Flexwork Arrangements

Policy No:

8.65

Type of Policy:

Administrative

Effective Date:

September 2007

Last Revised:

July 2015

Review Date:

March 2020

Policy Owner:

Human Resources

Contact Name:

Kim Harrington

Contact Title:

Associate Vice President-Human Resources

Contact Email:

kim.harrington@ohr.gatech.edu

Reason for Policy:

The Georgia Institute of Technology provides a variety of flexible working arrangements, at the discretion of department, to enable employees to serve customers, meet Institute and departmental goals, and balance personal and professional responsibilities. Participating in a flexible working arrangement is a privilege and not a right.

Policy Statement:

Flexible working arrangements are optional work arrangements that may be discontinued at any time. After consultation with the employee, managers determine the employee's work schedule and the employee must maintain the agreed upon schedule. The employee and / or the department may end the arrangement by providing written notice a minimum of 14 calendar days in advance. Flexible Working Agreements should be reviewed on an annual basis, and telecommuting agreements shall be limited to periods of no more than 12 months, and after review, may be extended annually in 12-month increments.

Flexible schedules should not cause a non-exempt employee to work overtime or cause any employee to work on existing holidays or conflict with leave allocation practices. Exceptions should be approved in advance by the Chief Human Resources Officer. Occasionally, an adjustment in an employee's work schedule may be required on a short term basis and such adjustments would not be apart of the Flexible Working Agreement.

Telecommuting is limited to Tech Temps and regular employees, who have completed the provisional employment period. One exception is that any Tech Temp or regular employee seeking accommodation under the American Disabilities Act may be considered for telecommuting if it provides a means of reasonable accommodation for the employee's needs. Such requests shall be made through the unit's HR Representative using the appropriate procedures for requesting reasonable accommodation (see Procedure 8.15, Campus Disability Compliance) and must be approved by the appropriate unit head or his / her designee.

Policy Terms:

Compressed Workweek
A compressed workweek is the scheduling of a traditional 40-hour week into fewer than five full days by adjusting the number of hours worked per day. Two examples of compressed schedules are working four ten-hour days with one full day off each week or working 80 hours in nine days with one full day off during a two-week period.

Flextime
A work schedule with variable arrival, departure and / or lunch times. It is typically designed to enable employees to come in earlier or leave later than the organization's normal hours of operation. This approach enables the department to ensure necessary office coverage, customer service and staff interactions are maintained during the core hours.

Job Sharing
When multiple people share the responsibilities of one regular full-time position within a unit by each working part time.

Telecommuting
The performance of normal work duties at a location away from the conventional or main office. This off-site location is most often the employee's home, but can also be a satellite office or, if traveling, a virtual office. Telecommuting is a privilege and not a right for employees and should be reserved for those with proven expertise.

Procedures:

For any flexwork arrangement:

The employee should first schedule a time to meet with his / her supervisor to discuss the feasibility of a Flexible Working Arrangement.
Based on the outcome of the discussion, the employee must complete the Flexible Working Arrangements Agreement and submit it to their supervisor. If the flexible working arrangement being requested is telecommuting, the employee must also complete the Telecommuting Agreement . The department's Human Resources Representative (HR Rep) is available for questions or to provide assistance in preparing the form(s).
The supervisor, in consultation with the department's HR Rep, may approve or deny the Flexible Working Arrangements Agreement and, if applicable, the Telecommuting Agreement proposed by the employee, or may recommend an alternate flexible working arrangement. In determining whether to approve or deny the proposed arrangement, the supervisor must consider the organization's goals and should approve the Agreement(s) only if the arrangement permits those goals to be achieved. If the employee and the supervisor do not agree on a flexible working arrangement, the employee will continue to work standard hours.
If an arrangement is agreed upon, the supervisor must submit the completed and signed Flexible Working Arrangements Agreement form and, if applicable, the Telecommuting Agreement, to the unit head for final approval. The unit head approving the agreement(s) may wish to consult with the department's HR Rep before making the final decision. Again, if a flexible working arrangement is not approved, the employee will continue to work standard hours.
If the arrangement is approved, the supervisor must send the completed and signed Flexible Working Arrangements Agreement form and, if applicable, the Telecommuting Agreement, to the department's HR Rep who will retain the original. The supervisor and the employee should retain copies.

Retention of Agreement Forms

HR Reps / HR Contacts should retain the Flexible Working Arrangements and Telecommuting Agreement Forms until superseded or obsolete. The last agreement(s) and related documents should be maintained by the department for two years after the agreement has concluded.

Forms:

Flexible Working Arrangements Agreement

Telecommuting Agreement

Equipment Loan Agreement