Employee Handbook - Shropshire Unison



[pic]

Employee Handbook

Guidance on Hours of Work (including Flexible working Hours / Annualised Hours)

Contents

1.0 Introduction

2.0 Official Opening Hours of Shropshire Council

3.0 Contracted Hours

4.0 Standard Working Week / Day

5.0 Hours when work can be carried out

6.0 Lunch Breaks

7.0 Recording of Hours worked

8.0 Credits

9.0 Debits

10.0 Medical Appointments

11.0 Overtime

12.0 All other forms of leave

13.0 Out-County Visits

14.0 Attendance at Training Courses

15.0 Termination of Employment

16.0 Local Rules

17.0 Abuse of the Scheme

18.0 Disputes

19.0 Review of this Guidance

1.0 Introduction

The operation of the hours of work for employees is firmly based on the principle that the work of the Council as a whole or the work of any department, section or individual must have absolute priority.

Very few employees work in isolation, most have duties and responsibilities which interact with others. It is necessary therefore, for everybody involved to recognise this and to make flexible working hours / annualised hours fit the requirements of the work to be done.

It must be understood that the principle of the Scheme does not imply an automatic right to accumulate credit hours and that managers have discretion both on when work is carried out and also when to allow requests from employees who wish to take time off under the scheme.

Employees do not have the right to clock in at 07:00 and stay in the office until 19:00 irrespective of whether or not work is available. In cases where the workflow limits the period during which employees can be employed, appropriate adjustments to actual working hour arrangements must be made within contractual terms.

It is not possible to produce a set of rules to cover every eventuality, those which follow, form the basis of the agreement. Flexible Working Hours / Annualised Hours will only function satisfactorily if each employee behaves responsibly, recognises the dictates of the work to be done, works closely with other people and honors the commitment to the Council.

Employees must recognise that individual managers, or equivalent, have, in the interests of the service, the right to decide when it is imperative to have staff available, for the public and customers of the Council, within the time frame detailed above.

2.0 Official Opening Hours of Shropshire Council

These are from 07:00 to 19:00 (08:00-13:00 on Saturday). During official opening hours adequate cover will be provided, depending on the needs of the service.

Not all buildings, and not all services, will be open during these hours – it will be dependent on Senior Managers to make these decisions, dictated by the needs of the service

3.0 Contracted Hours

These are the hours that must be worked by each employee each year except where the employee is absent through sickness, annual leave or other authorised absence.

These are currently 37 hours per week or 1,929.18 hours per working year for full time employees, and pro-rated for part-time employees.

4.0 Standard Working Week / Day

A standard working week is defined as 37 hours.(Pro-rata for part time employees)

A standard working day is defined as 7.4 decimal hours. A half working day is 3.7 decimal hours.

5.0 Hours When Work Can Be Carried Out

During which normal work can be carried out will be from 07:00 to 19:00, Monday-Friday and 8.00 to 1300 on a Saturday.

Time worked during these hours, less time taken for lunch (or other special leave i.e. Medical appointments – see 10 below) will be recorded and credited to the individual’s contracted hours requirement. Any time working either before or after these hours, will not normally be credited unless prior authority has been given by an appropriate manager as for overtime working.

6.0 Lunch Breaks

All workers must take an uninterrupted break of 30 minutes when daily working time is more than six hours. It should be a break in working time and should not be taken either at the start, or at the end, of a working day.

Managers will decide locally arrangements for cover during these breaks.

7.0 Recording of Hours Worked

Employees are normally required to record the time worked each day. Employees can use a clocking in machine where provided or alternatively use other methods as directed by their manager. A spreadsheet to record time worked will be available for use shortly. Persistent failure to record hours of work, or share the hours worked with an employee’s manager as requested, may result in disciplinary action being taken against the employee

8.0 Credits

These will arise when an employee has worked in excess of their contracted hours.

Employees may take credit time either by working less time during a particular period or taking leave with the specific approval of the appropriate manager.

9. 0 Debits

These will arise when an employee is not meeting their contracted hours requirement.

Managers will be expected to monitor and record debit hours, ensuring that no single or groups of employees are excessively in debit.

10.0 Medical Appointments

Absences for agreed medical reasons, which an employee has no control over the timing of (hospital appointments or emergency treatment via a dentist or GP), will only be credited if they fall within official office hours, and the employee is expected to be at work (07:00 to 19:00 Monday - Friday and 08:00 to 13:00 Saturday). In that instance, the employee will be credited the hours worked for that day, or the expected hours to have been worked for that day, which ever is the lesser.

To ensure that the work of the organisation is affected to the minimum employees must make non-urgent medical appointments (dental check ups and generic GP appointments) at a time where they are not expected to be at work. If you are unable to make your appointment at a time when you are expected to be at work you must ensure that your manager is agreeable to your absence. You will not be credited for any time taken to attend non-urgent medical appointments

11.0 Overtime

Paid overtime will not normally be permitted during office hours; exceptionally, Directors may authorise paid overtime within the bandwidth period but time paid cannot be credited and must not be recorded in addition to the payment, which will be in accordance with Council terms and conditions.

12.0 All Other Forms of Leave

Where leave of absence is granted, credit will be given as the contracted standard day, that being 7.4 hours (pro-rata for part timers).

13.0 Out-County Visits

Employees will be appropriately credited for time spent on out-county visits including additional travelling time, as agreed with their manager.

14.0 Attendance at Training Courses

Employees undertaking training courses irrespective of location should normally be limited to a maximum of 7.4 credit hours on any one day. No credit will be allowed for travelling or attendance for evening classes.

15.0 Termination of Employment

Credits or debits accrued should be balanced out during the final months working (final settlement period).

The value of any debit hours left unbalanced at the termination of employment will be recovered by the employer by deduction from the last salary payment or otherwise as appropriate. Recovery will be at the hourly rate applicable at the date of termination.

16.0 Local Rules

Managers are likely to use their own local rules on the hours of work within their service area. This will include things such as the times when work can be carried out, core times in line with service needs, the amount of credit time that can be built up, and how any credit time can be taken.

Any significant changes that are to be introduced (i.e. a requirement for Saturday working or changes to working patterns for part-time staff) should be implemented using the normal consultation arrangements, and with HR advice as necessary.

17.0 Abuse of the Scheme

Employees who fail to observe the recording procedure or honour the spirit of the agreement may be subject to disciplinary action. It may include requiring the employee concerned to work normal office hours with no flexibility.

The fraudulent recording of hours may be treated as gross misconduct. In the case of collusion, all parties to the fraud will be held to be equally responsible.

18.0 Disputes

In the case of dispute the normal grievance procedure will be used.

19.0 Review of this Guidance

This guidance is effective from 1 October 2011, however it is recognised that it will need to be refined and improved in future, and this will be done in consultation with the Trade Unions and also taking into account feedback from staff and managers.

Frequently Asked Questions on the changes effective from 1 October 2011

Can my manager still use the rules of Flexi-time that were in place before 1 October 2011?

Yes they can. There is nothing in this guidance to prevent a manager from using the old flexi-time system in order to provide employees with flexibility and provide an effective service. The guidance on ‘Local Rules’ makes this clear

Can I still use the flexi card machines?

The guidance makes it clear that it is for managers to decide what method they wish their staff to use for recording time worked. There are no immediate plans to remove flexi card machines

The old flexi-time policy had lots of rules. Where are they?

The old rules are not suitable for use across an entire organisation. By removing the majority of rules, it opens up the possibility for much greater flexibility for staff in when they work, and for managers in how they deliver their service.

How does working from home fit into the new arrangements?

Hours worked at home, with prior agreement of line managers, will be recorded in the normal way, as if working in the office. Dependent upon the method of recording chosen by service areas, alternative methods of recording may be required.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download