Additional/out of hours working policy

There are some instances where employees are expected to work outside of their normal hours of work due to the nature and/or the demands of their role.

The University seeks to provide a positive work-life balance for its employees and so this policy aims to ensure that additional/out of hours working is monitored and that, where appropriate, there is some recompense for additional hours worked either through time off in lieu or payment.

Policy Details

Purpose of Policy

Employees across the University work additional/out of hours for a number of reasons. This policy is in place to provide clarity to managers on arrangements that can be made to recompense for this and to ensure that there is consistency across the University.

Who does this apply to?

This policy applies to all Professional Services staff employed by the University.

Whilst it is important that there is consistency across the University, it is accepted that for some roles or specific circumstances, alternative arrangements will need to be made. Any variations to this policy must be clearly put in writing and agreed by the Deputy Registrar and Director of Human Resources and the Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor/Director of Faculty Operations or Director of Professional Service.

Principles

Clear expectations of working hours is key: These arrangements apply to staff who are required (rather than choose) to work beyond their normal working hours to meet the demands of their job. For roles where working outside of a normal pattern is a regular and expected occurrence, this should be made clear at the time of the job advertisement and in subsequent interview, offer letter and contract.

Terms and Conditions should be followed: For some roles, specific information on Time off in Lieu and/or paid overtime arrangements are written into the terms and conditions. These should be abided by.

Health and Safety rules and the Working Time Regulations should be adhered to. HR Partners/Advisors can advise managers on this.

Flexibility of working hours is necessary for meeting business needs: For some roles, particularly externally facing roles, there will be a greater expectation of additional/out of hours working which is necessary to fulfil the requirements of the role and meet the business needs of the University. This may include evening and weekend work away from the University, extended travelling time and overnight stays. There may also be occasions where employees are requested to work on a day that they would not normally work, during an evening, or weekend. For example, this may be to attend training, assist at Freshers’ week, or carry out additional work at year end. The Additional/out of hours guidance indicates whether time off in lieu, overtime payments or flexitime arrangements might be appropriate in these instances.

Flexibility involves give and take: Time off in lieu must be taken at a time agreed with the authorised manager which meets the business needs of the University. This may mean that the time is reimbursed through working shorter days and/or taking a full day off work. It may not be possible to meet the preferences of the employee when time off in lieu is taken.

Time off in lieu will be given at plain time i.e. one additional hour worked will be given as one hour time off in lieu. However, where in place and where possible, flexitime should be used in the first instance.

There may be times when additional/out of hours working is necessary in order to complete urgent tasks, meet deadlines, respond to circumstances outside working hours be this in the office or home working. Employees need to manage their own workloads but ensure that their line manager is aware of their workload.

Responsibilities

Leadership teams of Faculties and Services are responsible for reading the relevant guidance and making decisions about how to recompense for additional hours worked based on the principles above.

Line managers are responsible for ensuring that the business needs of the University are not detrimentally affected. This needs to be balanced with ensuring that an employee's work life balance is being positively handled.

Staff are responsible for carrying out any additional/out of hours working where possible whilst ensuring that any time off in lieu is requested at an appropriate time and agreed with their line manager. HR Services is responsible for keeping the policy up to date and ensuring that it is revised on a regular basis.

Guidance

Types of Additional/Out of Hours Working

There are many reasons at the University why employees may need to carry out additional or out of hours working. In order to meet the flexibility of the work and still meet business needs, time off in lieu, payment of hours worked or working from home are all options that can be considered.

Normally, subject to the business needs of the University and the agreement of the authorised manager, accrued time for additional working should be taken within 4 weeks of its accrual, provided that the accrued time is no greater than 5 days. To ensure business continuity, where more than 5 days have been accrued, time off in lieu may be taken over a longer period, subject to the business needs of the University and agreement with the authorised manager.

Each Faculty/Service is expected to maintain records of time accrued and taken off as time off in lieu or paid as an additional payment in order to meet audit requirements.

The instances/examples shown below may not be exhaustive and it is recognised that some variation may be required to meet specific circumstances. Managers should adhere to the principles of the Additional/out of hours working policy but have the flexibility to use their own discretion within their own teams with regards the guidance below. Where alternative options to those below are being used then please consult with your HR Partner/Advisor as these alternatives may need to be written and approved by the Director of Human Resources and the Dean of Faculty/Head of Service.

Time off in lieu/payment

The table below gives examples of the types of additional/out of hours work that an employee at the University might be expected to do. The options available are not exhaustive but a guide to what could be offered. If you require more detailed advice then please contact your HR Partner/Adviser.

These arrangements are not contractual and the management of the Service reserve the right to review and amend as required (on the authorisation of the Deputy Registrar and Director of HR).

Types of additional Work/out of hours	Examples	Options available	Additional Comments
Occasional evening work for specific events/weekend working*	Grades B - D	Where staff are required to work on a day when they would not normally work - for example at a weekend then time off in lieu will be granted for each additional hour worked or overtime will be paid. In the event of an overnight stay, no overtime will be paid but a half day TOIL may be granted. Where staff have consecutive overnight stays only half a day TOIL may be claimed.	Any time off in lieu / overtime payment must be agreed by the line manager.
Occasional work for specific evening events/weekend working*	Grade E or above	No time off in lieu or additional payments to be made.	This is deemed to be an expectation of the job. However, being required to work evenings / weekends on a regular basis should be discussed with your line manager who may grant TOIL depending on the circumstances.
Regular evening/weekend work	Grade E or above	Staff may be entitled to time off in lieu where they have worked outside the normal working hours on more than two evening occasions per month or for any weekend working i.e. all staff in these roles can be reasonably expected to attend two evenings per month without any time off in lieu being granted. Time off may be claimed for the third, fourth, etc. evening event they attend in a month and for any weekend working. Time off has to be taken at a time agreed with the line manager.
Additional hours for part time staff	All part time staff	Where flexible working arrangements are in place then additional hours worked should be included within the scope of flexitime. However, where this is not possible and with prior agreement with their line manager a part time employee may be paid for additional hours worked up to 36.5 hours in any week (at normal hourly rate). Additional hours above 36.5 in any one week should normally be taken as time off in lieu.	Form PD71 should be used and sent to Employee Services (HR)
Overseas trips which include working/travelling at weekends where this is an essential requirement of the job (See International Travel below)	International visit e.g. international recruitment, Alumni overseas partnerships, field trips.	One day for each weekend or bank holiday day worked (unless alternative Rest Days are provided in the schedule)	A day means a minimum of 6 hours scheduled activity or travelling.

* For the purpose of this guidance, ‘occasional evening work’ is that which is outside of the definitions of an individual’s job description and is 1-2 evenings a month. Where the requirements are more than this, then additional hours worked may need to be formalised and your HR Partner/Advisor can advise on this.

International Travel

The following guidance on overseas trips above applies to Professional Services staff undertaking business trips outside the UK, whether occasional or regular.

When planning international travel lasting a week or more, the manager and employee should, where possible, build “Rest Days” into the schedule. Every overseas trip is different, so a flexible approach needs to be applied by managers in discussing rest arrangements with their team members, taking account of flight times, length of flight, number of days overseas, the work schedule during the trip and the time off this allows during the trip etc. Ideally, there should be one rest day for every 7 days worked built into the schedule. This does not have to be the seventh day but can be used when appropriate within the manager’s judgment and when the schedule allows. This may mean that Rest Days are not on a Saturday or Sunday.

Where it is not possible to arrange Rest Days during the international trip, time off in lieu (“TOIL Days”) will be agreed between the manager and employee, as shown in the table below. TOIL Days must be taken within 2 months of return to the UK on days agreed with the manager, taking account of business requirements. Subject to work commitments, one TOIL Day will normally be taken immediately after return to the UK.

The University recognises that international travel can be tiring, particularly ‘long haul’ flights or flights landing during the night. When planning a longer overseas trip, managers and their team members should make arrangements to provide appropriate “Rest Breaks” both before the first appointment (unless travelling Business Class) and after return to the UK. For longer trips, Ideally, there should be a Rest Break upon the employee’s return to their home, taken as a TOIL Day (out of TOIL accrued on the trip), as follows:

If arrival at home is before 12 noon, this is the day of arrival.
If arrival at home is after 12 noon, the Rest Break would normally be the next day.
If arrival at home is on a weekend a Rest Break is the weekend unless the arrival is after 12 noon on the Sunday, in which case the Monday would normally be taken as a Rest Break.

Managers and staff should aim to agree the timing of Rest Days, TOIL Days and Rest Breaks as part of the planning before an international trip commences.

Staff travelling abroad on University business should also comply with:

the University Travel Policy
the University Expenses Policy

Additional information

Certain designated roles within the University (including, for example, appointments in Global Advancement, Global Partnerships and International Student Recruitment) require regular travel overseas. These trips will include working and travelling at weekends and extended working hours during overseas assignments. Staff appointed to these roles will be expected to travel overseas regularly, for extended periods (typically up to two weeks in duration in some teams) and sometimes at short notice. The ability to travel and be away from the UK for substantial periods without restriction is an essential business requirement of the role. The University conducts thorough risk assessments in relation to overseas travel and whilst personal preferences will be taken into account in relation to schedules and security, individuals appointed to these roles must fulfil all reasonable requirements in relation to travel to a particular location. While the University may assign staff to regions in some teams, regional allocations and length of absence are subject to change for business, security and professional development reasons and the University reserves the right to reassign an employee’s regional portfolio.

Further guidance and advice

Further guidance for managers and staff can be found at:

Download the Additional/out of hours working policy and Additional/out of hours working guidance

Speak to your HR Partner or Advisor for specific advice and guidance.