Guidance for Managers

How do I know what level of Homeworking is right for my Team?

You will need an overview of the requirements of your whole Team, and in some cases, where they fit into the bigger School or Directorate set up.  You should be asking yourself questions such as – how many people do we really require on campus at any one time, what cover do we need to provide for front facing roles, can staff undertake any part of their role at home, do you have sufficient staff on campus to operate safely, e.g. adequate first aid cover?  The answers to these questions will be different for every Team and therefore there can’t be a ‘one size fits all’ approach taken throughout the University. 

If staff are able to do some of their role from home, the expectation is that staff should normally be on Campus at least 3 days per week if they are in a staff or student facing role and 2 days per week if they are not (pro-rata for part-time staff).  This may be varied by Line Management agreement where operational and team requirements permit.  What happens in your Team should go some way to meeting the aspirations of team members while at the same time fulfilling operational requirements.  It may be, for example, that you require staff to be on Campus more during term time but can allow homeworking to a greater extent during the holiday periods.  Be open with staff about why decisions are being made.  As long as your rationale is fair and is consistently applied this should be acceptable.

If you require assistance on getting the right balance between on campus and homeworking for your Team you can speak to your appointed HR Partner or your Head of School/Director.

How does Hybrid Working benefit my Team?

You should not deny applications for hybrid working for reasons such as it is easier to manage staff on Campus, or you don’t believe that staff should be allowed to work from home.  A recent CIPD report stated that 83% of organisations in 2023 have hybrid working arrangements in place.  For the University, it can assist with the recruitment and retention of talent, provide a wider geographical pool of candidates for vacant positions, help promote a more diverse workforce and help with increased business flexibility.  The benefits for staff have been shown to be an increased work-life balance, increased employee satisfaction and wellbeing, as well as staff financial wellbeing.

How do I deal with a Homeworking request?

The Homeworking Policy provides all the information you require on the application and appeals process. In most circumstances you should deal with the request within 5 working days.

I am not sure if what is being requested will work – can I include a trial period?

All new hybrid working requests which are approved should be subject to a 3-month trial period.  This should be reviewed regularly throughout this period to ensure the working pattern is beneficial for both the employee and fulfils operational requirements.

The Homeworking request from my Team member will not work for our Department.  What do I do?

You should discuss the matter with your member of staff and let them know why their request won’t work for the Team.  Use the discussion to explore if there are any other mutually acceptable solutions to their request.  However, if nothing can be agreed then you will have to deny the request.  The employee will have the right to appeal the decision.

An employee wants to change their Hybrid Working pattern – what should I do?

If someone want to make a one-off change, this can be agreed locally with no need to inform HR.  However, the expectation would be that should someone be unable to come in on a campus working day (other than for annual leave or sickness), this would normally be worked on campus at another time to ensure they work the minimum  number of days they are required on campus.    In the event that a member of staff is looking for a more permanent change, e.g. a member of staff wants to permanently change their working from home day from a Monday to a Tuesday, you need to assess whether the request is in line with operational requirements and commitments.  If this does not interrupt the workflow within your Team it can be approved and implemented without the need to inform HR separately. If your member of staff wants to change their agreement from working from home 2 days per week to 3 days per week, this will require a formal contractual change which will need to be discussed with HR prior to any changes being made.

When is 100% Homeworking appropriate?

Permanent Homeworking is where a member of staff has their home as their work base and travels to University premises infrequently.  Working from home 100% of the time is not to be offered other than in exceptional circumstances.  However, it may be essential to help fill a role within your Team and in these types of cases approval should be given by your Head of School or Director prior to any offer being made.  Alternatively, it may be needed on a temporary basis by a member of staff who is unable to come on to campus due to a health issue or similar, e.g. they have broken their leg and are fit to work but cannot physically get to campus.

How flexible should I be with staff?

You can be as flexible as you want to be as long as the operational needs of your department are being met.  It may make more sense for staff to come into the office for specific tasks rather than on specific set days.  You need to assess what is best for your Team.  Try to ensure that you are not favouring certain members of staff over others.  However, you may need to be more flexible with staff who have additional requirements due to their health for example.

I have a new member of staff – do they have the right to work from home during their probation period?

It is important for new members of staff to meet colleagues face to face, learn practices and procedures, and to get a feel for the culture of the University.  Working from home in a hybrid manner should be built up over a period of time in the first couple of months to ensure that staff get the best possible start.  There is nothing to stop new staff working in a hybrid way but their time on campus should be maximised and they should be able to undertake tasks while working from home.

How is the 9-Day Fortnight Policy affected by Hybrid Working?

In line with the 9 Day Fortnight guidance, staff working with hybrid working arrangements should ensure that their day off is taken on a working from home day rather than a day they would normally be on campus.

Can I call staff in on a day when they normally work from home?

Staff working from home may have their agreement subject to an occasional or short term, temporary amendment where an operational need arises, e.g. in the absence of colleagues where cover is required for a particular service. 

Any changes to an agreement for regular hybrid working should be given adequate notice.  Staff are expected to be flexible and, in such circumstances, should be willing to change the days on which they are on campus for reasonable requests.  If staff are regularly being asked to change their set hybrid working arrangements a review of the Team’s hybrid working arrangements should be undertaken.

Staff who work from home on a regular or permanent basis and require a period of additional support or are subject to a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), may have their homeworking agreement temporarily suspended to ensure that they can receive the appropriate support on campus.

Can staff get travelling expenses for coming in on an agreed working from home day?

No – staff cannot claim travelling expenses for coming into work.

Can staff claim back the additional energy costs they may incur due to working from home?

No – staff cannot claim additional energy cost incurred due to working from home.

A member of staff wants to work from a different country for a period of time – can they do this?

Homeworking outside of the UK will not be permitted on an ongoing basis.  This is due to a number of factors such as the tax and pension implications.  Short-term working, for less than 3 months, has to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.  You must discuss the details with your HR Partner prior to approving any request.  These cannot be guaranteed as the rules for each country are different.  Full details of the Global Mobility Policy can be found here.

What IT equipment should staff have who are working from home?

Staff are provided with a laptop, a monitor, a mouse and a keyboard from the central IT budget.  This is to cover home and office working.  Any additional IT equipment needs to be funded from your own School/Directorate’s budget. .  Where reasonable adjustments are required and Occupational Health recommendations are made, these will be taken into consideration.

If staff have a homeworking or flexible working agreement in place, you are required to ensure that they undertake the BeOnline Additional Workstation Assessment.  Staff can assign this to themselves by logging into the BeOnline Health and Safety Training via StaffNet, selecting Course Library and then assigning the Additional Workstation Assessment package.

Should staff have their own desk/office on Campus if they are engaging in hybrid working?

Staff who undertake regular hybrid working may be required to use hot desking facilities while working on University premises.  However, it should be noted that this may not always be applicable, especially when staff have specific accessibility arrangements in place.  Staff using hot desks should work within the parameters of the Clean Desk policy to ensure others can access the hot desks in their absence. 

It is hard to assess how someone is coping when working from home – how can I do this?

Regular one to one meetings with members of your staff should help you to assess how they are coping.  If staff are unwilling to share in an open forum or on a one-to-one basis if they are struggling, make sure that all staff are signposted to where they can get help should they need it.  Alternatively, you can discuss any concerns that you may have with your HR Partner.  Wellbeing resources can be found here.

How do I make sure that staff are not working excessive hours and/or are taking adequate breaks?

You should use Team meetings and one-to-ones to emphasise that staff should ensure that they are taking adequate breaks.  Work-life balance is important for both mental and physical health.  Tools to assist in managing this are available  here.

How do I know what my staff are doing when they are working from home?

It is the responsibility of individual staff members to keep their Line Manager informed of their working from home schedule.  Staff are empowered to be flexible but should ensure a broad adherence to their regular homeworking schedule. 

Regular updates with members of your Team should keep you up to date with what your staff are doing.  Concentrating on the output from staff rather than presenteeism is different from the traditional forms of management and can be hard to adjust to.  Trusting staff to work on their own initiative will help to boost productivity and morale within your Team.

How can I make sure that other people know when members of my staff are working from home?

Members of your Team can include their working from home days in their e-mail signatures so all staff can tell when they are not on campus.  Having a Team calendar so other members of the Team can see when their colleagues are in the office or working from home will also help.

How can I encourage team building and idea sharing for members of my team when they are in the office on different days?

You should consider the following elements to help team cohesion within hybrid teams:

Create Expectations – be sure that all team members receive information about projects, goals and deadlines.  It’s easy for those working from home to get missed when deadlines change since they are not working face to face with the rest of the team.  Have an explicit discussion with the whole team about what would work best for your team and create an agreement which sets the ground rules in respect of meetings and what methods of communication should be used to ensure that all members are kept updated.  The goal is to build and embed a new way of working by figuring out what makes for the best way of working for everyone.  During this process be mindful of how the actions of your team will affect others, and their workloads, within your School or Directorate and as the University as a whole.  To ensure your Team maintain high levels of effective communication, it would be beneficial to use this type of meeting to reset and agree new norms.  Additionally, this is an opportunity to purposely consider ways to keep team members connected.  Physical distance should not equate to social and emotional distance.  Encourage team members to reach out to each other when they need help.  Recognise those who do it.  Continue to champion and attend the fun, social ‘virtual get togethers’ so that all team members feel connected to each other and to you.

Communication – communicate well and often.  There are two aspects of communication that are critical to the success of hybrid teams: the personal needs of staff and the practical needs of the team.  The practical elements should set the ground rules for communication.  This includes how the team will communicate and collaborate taking into consideration the needs of both remote and in-person teams.  This can be done when undertaking the creating expectations exercise recommended above. Line Managers should pay attention to and meet the personal needs of each team member.  Demonstrate empathy and genuine caring for each member’s wellbeing to help build trust and team cohesion.

Inclusion – this is one of the greatest challenges when leading a hybrid team.  Staff who work from home may feel that those in the office have greater access to you and to other colleagues.  Consider running meetings in person, if all staff members are available, or entirely on-line if some are working from home and some are in the office.  Hybrid meetings can be difficult to manage with those who are not in physically in the space finding it harder to hear as well as missing out on the side chatter, leading to feelings of exclusion. 

Remember to consider all staff needs – those who have additional needs, or are neurodivergent, may need additional consideration.

Try holding in-person events where the whole team gets together.  These can be set well in advance so people have the opportunity to prepare if they are being held on a day they would normally work from home.  Events like this can be used to update the team on work issues or for team-building events. They can be held annually, or quarterly, or at time scales which naturally fit the flow of your Team/work schedule.

Support – your primary role as a Manager is to support your staff.  It’s incumbent on you to reach out and ensure that staff are not overwhelmed or struggling with their workload or their work-life balance.  It may be harder to spot if team members are not in the office as much.  If someone is behaving differently from normal this may indicate that they are having issues at work.  Having regular one to one meetings with your Team members to check in on them, both from a work and personal perspective, will help to show support.  Remember to be flexible.

How do I deal with a member of staff who is not performing under a Hybrid arrangement?

If a member of your Team is not performing at the expected level, then this should be dealt with under the normal capability process.  Your member HR Partner will be able to assist with this.

How can I receive training in respect of Homeworking and Managing a Hybrid Team?

There are several Skill Boosters training packages available online that you can undertake at a time which is suitable for yourself.  These include topics such as “Effective Online Meetings”, “Managing Remote Workers” and “Working Effectively from Home”.  They can be found here.  In addition, the Staff Development Team provide a variety of different Management Modules which could help enhance your skills in dealing with remote teams.  The full range of current course on offer can be found here.