Organizations benefit when they develop clear written frameworks with principles that can guide decision-making about and expectations for flexibility. An agency may choose to not establish flexible time bands on certain days, such as Sundays and holidays, thus limiting the designated days on which an employee may complete his or her basic work requirement. Track hours worked, generate timesheets, and monitor labor costs in real time. No. Is night pay authorized? If a family member is ill or someone has been in a car accident, its no issue to leave work. flexi The employee can Learn how to simplify employee scheduling, optimize labor costs across locations, and help managers make the right decisions in the moment. Overview As Federal agencies develop reconstitution plans and return to regular operations, managers seeking to adapt work arrangements to the COVID-19 When a holiday occurs, a full-time employee on a flexible work schedule (including a maxiflex schedule) is entitled to 8 hours of pay on a holiday when the employee does not work. Remember, evening cases where there is no abuse, the arrangementmay be discontinued at any time. This is for three key reasons: First, businesses believe that the 24/7 remote-work form of flexibility can be leveraged to support productivity. Agencies must also pay night pay for any nonovertime work performed between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. during designated core hours. Employees have a flexible spending account where they can make claims for health screening, dental and vision care, fitness equipment, wellness programme, TCM treatment, health supplements, professional development courses etc. Holiday Policies Offer The Flexibility Employees It can increase the pool of qualified job applicantswho otherwise might not be available or willing to consider state jobs. The Employer will use reasonable efforts to staff the vacant position created by the leave of absence on a temporary basis for the period of the employees sick leave, subject to patient care considerations and departmental needs. That allowed its teams to function well during the pandemic, when workers had to care for children during school closures or take care of other personal needs. The maxiflex schedule will include core hours on Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and flexible time bands will be available from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday. It cannot be viewed as a scarce or privileged resource. Northern Trust migrated entire job functions and teams to hybrid remote work (with at least one day in the office and at least one day at home) years before the pandemic. Our worry is that these patterns will recur as organizations plow ahead with flexibility on a much larger scale. What aboutaccessibility in case of a business emergency or when the employee needs to bephysically present? It is a privilege, not a right orbenefit, and an approved schedule may be discontinued or modified at any time. If the agency policy had allowed an employee under the maxiflex work schedule to choose to perform holiday work, the agency would generally be obligated to pay a 100-percent premium for up to 8 hours of holiday work. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Employeeinvolvement in the planning, implementation, and evaluation is stronglyencouraged as it can lead to better business decisions for the work unit. Thats not a good thing. Copies to employee and supervisor by (insert date). And the costs saved from reducing office space are a plus for employers. As a minimum requirement, an FWS must have at least 2 core hours on each of 2 workdays within a biweekly pay period. Flexible If you love to work hard and enjoy a nice long weekend, this might be the perfect fit for you. Do I have the right work and home resources (tech support, an internet connection, space, family support, a backup work location) to ensure that I can accomplish my job. An The second is contingent on dire circumstances. Submit a written request. WebAgain, you can use this type of flexible working arrangement for each day of the week, for specific days, or on request. Our fear is that companies may end up offering inflexible flexibility, whereby employees have little choice about schedules and which days they may work remotely. If your flexibility policies exclude a segment of your workforce, youre doing something wrong. The nature of business and characteristics of a job or employee may not beappropriate for flextime. The agencys maxiflex schedule will have core hours on each Thursday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and flexible time bands available from 5:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight on Monday through Saturday. We are researchers who study how organizations of all types from professional services and IT firms to hospitals, retail stores, and manufacturing facilities manage flexibility. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, Classifying Federal Wage System Positions, Frequently Asked Questions for Hybrid Work Environment, Federal Workforce Priorities Report (FWPR), Federal Labor-Management Information System, Recruitment, Relocation & Retention Incentives, https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/work-schedules/fact-sheets/alternative-flexible-work-schedules/, https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/reference-materials/handbooks/alternative-work-schedules/, https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/work-schedules/fact-sheets/credit-hours-under-a-flexible-work-schedule/, https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/covid-19/opm-fact-sheet-the-use-of-flexible-work-schedules-in-response-to-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/, https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/work-schedules/. If the Employer has filled the position permanently, pursuant to the above, the employee on leave of absence, upon returning to the job during the six (6) month health leave period, will be offered the first open position for which the employee is qualified. Is flextime allowed by the state personnel system? Xxxx Leave For laid off employees, sick leave accruals shall remain on the books and be reinstated if such employees are reappointed. In one of our studies, a lawyer who was working reduced hours won an Employee of the Year award by discovering a way to save the firm a great deal of money. (See 5 U.S.C. In what ways can any negative impact be mitigated? FWS consist of workdays with core hours and flexible hours and allow an employee to complete his or her biweekly basic work requirement by determining his or her own schedule within the limits set by the agency. Use of Sick Leave: An employee, other than a casual employee, with responsibilities in relation to a class of person set out in subclause (iv)(b) below who needs the employee's care and support shall be entitled to use, in accordance with this subclause, any current or accrued sick leave entitlement, provided for at Clause 25 Part A, Sick Leave of this Agreement, for absences to provide care and support for such persons when they are ill. A lock ( 26.1 If you are a permanent If someone is falling short, put that person on a performance-improvement plan and assess whether skills, motivation, or some other issue is getting in the way. Normally, an employee is entitled to night pay for the hours worked after 6:00 p.m. but, for employees with a flexible work schedule, night pay is based on whether the employee was required work nighttime hours to complete 8 basic work requirement hours in a workday. The agency cancels core hours that fall on a holiday. Flextime comes with several options The most common form of flextime is a fixed schedule where the employee worksthe same set hours each day but it varies from the regular core business hoursof the office, e.g., 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in an office that is normally openfrom 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Other flextime options include the following. What happens at home matters to the success of boundaryless working. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS It used pre- and post-evaluation tools to assess whether jobs could be done securely and teams could work effectively regardless of location. This research also showsthat increasing numbers of employees have turned down better joboffers (more money) in favor of a less rigid working environment. Flexible Hours the hours an employee chooses to work. Migrating, piloting, and evaluating departments one at a time, the company shifted its culture toward more-flexible working by systematically accumulating data confirming its approach while fine-tuning for each work unit. A full-time employees basic work requirement must be completed by working on 5 workdays per week, 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week, and 80 hours per biweekly pay period. For example, if you start working at 9 AM and an employee starts working at 12 PM, you may not be able to monitor them after you leave the office. An FLSA-nonexempt employee is compensated under FLSA only for overtime hours as defined in 5 U.S.C. This increase in work-nonwork multitasking while teleworking has become visible during the Covid-19 crisis, culminating in a global shecession. Even for dual-career couples, traditional gender roles persisted at home, aggravated by pandemic disruptions. Maternity Leave Bargaining unit employees are eligible for a leave of absence for the condition of pregnancy, delivery and recovery there from, upon request of the employee and verification by the employee's doctor that such leave is medically necessary. The compressed workweek is a flexible schedule where an employee works fewer days each week but for longer than usual hours. Health care organizations in particular, with their large female workforce, have been early adopters of self-scheduling. Over the course of our work we have asked leaders to tell us how they do so (or not). As a result, most companies approach the task superficially. At many employers, initial flexwork programs mean employees work from the office from 9 a.m. to 5 We also see structural disincentives in health care, where nurses are increasingly unable to use paid vacation and sick time earned, and we have encountered leave incentive programs in which employees can actually make more money by not taking time off. If an agency allows an FWS employee to elect to complete basic work requirement hours by working on Sunday, the employee generally would be entitled to Sunday premium paya 25 percent premium for up to 8 hours in a daily tour that includes Sunday hours. ), Effective date of flextime: ____Ending date if temporary _____. An example comes from GM CEO Mary Barras post-pandemic call to work appropriately. Where the work permits, she said, employees have the flexibility to work where they can have the greatest impact on achieving our goals.It is up to leaders to focus on the work, not the where, and we will provide the tools and resources needed to make the right decisions to support our teams.. Please note, the maxiflex scenarios listed within this fact sheet are illustrative and agencies may devise other types of maxiflex work schedules under their internal FWS policies. Varying the number of hours worked per workday or administrative workweek, while not exceeding agency-established limits on the number of basic work requirement hours that may be worked on a day or in a week, does not generate credit hours. For example, Microsoft found that when a large team initially moved to remote work in 2020, employees worked an average of four more hours a week, sent more messages at nonstandard hours, and spent more time in meetings (albeit shorter ones), risking burnout. The next step is to create organization-wide structures for self-scheduling and shift-swapping to empower employees. Rememberthat flextime is a privilege, not a right, and may need to be modified forbusiness reasons. Create a plan that outlines the specific arrangement for the work unit.What is gained by using flextime? Please note to what extent your work depends on customersor other staff, requires the presence of a supervisor, how productivity can bemeasured, the impact on co-workers, and the impact on customer service. Additional filters are available in search. New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declarations [NSPPD] || 6th For example, location and schedule flexibility sometimes work well in combination. Typically companies initiate this to enhance productivity and enable their businesses to operate efficiently around the clock while saving money. Flexible We cant get enough staff on the weekends to run the production we need to run even with eight different schedule options. 6124.) Hint: Try a pilot or trial run to test one or more options for a few monthsand address issues as they come up.