Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff

Transcription

1 Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff Reference No. P18:2011 Implementation date 15 th December 2011 Version Number 1.5 Reference No: Name. Linked documents Policy Section Procedure Section Suitable for Publication Yes Yes Protective Marking Not Protectively Marked PRINTED VERSIONS SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON. THE MOST UP TO DATE VERSION CAN BE FOUND ON THE FORCE INTRANET POLICIES SITE.

2 Table of Contents 1 Policy Section Statement of Intent Aim and Rationale Our Visions and Values People, Confidence and Equality Standards Legal Basis People, Confidence and Equality Impact Assessment Monitoring / Feedback Procedure Section Flexible Working Hours (Flexi Time) Operating Rules Working Time Recording Procedure Contracted Hours Flexi Leave Accounting Periods and Line Manager Responsibilities Overtime Absence from work Termination of Employment Management Prerogative Monitoring and Evaluation Consultation and Authorisation Consultation Authorisation of this version Version Control Review Version History Related Forms Document History Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff P18:2011 v1.5 2

3 1 Policy Section 1.1 Statement of Intent Aim and Rationale This policy is intended to provide a degree of flexibility within working hours for police staff and for the organisation and to set out how flexible working hours (flexi-time) will be established and recorded. The aim is to ensure that individuals can achieve a healthy work-life balance and the organisation can benefit from a wider span of service delivery. The scheme does not apply to police staff that are shift workers or staff employed in roles of Scale G and above. 1.2 Our Visions and Values Dorset Police is committed to the principles of One Team, One Vision A Safer Dorset for You Our strategic priority is to achieve two clear objectives: To Make Dorset Safer To Make Dorset Feel Safer In doing this we will act in accordance with our values of: Integrity Professionalism Fairness and Respect National Decision Model The National Decision Model (NDM) is the primary decision-making model used in Dorset Police. The NDM is inherently flexible and is applied to the development and review of all policy, procedure, strategy, project, plan or guidance. Understanding, using and measuring the NDM ensures that we are able to make ethical (see Code of Ethics), proportionate and defensible decisions in relation to policy, procedure, strategy, project, plan or guidance. Code of Ethics The Code of Ethics underpins every day policy, procedures, decision and action in policing today. The Code of Ethics is an everyday business consideration. This document has been developed with the Code of Ethics at the heart ensuring consideration of the 9 Policing principles and the 10 standards of professional behaviour. Monitoring is carried out through the Equality Impact Assessment process which has been designed to specifically include the Code of Ethics. Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff P18:2011 v1.5 3

4 1.3 People, Confidence and Equality This document seeks to achieve the priority to make Dorset feel safer by securing trust and confidence. Research identifies that this is achieved through delivering services which: 1. Address individual needs and expectations 2. Improve perceptions of order and community cohesion 3. Focus on community priorities 4. Demonstrate professionalism 5. Express Force values 6. Instil confidence in staff This document also recognises that some people will be part of many communities defined by different characteristics. It is probable that all people share common needs and expectations whilst at the same time everyone is different. Comprehensive consultation and surveying has identified a common need and expectation for communities in Dorset to be:- Listened to Kept informed Protected, and Supported. 2 Standards 2.1 Legal Basis This policy is written in accordance with the Police Staff Council Pay and Conditions of Service Handbook. The policy seeks to ensure that there is compliance with the Working Time Regulations 1998 which specifies that reasonable steps should be taken to ensure that police staff do not work more than an average of 48 hours per week averaged over a 17 week period. For the purpose of the agreed Working Time Agreement for Dorset Police, this time period is reduced to 15 weeks. This procedure should be read in conjunction with the UNISON Force Agreement for the Purpose of the Working Time Regulations People, Confidence and Equality Impact Assessment During the creation of this document, this business area is subject to an assessment process entitled People, Confidence and Equality Impact Assessment (EIA). Its aim is to establish the impact of the business area on all people and to also ensure that it complies with the requirements imposed by a range of legislation. Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff P18:2011 v1.5 4

5 2.3 Monitoring / Feedback Not Protectively Marked The HR Specialist Officer, Core HR, will be responsible for overseeing this procedure to ensure a consistent Force approach is maintained. Monitoring will be primarily carried out subject to Force processes of continuing review. Feedback relating to this procedure can be made in writing or by to: Address: HR Specialist (Core HR), LDU Department, Dorset Police, Winfrith, Dorset, DT2 8DZ ian.coombs@dorset.pnn.police.uk Telephone: Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff P18:2011 v1.5 5

6 3 Procedure Section 3.1 Flexible Working Hours (Flexi Time) Where appropriate, Dorset Police operates a flexible working hour s scheme (flexitime). This is a well established scheme that allows eligible members of police staff the benefit of varying their hours of work within fixed guidelines Dorset Police recognises that providing opportunities for staff to work flexi-time is beneficial to both the Force and individuals, providing flexibility to meet operational commitments and opportunities for all staff to achieve a better balance between work and other commitments There is a joint responsibility on each member of police staff and management to honour the spirit as well as the terms of the flexi-time agreement. The overriding consideration will remain that the requirements of work must have priority and any flexible working arrangements must not detract from that provision Chief Officers retain the right to change initial working time decisions in consultation with the member of police staff concerned Working Time Regulations dictate that police staff should not work in excess of 48 hours per week averaged over a 17 week period. For the purpose of the agreed UNISON Working Time Agreement for Dorset Police, this time period is reduced to 15 weeks The Working Time Recording System must be used by all police staff to ensure an accurate record of their time worked is recorded. 3.2 Operating Rules Scope of the Scheme The flexi-time scheme is intended to provide a degree of flexibility for employees and for the organisation. The majority of police staff are included in the scheme with the exception of the specific categories listed below: Shift workers Police staff employed in roles of Scale G and above. (The general principle is that staff employed on Scale G or above are contracted to perform 37hours per week, the emphasis is on the completion of work rather than the hours performed) Police staff whose roles determine that the flexi-time scheme cannot be operated. In such cases, this will be specified in the employee s contract job description The opportunity to work flexi-time applies to eligible full-time and part-time staff including job share Police staff whose post is included in the scheme will have this specified in their contract or their job description. Inclusion in the scheme does not prevent any Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff P18:2011 v1.5 6

7 member of staff being required to work outside the parameters of the flexi-time scheme to meet an exceptional organisational demand Normal Office Hours Normal office hours are from hours Monday Thursday, hours on a Friday unless otherwise stated by line managers to meet service delivery requirements of the Department. In some departments cover is required outside of the hours specified The flexitime scheme operates between 0730 hours and 1800 hours from Monday to Friday. Any hours worked outside these parameters should not be recorded under this scheme. If an individual requests a permanent variation in their working hours, this should be considered under the Flexible Working Policy and Procedure located on the Force Document Library The flexitime scheme must be read in conjunction with paragraph , in relation to the expectation of staff Standard Time The standard week for a full time member of police staff is 37 hours per week. Police staff are not paid for lunch breaks. The standard times to be used for the purpose of crediting sickness or other authorised absences involving a complete day or half-day are as follows: Monday to Thursday A day should be recorded as 7 hours and 40 minutes and half a day as 3 hours and 50 minutes on the Working Time Recording System. Friday A day should be recorded as 6 hours and 20 minutes and half a day as 3 hours and 10 minutes on the Working Time Recording System It should be noted however, the annual leave system currently requires all hours and minutes to be recorded in decimalised format so leave should be booked as 7.67 for a full day and 3.83 for a half day. All leave requests should be submitted electronically Flexible Hours and Core Working Time Within the flexi-time scheme, fixed times of arrival and departure are replaced by a working day which is divided into core and flexible time. The main features of the flexible working arrangements are as follows: Bandwidth hrs This is the time period during which police staff may record their time at work Flexible Hours (am) Flexible Hours (pm) hrs hrs Monday to Thursday; This is the period of the day when a member of police staff has a measure of choice over their start and finish time, subject to work requirements hrs Friday Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff P18:2011 v1.5 7

8 Core Time* (am) hrs This is the period of time within the bandwidth during which all staff must be present at work Core Time* (pm) hrs Monday to Thursday; Flexible Lunch Break hrs Friday hrs This is the time period during which a lunch break must be taken. The lunch break must not be less than 30 minutes and may not exceed 90 minutes without prior authorisation Police staff must be on duty during *core times unless absence is authorised. There is no provision for smoking or refreshment breaks, with the exception of dedicated keyboard operators who are entitled to regular breaks from their screen The limits on start and finish times are set out in paragraph Within these times the ability of an individual member of staff to exercise flexibility over the whole bandwidth will be subject to the following: The requirement to provide sufficient cover during normal office hours The operational needs of the Department Current workload Police staff who wish to start work later than the official core start time or staff wishing to leave before the official core finishing time should seek line management approval Should any local arrangements for cover be required, line management should arrange this. 3.3 Working Time Recording Procedure The electronic recording form must be utilised by all police staff to record their working hours. The electronic form allows staff and supervisors to monitor working time and provides the facility for daily review and authorisation after every 4 week settlement period. Link to the Electronic Working Time System The electronic recording form displays the cumulative flexi-time targets for the settlement period and the flexi-time carried forward after the 4 week settlement period The monitoring of police staff working hours to ensure compliance with the Working Time Regulations 1988 is the responsibility of line managers. A comprehensive range of reports for the monitoring of system usage and exception reporting is available Further information in relation to recording time on the Working Time Recording System is contained within the relevant paragraphs of this policy, e.g. Flexi-leave, Overtime and Absence from Work. Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff P18:2011 v1.5 8

9 3.4 Contracted Hours Total hours worked are calculated over a four-week settlement period Police staff are required to work, on average, their contracted weekly hours over the four week settlement period. The scheme is designed to cater for weeks when hours above these hours will need to be worked, due to high demand. It also recognises that there may be periods of lower demand, where fewer hours may be required from the employee Maximum credit/debit of flexi-hours that can be carried forward The maximum number of credit hours that may be carried forward to the next period for full-time staff is 47 hours This is pro-rata for part-time staff, e.g. 18½ hours per week = 18½ 37 x 47 = 23½ The maximum number of debit hours that may be carried forward to the next period for full time staff is 10 hours This is also pro-rata for part-time staff, e.g. 18½ hours per week = 18½ 37 x 10 = No member of staff will carry over a debit balance larger than the permitted maximum. Any debit balance in excess of 10 hours will be regarded as unpaid absence and result in deduction of salary at the appropriate hourly rate. As outlined above, for part-time and job share staff, these hours will apply on a pro-rata basis. Should this occur, line management are advised to contact the HR Service Support Team for advice. 3.5 Flexi Leave Flexi-leave may be taken under the terms of the scheme with prior agreement of the line manager and subject to the exigencies of the service Police staff with sufficient credit hours are allowed time off to a maximum of two days per 4 week settlement period. Flexi-leave will only be granted if there is adequate cover In all circumstances, the taking of flexi-leave must not result in overtime for other staff and an effective service to customers (internal and external) must be maintained, Police staff who wish to start work later than the official core start time or staff wishing to leave before the official core finish time should seek line management approval. Overall responsibility for working hours will rest with line managers and therefore time off, time accrued and hours worked will be at the manager s discretion and subject to this policy Flexi-leave must be recorded on the Electronic Working Time Recording System. When entering the time taken on the electronic record, the flexi-leave option from the drop-down selection box should be selected. This will allow the flexitime total on the electronic record to be reduced accordingly. Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff P18:2011 v1.5 9

10 3.5.6 Line managers will be responsible for ensuring that staff have sufficient time before being able to book a flexi-day and for authorising the record of flexi-time taken at the end of the 4 week completed settlement period. 3.6 Accounting Periods and Line Manager Responsibilities The accounting period will be four weekly. At the end of each settlement period on the Electronic Working Time Recording System, the request authorisation button will be displayed and police staff should submit their completed working time record to their line manager for authorisation. This will forward an to the relevant line manager advising them which settlement period authorisation is required for It is the responsibility of line managers to regularly review the working hours of police staff to ensure that excessive hours are not accrued Where it is necessary for additional hours to be worked, police staff are governed by the Working Time Directive and line managers must ensure that their average working hours do not exceed 48 hours per week, (calculated over a 15-week period) A comprehensive range of reports for the monitoring of system usage and exception reporting is available. 3.7 Overtime Overtime (paid at the appropriate rate) will only be permitted where the Line Manager has requested this in advance to meet operational requirements To ensure consistency and to clarify the situation regarding eligibility for overtime payments to staff operating the flexi-time system, the following rules must apply: Full time staff Overtime payments cannot be claimed during normal office hours, hrs Monday-Thursday, hrs Friday Additional work for which overtime payment will be sought must be authorised in advance by an appropriate manager Work performed outside normal office hours but within the flexitime bandwidth will always be recorded as flexitime unless there are exceptional circumstances Payment will not be made where an individual has a deficit of recorded flexitime hours Subject to all of the criteria being satisfied, only time in excess of a standard working day may be claimed as payment Part time staff The conditions above will equally apply to part-time staff with the exception of: A bandwidth of one hour before or after the contracted hours of duty will apply where less than a standard working day is worked The standard day for a part-time member of staff will be their contracted hours for that day. Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff P18:2011 v1.5 10

11 3.7.6 There is no entitlement to travelling time or mileage for overtime performed at another location Overtime must be recorded on the Electronic Working Time Recording System. When entering the overtime worked on the electronic record, the overtime paid option from the drop-down selection box should be selected. This will allow the time worked to be recorded for the weekly working total but will not be included in the cumulative flexitime that will be carried to the next period. 3.8 Absence from work In the case of authorised/certified absence from the office due to: Annual Leave Special leave (Compassionate Leave etc) Training Sick Leave Public Holidays Time off with pay for Trade Union representatives Hours will be credited on the basis of the actual hours taken or as per paragraph n the case of a day where a whole or half day is taken Annual leave, public holidays, sickness and compassionate leave must be recorded on the Electronic Working Time Recording System. When entering the time taken on the electronic record, the annual leave/sickness or compassionate leave option from the drop-down selection box should be selected and the number of hours taken or as per paragraph in the case of a day where a whole or half day is taken. The entry in this field will be entirely dependant on the contracted working hours. This will allow the time taken to be recorded for the weekly working total but not the weekly working time average and will not affect the flexi-time total Authorised appointments Credit will be given for absence for a medical, ophthalmic or dental appointment within normal office hours unless the line manager considers that reasonable alternative arrangements could have been made. When entering the time taken on the electronic record, the authorised absence option from the drop-down selection box should be selected and the number of hours taken, where a standard day or half day is not appropriate. Where an absence on an approved duty exceeds a standard day the Head of Department may approve an additional credit Unpaid Leave Where unpaid leave is granted, credit will be given as appropriate on the working time system and a deduction from pay will be made by payroll. All staff and managers must follow the policy to ensure that unpaid leave is deducted from salary accordingly. Unpaid leave must also be recorded on the Electronic Working Time Recording System, however a credit is given on the system. When entering the unpaid leave on the electronic record, the unpaid leave option from the drop down selection box should be selected. This will allow the time taken to be recorded for the weekly working total but not the weekly working time average and will not affect the flexi-time total. Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff P18:2011 v1.5 11

12 3.8.8 Attendance at Training Courses/Work related appointments at different locations than centre of duty Police staff travelling directly between home and outside appointments away from their normal centre of duty will be credited with their travelling time for the journey, less the time taken for the normal journey between home and centre of duty Where a complete day s absence from the office is due to training, a minimum of a standard working day would be recorded or the actual time spent on travelling and the training course if longer than a standard day. 3.9 Termination of Employment Police staff employees leaving employment should be aware that payment in lieu of credit hours would not be made. Outstanding debit hours will be deducted from final salary. Arrangements should be made for staff to use this credit prior to leaving the organisation Management Prerogative It is every manager s primary responsibility to meet operational commitments. The flexi-time scheme can help to achieve this if managed well and can be of great benefit to the working environment. If poorly managed, the consequences may result in an unsatisfactory level of service Management reserve the right to exclude an individual from the scheme, either temporarily or permanently, where there is reason to believe that an individual is abusing the scheme or failing to act within the spirit of the scheme. This includes failing or refusing to meet a reasonable and approved requirement to work outside the bandwidth of flexi-time hours when required to meet an exceptional organisational demand without proper reason. An investigation will be required in such cases Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring of the Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff is the responsibility of the Workforce Planning Board The summary of force wide flexi-time accrued in excess of 47 hours is to be reviewed by members of the Workforce Planning Group on a quarterly basis to ensure the financial liability is being managed down Automated Reports will be circulated to Commanders/Heads of Departments on a quarterly basis outlining the summary total of flexi-time accrued in excess of 47 hours, by staff working within the flexi-time scheme. Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff P18:2011 v1.5 12

13 4 Consultation and Authorisation 4.1 Consultation Version No: Name Signature Date Police & Crime Commissioner Police Federation Superintendents Association UNISON Other Relevant Partners (if applicable) 4.2 Authorisation of this version Version No: 1.5 Name Signature Date Prepared: Mr I Coombs 05/02/2015 Quality assured: Authorised: Mr P Channon Pete Channon 03/03/2015 Approved: 5 Version Control 5.1 Review Date of next scheduled review Date: 3 rd March 2016 Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff P18:2011 v1.5 13

14 5.2 Version History Version Date Reason for Change Created / Amended by Initial Document Mrs L Tong Amendment to paragraph 5.8 to reflect annual leave entitlement in decimalised format. Amendment to paragraph to provide further clarity re overtime payment for part-time staff. Mrs L Tong Amendment to paragraph 12.1 to reflect police staff leaving employment. For clarity, it previously read, police staff leaving employment of the Police Authority /3/14 Insertion of Stage 2 transfer paragraph into Aims and Rationale Section. No other change /11/14 The policy has been reviewed in preparation for NICHE implementation (April 2015), no changes necessary /02/15 Fit for purpose review carried out. No changes identified Mrs L Tong Policy Co-ordinator Policy Co-ordinator (6362) Mr I Coombs 5.3 Related Forms Force Ref. No. Title / Name Version No. Review Date 5.4 Document History Present Portfolio Holder Present Document Owner Present Owning Department Mrs N Anderson Mrs J Manley Organisational Development Unit Details only required for version 1.0 and any major amendment ie 2.0 or 3.0: Name of Board: Workforce Planning Board Date Approved: 15 th December 2011 Chief Officer Approving: Mr G Smith Template version January 2013 Management of Flexi-time Policy for Police Staff P18:2011 v1.5 14