Flexitime

• Helps to improve work-life balance, improve wellbeing and engagement.
• Allows staff to manage peaks and troughs in workloads.
• Staff can work flexitime without a formal change to their contract.

• Hours accrued should usually be used outside of the core hours but, with agreement of your manager and subject to business needs, you may take up to one day per month as flexi-leave.
• The standard core hours may be increased by the line manager where there is a requirement to cover the service over particular hours.
• Faculties or Services may operate flexitime schemes that are different from the standard core hours and bandwidth but any variations must be clearly put in writing and agreed with HR Director and the Pro-Vice Chancellor/Head of Service.
• Staff working compressed hours cannot also participate in the flexitime scheme.

The University’s standard flexitime scheme allows you flexibility with the start, finish and lunch period of your day within the limits below. It allows you to accrue time off which can either be used outside of core hours during a normal day or can be used to take up to one day off per month (with agreement of your manager and subject to business needs).

Bandwidth – this is the earliest and latest time which a flexitime worker should work in a usual day.

• The standard bandwidth is 7.30am to 7pm.

Core hours are the hours in which is it essential that full-time flexitime workers are working.

• The standard core hours are 10am to 12noon and 2pm to 4pm. Particular Services or Faculties may require staff to attend for specific hours outside of these to deliver an effective service to customers.
• Part-time staff may have contractual start or finish times within the core hours as agreed as a part of their arrangement.
• Medical appointments should be taken outside of core hours where possible.

Meetings –flexitime workers should remain flexible to attend meetings or events that may fall outside of the usual or preferred working pattern, given reasonable notice.

Lunch break – a break of at least 30 minutes should be taken if you are working longer than 6 hours in a day. A break does not count towards your working hours.

Contracted hours – these are the hours which you must work according to your contract of employment.

• Full-time staff are contracted to work 36.5 hours per week.
• Part-time staff will have different agreements and should check their terms and conditions.
• Staff working flexitime, can work beyond or below their contracted hours each week but must have worked a minimum of their total contracted hours by the end of an accounting period.

Accounting period – this is the period of time in which flexitime workers should make sure the hours worked balance with the total contracted hours.

• The standard accounting period is 1 calendar month. If the month ends in the middle of the week, the accounting period will end the Friday after the month ends.
• A maximum of 10 accrued hours can be carried over to the following accounting period.

Flexi-leave – this is when extra hours you have worked can be taken as time off. It is expected that hours accrued will usually be taken outside of the core hours but you are allowed to take up to one day off per month, with the agreement of your line manager in advance and subject to business needs.

Flexitime workers may take more than one day of flexi-leave in exceptional circumstances and only if agreed by their line manager and Faculty Manager or Head of Service in advance. Exceptional circumstances may be during particularly busy periods such as Open Day or Graduation Week where staff are asked to work specific hours beyond their usual hours.

As a flexitime worker, to carry out the normal duties of your role, you are not expected to regularly work outside of the 7.30am to 7pm bandwidth. Your role may require you to work outside of these hours on occasions (for example to attend events or for travel overseas) or your manager may request you to work outside of these hours to meet a particular deadline. In these circumstances, you should not accrue flexitime for hours worked outside of the flexitime bandwidth; you should follow the arrangements outlined in your contract and the University’s terms and conditions of employment. You may also refer to the Additional/out of hours policy and associated guidance.

• Keep your team informed of your whereabouts (sharing your Outlook calendar and using Microsoft Teams can help)
• Be open and honest with each other if arrangements are not working
• If you are accruing lots of time and are unable to take it back, you should discuss this with your manager.

Your manager may ask you to record your hours and share your record with them and/or your team. It can be useful for you to keep a record of your hours particularly if you are regularly accruing extra hours or deficit. Staff who only occasionally vary their hours may find that their flexitime is easy to keep track of without a record.

You can use the Flexitime spreadsheet to help you record your hours. You should read the Flexitime spreadsheet help before using the flexitime spreadsheet. This help is also available within the flexitime spreadsheet in the second worksheet.

The flexitime spreadsheet uses Macros. You may need to follow Guidance for enabling macros for the flexitime spreadsheet.

Please note, the flexitime spreadsheet is available as a tool to help you record your hours. If it does not meet your needs, you can of course use your own methods. You should discuss the best method of recording your hours with your manager.