Frame Title

UTHCPC Procedures -Flexible Scheduling

Flexible Scheduling

Date of Last Review 4/14/2011
SME: Director of Personnel Systems Management

Introduction

The university’s normal workweek for administrative departments is Monday through Friday and the normal workday is 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Circumstances in administrative departments may sometimes make a flexible schedule advantageous to the employee and to the department.

Goals

To allow flexible scheduling in HCPC Departments for those staff who are interested, resulting in higher employee satisfaction while insuring the department is adequately covered and customer service is fully functioning for the entire regular business day. Establish flexible scheduled workdays that begin no earlier than 6:00 a.m. and that are completed no later than 7:00 p.m.

Scope

This policy applies to all full-time employees in HCPC Departments.

Eligibility

1	Employee must be full-time.
2	Employee must obtain authorization from the departmental manager.
3	Employee must not have received a written warning and/or disciplinary action within the 12 month period preceding the request for flexible scheduling.

Flexible scheduling options may include:

1	Variations in start and end times (e.g., 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM or 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM)
2	Compressed workweek (e.g., working the same # of hours in a four-day workweek or nine out of ten-day cycle)

Advantages of working a compressed work week may include:

	Employees have blocks of time off work
	Employees can arrange schedules to accommodate family needs
	Employee has longer periods of time away from work with no reduction in pay
	Less commuting time; hours scheduled can avoid peak traffic times
	Employer can control overtime and optimize staffing levels
	Departments can provide expanded hours of service
	Maximum use of equipment and technology

Compressed Workweek Schedule Variation Options and Required Considerations:

Alternative Work Schedule options include:

(1)	A modified work schedule of four 10 hour days with a permanent or rotating off day each week
(2)	An alternating weekday-off schedule which compresses 80 work hours in two separate workweeks into nine rather than ten workdays ( i.e., eight 9 hour days and one 8 hour day). As a result, the employee will receive an additional day off on alternating weeks. The day selected to begin the workweek becomes the employee’s bi-weekly day off. If the alternative weekday-off schedule is selected, it will be necessary to adjust the established workweek for all participating associates to ensure compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). A workweek is defined as any seven consecutive 24-hour periods and can vary from employee to employee. Employers are required to designate and record the time and day of the week on which each employee’s workweek begins and ends. The established workweek may be altered with advance notice to the employee, but not on an intermittent basis. To properly implement the alternative weekday-off schedule, it is recommended that Fridays and Mondays serve as the designated off days.

(1)

A modified work schedule of four 10 hour days with a permanent or rotating off day each week

(2)

An alternating weekday-off schedule which compresses 80 work hours in two separate workweeks into nine rather than ten workdays ( i.e., eight 9 hour days and one 8 hour day). As a result, the employee will receive an additional day off on alternating weeks. The day selected to begin the workweek becomes the employee’s bi-weekly day off. If the alternative weekday-off schedule is selected, it will be necessary to adjust the established workweek for all participating associates to ensure compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). A workweek is defined as any seven consecutive 24-hour periods and can vary from employee to employee. Employers are required to designate and record the time and day of the week on which each employee’s workweek begins and ends. The established workweek may be altered with advance notice to the employee, but not on an intermittent basis. To properly implement the alternative weekday-off schedule, it is recommended that Fridays and Mondays serve as the designated off days.

Contingencies of maintaining a flexible schedule include the following considerations by the departmental manager or Administration:

Departments implementing flexible schedules must maintain or increase service levels to their customers. Employees working on a flexible schedule must maintain or increase their workload productivity levels. Managers will be responsible for establishing in writing and monitoring workload levels of staff on a flexible schedule.
The implementation of flexible schedules must not add a cost to the department that is not already being incurred. (Examples of added costs could include overtime or comp time and/or shift pay for the employee or their co-workers).
Employees will be encouraged to use their designated off day for personal business, scheduled medical/dental appointments, etc. Due to the decreased number of departmental staff scheduled to work, planned or unplanned absences can adversely impact work unit activities and the delivery of departmental services. Therefore, managers must closely monitor leave usage. If a pattern of leave used in conjunction with either alternative work schedule is present, the employee may be removed from participation.
Flexible schedules should be customized based on the department's needs, customer needs and the employee's need for flexibility. It is imperative to carefully consider who the customer is.
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Interdependence of tasks within a department and with other departments must be considered.
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In considering flextime for an employee, the needs of co-workers who are on a different schedule should be evaluated and balanced with the needs of the requesting employee. Reasonable accommodation is expected by both the requesting employee and co-workers to make a flexible schedule successful.
Each flexible scheduling arrangement should be implemented on a trial basis, with evaluation points occurring at the supervisor's discretion. Managers need to set clear expectations and goals so that results are measurable.
Continuation of the flexible schedule for each employee can be terminated at any time by the departmental manager when the manager has deemed the flexible schedule is no longer in the best interest of the department and/or the employee’s performance.

Related standards

The Joint Commission : Management of Human Resources

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