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Policy 03.02 Alternative Work Scheduling

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POLICY TITLE:

Alternative Work Scheduling

POLICY NUMBER:

03.02

VERSION:

1.0

REVISED DATE:

May 17, 2017

REVIEWED DATE:

May 31, 2017

APPROVAL DATE:

March 22, 2018

EFFECTIVE DATE:

April 2, 2018

NUMBER OF PAGES:

4

A. OVERVIEW

1. Description and Purpose Alternative work schedule is a provision that gives employees the flexibility to perform their assigned duties outside of conventional business hours. The flextime option is not an employee benefit – it is a management option that provides an alternative means to fulfill work requirements. Participating in a flextime program is strictly voluntary – all employees have the right to refuse flextime.

2. Applicability This policy applies to all alternative work schedules of City. All managers, supervisors, and alternative work schedules employees should be familiar with the contents of this policy.

3. Failure to Comply Failure to comply with this policy may result in disciplinary action in accordance with any and all disciplinary policies of the City.

B. POLICY AND PROCEDURE

1. The City is committed to helping employees face the demands of juggling work, family and life-related issues by offering several possible flexible work arrangements. These arrangements provide employees with increased flexibility with their work schedule while allowing the City to maintain a progressive and productive work environment. Alternative work scheduling is an opportunity to maintain employee productivity through various forms of creative work scheduling. Flexible work hours can help motivate staff, improve productivity, accommodate education activities or routine health appointments, and promote a culture that respects work-life balance.

2. All City employees will be considered for alternative work scheduling on a case-by-case basis in situations where creative work schedules have been shown to accomplish both work and personal goals, to provide coverage for individual department operations and to serve the City as a whole with increased productivity at no expense to quality output.

3. Alternative Work Schedule Options

a. The following are the flextime arrangements offered by the City.

i. Flextime The employee works eight (8) hours per workday, but there is flexibility in an employee's set scheduled starting and ending times. Some employees, due to family or personal obligations or preferences, work very early in the morning and leave earlier in the afternoon. Other flextime employees may prefer or need to start later in the day and work into the evening.

ii. 10 x 4 Workday/Workweek Employee works ten (10) hours a day, four (4) days a workweek.

iii. Compressed Workweek Employee completes a full workweek in fewer than five (5) days by working extra hours on the days that they do work.

iv. 5 x 4 Workweek Employee works five (5) days one (1) week and four (4) days the next, but still works a total of eighty (80) hours a pay period.

v. 9 x ½ Workday/Workweek Employee works nine (9) hours a day, and four (4) hour workday.

vi. Job Sharing a situation in which two part-time employees are assigned to the same job equivalent to one full-time employee. The position is shared between the two employees. Job-sharing, as an alternative work schedule, must ensure the continuity of the work being done at the same workstation, with two individuals working as a team to accomplish one full-time position's duties.

b. Casual, temporary alternative work schedules are also permissible under the following circumstances:

i. During convalescence from illness or injury.

ii. While a family member is recovering from an illness or injury and needs at-home assistance.

iii. During the last few weeks of pregnancy or immediately after the birth of a child.

iv. To complete special project work that requires minimal interaction with other team members or departments.

4. The Department Director is responsible for identifying if any of the aforementioned staffing options are workable within the department. This may include determining if the entire department or an entire shift must convert to one or more of the above alternative scheduling options. To determine whether an employee's request for an individual alternative work schedule is appropriate, the director must assess the impact and the outcome in terms of production, quality and absenteeism, and if one or a combination of the above arrangements is in the best interests of the department, the City and employee.

5. Types of flexible work arrangements and potential schedules must be approved by the City Manager prior to announcement and implementation.

6. There will be a six (6) month trial period to assess the impact of the flexible work arrangement. After successful completion of the trial period, the work arrangement will be reviewed at least annually thereafter to ensure continued success. The arrangement may be canceled for any reason by the Department Director and/or City Manager. An employee wishing to change or cancel an alternative work arrangement must obtain written approval from his or her Department Director with consent from the City Manager.

7. Flexible work arrangements are not appropriate for all employees or positions and are not a universal employee benefit. The following conditions must be met for a flexible work schedule to be approved: The employee must have a satisfactory attendance record, meet all performance expectations in his or her current role, and consistently demonstrate the ability to complete tasks and assignments on a timely basis. The nature of the employee's work and responsibilities must be conducive to a flexible work arrangement without causing significant disruption to performance and/or service delivery.

8. The City Manager has the general responsibility of overseeing the day-to-day implementation of this policy in accordance with payroll and legal requirements. Any requests for exceptions to this policy should be made in writing to the City Manager for review and approval. Only the City Manager, in consultation with the affected Department Director, may grant such an exception.

9. Eligibility

a. No employee is entitled an alternative work schedule; however, where possible, flextime will be granted to employees to help accommodate outside commitments. Regular Full-time and part-time employees who have completed their probation period are eligible for an alternative work schedule. Employees in a training capacity will not normally be approved to participate in an alternative work schedule.

b. Alternative work schedule requests must be submitted in writing using an Alternative Work Schedule Request Form with approval being at the sole discretion of Department Directors and/or City Manager. Granted on a case-by-case basis, factors that will be considered in the decision include:

i. Operational requirements of the job function.

ii. Work team schedules and time commitments.

iii. Overall job performance as documented in Employee Performance Evaluations.

iv. Degree of self-motivation.

v. Degree of organizational, prioritization, and time-management skills.

vi. Ability to work independently in an unsupervised environment.

vii. Disciplinary record from the past year, especially in the areas of reliability and attendance.

c. Participation in an alternative work schedule should have no negative impact on:

i. The employee, or another employee’s performance.

ii. Customer service, or internal service level agreements.

iii. Inter-departmental collaboration and communication.

d. Due to the time-sensitive nature of their associated tasks, and in order to ensure appropriate service levels, some positions may not be eligible for an alternative work schedule.

e. With the exception of employees engaged in a 5 x 4 workweek, total weekly work hours must remain the same during a flexible work schedule as during a regular work schedule. In the case of a 5 x 4 workweek, the total bi-weekly work hours must remain the same during a flexible work schedule as during a regular work schedule.

10. Communication

a. Employees participating in the alternative work schedule are required to take responsibility for their relationships with team members and customers. If employees are working flexible hours, this should also be conveyed in their voice mail, office hours, points of contact, shared Outlook calendars, etc.

11. Compensation Adjustments

a. The employee’s compensation, benefits, work status, and work responsibilities will not change as a result of participation in the alternative work schedule. A flexible work schedule cannot:

i. Create instances of overtime or shift differential.

ii. Be used to take away the opportunity for overtime or shift differential pay.

C. FORM(S)

1. None.

D. REFERENCE(S)

1. None.

E. DEFINITION(S)

1. None.

F. POLICY HISTORY

1. This is a new policy.