The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Employment Policies and Procedures. Flexible Working Arrangements Policy

The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employment Policies and Procedures Flexible Working Arrangements Policy Version No.: 9.10 Effective Date: 11 December 2017 Expiry Date: 07 July 2018 Date Ratified: 11 December 2017 Ratified by: Employment Policies & Procedures Consultative Group 1 Introduction 1.1 The Trust aims to maintain a workforce that is highly skilled, competent and flexible and one that puts the patient at the centre of maintaining and delivering high quality, cost effective health services. 1.2 As part of achieving this aim, the Trust recognises the importance of providing flexible working arrangements that primarily provide more scope and flexibility in the workforce to meet the changing demands of current services and service developments in the future, and enable employees to alter the balance between work and life away from work. 2 Scope 2.1 This policy applies to all employees who have 26 weeks continuous* employment with the Trust by the date of an application under this policy. (* applications for a career break require 12 months continuous service) 2.2 The types of flexible working arrangements covered and referred to by this policy are: Reduced hours (see Section 6) Flexible working (see Section 7) Team-based self-rostering (see Section 8) Career breaks (see Section 9) Annualised Hours (see Section 10) (N.B. For details of other arrangements covering time-off for childcare and care of dependants, see the Trust s Special Leave policy. For more specific guidance relating to flexible retirement please see the Trust s Retirement Policy). 2.3 A request for flexible working can be made by an individual employee or a group/team of employees. Page 1 of 19

3 Aims This policy clarifies what flexible working arrangements are available within the Trust and the process to be followed in setting them up and running them. Although intended to be comprehensive it may not cover every issue that relates to a particular set of circumstances. For further information, please contact the Human Resources Department. 4 Duties Roles and responsibilities 4.1 The Executive Team is accountable to the Trust Board for ensuring Trust-wide compliance with policy. 4.2 Directorate managers and heads of service are responsible to the Executive Team for ensuring policy implementation. 4.3 Managers are responsible for ensuring policy implementation and compliance in their area(s). 4.4 Staff are responsible for complying with policy. 5 General Principles 5.1 The Trust has an overriding responsibility to deliver services that meet the needs of patients. It also has the right to seek ways of developing the capacity of its services, improving the capabilities of its employees and improving effectiveness. 5.2 Employees with the relevant qualifying service have the right to request flexible working and have it properly considered there is no automatic right to flexible working. It is the manager s responsibility to: - give appropriate consideration to all requests for flexible working and each part of the process is completed within a reasonable timescale (there is a legal requirement to complete the whole process, including any appeal within 3 months from first receipt) - determine whether a particular request for flexible working can be accommodated in line with the business needs of the Trust - discuss the request with the Directorate Manager/Head of Department/Clinical Director - make a recommendation - forward their recommendation to the relevant Senior Human Resources Manager who will make a decision on the recommendation 5.3 A request for flexible working must provide enough relevant information to enable a manager to make an informed decision. Only one request for flexible working may be made in any 12 month period even if the requests are different in nature. The 12 month period commences from the date the request was received by the manager. All requests for flexible working must Page 2 of 19

be recorded on the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) once received within the Human Resource Department. 5.4 Managers must give appropriate consideration to all requests for flexible working. In doing so, managers must act in accordance with the Trust s Equal Opportunities and Diversity policy and ensure each request, whether from an individual or a team of employees, is treated with fairness and equity and has due consideration for all the particular circumstances. 5.5 If it is apparent that it will not be possible to support the flexible working request within a ward or department, a corporate approach may be considered, and the manager will be expected to explore alternative options in other departments and/or directorates. To ensure any alternative working arrangement is appropriate to the individual s skills and experience and the needs of the Trust, such requests will be centrally coordinated within the relevant professions workgroups, for example, nursing. Further advice may be sought from the Human Resources department. 5.6 Managers are expected to consider what implications a request may have on employees who may be affected and consult with staff as necessary before any changes are made. Employees who make a request have a responsibility to consider the interests of others and service needs. 5.7 Employees may seek the help and assistance of either the Human Resources Department, or their staff representative if they require any advice or assistance in respect of this policy. 5.8 When considering requests, the Human Resources Department and staff representatives may be involved as necessary. 5.9 Managers must ensure that staff requesting and/or affected by flexible working are fully aware of the implications (if any) for their terms and conditions of employment e.g. salary, annual leave, pension. Managers should seek the help and assistance of the Human Resources Department as necessary. When a request for flexible working is agreed by the Trust, it is likely to result in a permanent change to an employee s permanent terms and conditions of employment. 5.10 The Human Resources Department will administer any change to contract in writing and notify Payroll of any change affecting pay. 5.11 Changes in an employee s working pattern must not commence until formal approval has been obtained from the Senior HR Manager and the employee has received confirming in writing of the change and start date. 6 Reduced Hours 6.1 Reduced hours working enables employees to continue to work when they are unable to fulfil the demands of full time working, for example, due to Page 3 of 19

caring responsibilities. They can also be attractive to people who are able to work but are simply not interested in, or not able to work full time hours. 6.2 Providing reduced hours can help: retain employees who might otherwise leave maintain continuity of input from such individuals provide greater flexibility in staffing wards and departments 6.3 Approved requests for reduced hours will be accommodated at existing grade whenever possible. However, this cannot be guaranteed. The terms and conditions of part-time employees, such as pay and annual leave, are pro-rata to those of full time employees. Those whose right to work is via a Certificate of Sponsorship issued by the Trust must consider whether a reduction in hours will affect their right to work (as per UK Visas & Immigration Regulations) prior to making any application 6.4 If a reduction in hours is agreed, all annual leave accrued, prior to the date of the change, must be taken before the date of the change, in accordance with the Annual Leave Policy 6.5 Job-share This is normally where two employees share the duties and responsibilities of one full time post in a partnership arrangement. The Terms and Conditions of employees involved in a Job Share, such as pay, annual leave and sick pay, are based on: i. accrued rights and entitlements of each individual, and ii. the pro-rata arrangements within the Job Share For example, one partner may be on a higher incremental point or have more annual leave entitlement than the other due to longer service; one may work more contracted hours than the other; and the working week may be divided so that each partner works set days, or at certain times. Incremental progression, allowances and other payments are determined on an individual basis and paid pro-rata. Job-sharing requires close liaison and communication between the partners to ensure they fulfil their joint duties and deliver their responsibilities to the Trust. Page 4 of 19

The way in which a job-share works must be determined by the manager in consultation with the partners. Agreement is needed on the hours and days to be worked and how the duties will be undertaken. This must include appropriate cover arrangements for any overlap. It is not a requirement of job-sharing that one partner covers the other during their planned (e.g. annual leave and study leave), or unplanned (e.g. sickness) absence, though this will be encouraged where appropriate, and does not prevent cover arrangements existing where this is agreed. Any excess hours worked by a partner will be handled in accordance with the relevant Terms and Conditions of Service. If a partner leaves the job share, the manager should discuss with the remaining partner how the post may be filled. Depending on the business needs of the department or directorate, it may be mutually agreed to fill it full time or part-time, or advertise for a replacement partner. If the post needs to be filled full time, the remaining partner will normally be offered the post on a full time basis. If the individual is unable to, or chooses not to, undertake the post on a full time basis the Trust will aim to transfer them to a suitable alternative post in accordance with the Trust s Organisational Change and Redundancy policy. In the event that this is not possible, the Trust reserves the right to terminate the individual s employment. The Trust reserves the right to terminate a job-share if there is evidence that it is not working in meeting the needs of the organisation. In the event of notice being given, the Trust will explore with the partners the options in the previous paragraph. 6.6 Term-time working This is where there is agreement to allow an employee to take extended unpaid leave to coincide with school holidays. Employees are paid on a pro-rata basis according to their number of contracted weekly hours and the number of working weeks falling in termtime. The calculations for determining salary are available here, depending on the number of weeks school holidays and the number of teacher training days falling within an annual leave year each year (April to March). Annual salary is paid monthly in twelve equal amounts. Staff wishing to end a term-time contract should first seek advice from the HR Department to establish whether the intended end date would create an overpayment of salary. Page 5 of 19

Annual Leave entitlement for a term-time employee is calculated based on contracted [actual working hours] and not paid hours. Annual leave is recorded in ERA based on and employees contracted hours and not their paid hours. Staff on a term-time contracts should request from their manager (via electronic annual leave requests in e-employee) which of the school holidays will be taken as annual leave rather than as days off in line with their annual leave entitlement. Requests should be actioned by the manager in ERA. Incorrect recording of annual leave for termtimers who work unsocial hours is likely to result in under or over payments detailed guidance can be found in the ERA Policy. Subject to approval by their manager, staff who accrue additional annual leave entitlement due to their length of service can either be paid by having an adjustment to their annual salary calculation, or take the additional days as time off i.e. annual leave, in the normal way see Annual Leave policy. 6.7 V (Variable)-time working Agreement to allow an employee to voluntarily reduce their contracted working hours and/or pattern of work for a specified period. Normally to enable staff to manage short-term personal or caring commitments. The terms and conditions of employees during V-time working, such as pay and annual leave, are pro-rata to those of full time employees. This will be confirmed in writing to the employee. A period of V-time will not normally last longer than three months. The conclusion of the period of V-time must be confirmed in writing and arrangements made to reinstate the appropriate terms and conditions of employment. 7 Flexible Hours Working 7.1 Flexible hours working allows employees to vary their working hours. Employees can vary their start and finish times to suit domestic responsibilities, travel arrangements or for work purposes. 7.2 Managers must determine whether flexible hours working can be accommodated in their area(s) of responsibility whilst ensuring delivery of the service to meet the needs of patients and customers. Consideration should be given to: the nature and volume of work the number of employees required to ensure that work demands are met during core hours the benefits of extended working hours Page 6 of 19

the amount of additional management time required to deal with requests and supervise the arrangements the implications of staff working unsupervised during early or late times e.g. security, health and safety the impact on other employees within and in some cases out with the ward/department 7.3 Managers must monitor the number of hours worked by employees to ensure the needs of the service are met and employees work their contracted hours. 7.4 Where possible, managers may stagger hours to allow employees in a team to work slightly different start, finish and break times provided the requirements of the service are delivered to the expected standard. 7.5 Managers may also allow shift swapping. This is where employees agree changes among themselves that are then approved by the manager in advance of the change(s) occurring. 7.6 An individual may apply for compressed hours. This is where an individual works their total number of contracted weekly hours in fewer than the usual number of working days each week, by working longer individual days. 8 Team-based Self-rostering 8.1 Team-based self-rostering is a bottom-up approach to scheduling work, giving employees more control over the pattern of their working week. 8.2 The team is collectively given the authority to schedule their working day/week within an agreed framework that details in advance the required staffing levels and skill mix to meet service needs. 8.3 Team members propose the times they would like to work and times they would like to protect away from work. This information is then used to compile shift patterns that match individual preferences as closely as possible, whilst maintaining agreed levels of cover at all times. 8.4 Before a team-based self-rostering scheme is agreed and introduced, managers should: assess the support among employees; determine whether the area of work is suitable; establish the reasons for introducing a scheme together with its intended benefits; set and agree: the parameters for minimum and maximum staffing levels; the skill and grade mix; the limits for time owing and owed; the minimum number of core hours that must be worked at certain times; and the maximum number of veto hours that an individual can use to protect time away from work; provide appropriate training to the team in how to operate the scheme; Page 7 of 19

monitor and review a trial (for between three to six months) and decide in consultation with the team whether to implement the scheme on an ongoing basis ensure there is an on-going process of evaluation for the scheme; retain the right to return to Trust based rostering to meet the needs of the organisation to ensure delivery of service. 9 Career Breaks 9.1 For frequently asked questions on Career Breaks, follow this link. 9.2 A career break scheme is an extended period of unpaid leave from work that begins with an intention to return to work at the Trust at an agreed date in the future. It provides a means of managing a situation where an employee wishes to request a break from their working lives. 9.3 A career break is unpaid and would normally be expected to be for no longer than twelve months. The minimum length of a break is three months. In exceptional circumstances, an employee can request a break of more than twelve months, but it should be noted that all requests are subject to prior approval by the Trust and will be considered in accordance with the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service. As a result, a request will not be granted if it would have an adverse impact on the Trust delivering the services to the standards it requires. 9.4 The purpose of the scheme is to retain the skills and experience of employees where this is reasonably practicable, encourage their return and make reentry to work as smooth as possible. 9.5 If an employee returns to work within a year, the same job will be available as far as is reasonably practicable, unless a redundancy situation arose during the period of the career break or there was some other reason why it is not reasonably practicable to return to the original job. 9.6 If the break is granted for longer than a year, or return to the same job is not possible, an employee may return to as similar a job as possible. This may or may not be at the equivalent salary level. Where salary is at a lower level, protection will not apply. 9.7 An employee is responsible for ensuring that they maintain their competence and professional registration (where applicable) during their career break absence. 9.8 Employees who have salary sacrifice arrangements remain responsible for payments during periods of unpaid leave. The employee must contact the Staff Benefits team for advice and information on how to setup payments, if they are considering a career break (see FAQ s); Benefits.everyone@nuth.nhs.uk. Page 8 of 19

9.9 If the Trust requires an employee to attend specified training courses and/or conferences during their career break, the Trust s Study Leave/Continuing Professional Development (CPD) policy will apply. 9.10 The scheme is open to all employees who have completed at least twelve months continuous service with the Trust by the start date of their break. 9.11 Examples of reasons for which a break may be granted are: childcare commitments care of a dependent person further relevant education and/or training relevant work abroad and charitable work that could broaden experience preparation for retirement 9.12 The career break period will not be regarded as a break in employment service, and therefore, an individual will remain an employee of the Trust. However, the period will not count as reckonable service for the purposes of entitlement to certain terms and conditions, such as annual leave, occupational sick pay, incremental credit and redundancy. These will be frozen at the start of the career break period until the employee returns to work. The employee will not be permitted to have annual leave entitlement outstanding or overtaken before the career break starts and depending on their return, any such entitlement will be pro-rated from the agreed return date. 9.13 An employee on a career break will not be allowed to take up paid employment with another employer except in specific circumstances e.g. work overseas or charitable work that could broaden experience. The employee will be required to notify the Trust, in writing, of their proposed employment and obtain written agreement from the Trust before any such paid employment is undertaken. The manager must take advice from the Human Resources Department before agreeing to any request. 9.14 The break period will count toward continuous employment for statutory purposes e.g. Statutory Sick Pay and Statutory Maternity Pay. 9.15 Pension rights and contributions will be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the NHS pension scheme. The period of a career break is pensionable. If an employee is in the NHS pension scheme, it is their responsibility to contact their Pensions Officer at Payroll to determine pension implications and to notify both Payroll and the HR Department of their intentions regarding contributions during the break. This should be stated on the application form for the career break. 9.16 The manager and employee should make arrangements to keep in touch during the break. This includes a responsibility on the employee to keep their manager up-to-date with their contact details e.g. address, telephone number, email. Page 9 of 19

9.17 Prior to an employee commencing a career break, managers must ensure that appropriate arrangements have been made in respect of the following (where applicable): return (or otherwise) of a lease car cessation of telephone rental reimbursement cessation of any uniform allowance payment return (or otherwise) of a discount travel ticket or car parking pass recovery of any loans or approved study leave funding return of Trust property, such as ID Badge, mobile communication, keys, uniform salary sacrifice arrangements The employee is responsible for meeting costs arising from the above e.g. early termination of a lease car agreement and/or salary sacrifice arrangement. 9.18 Any application for a career break must be submitted to the manager at least three months before the proposed start date of the break, and in line with the procedure set out in Section 12 of the policy. 9.19 On receipt of a completed application form, the manager must make a recommendation on the form and submit it to the relevant Senior Human Resources Manager for consideration who will make a decision and inform the manager accordingly. 9.20 The manager will inform the employee of the decision and will liaise with the relevant Human Resources Adviser to administer the outcome of the application as necessary. 9.21 An employee is required to give two months notice in writing to their manager of the date they intend to return to work if the break is less than a year. If the break is more than a year, six months notice of the date they intend to return is required. 9.22 If the employee wishes to return on reduced hours, they must make a request to their manager in line with this procedure. Only one request can be made in any 12 month period. 9.23 If an employee fails to honour the terms of their career break, or has provided false and/or misleading information to obtain a career break, the Trust will regard this as gross misconduct and will proceed with action under the Trust s Disciplinary Procedure. 9.24 Where a career break is agreed, the line manager must make the employee aware of the requirement to undergo the relevant pre-employment checks i.e. Occupational Health, professional registration check, right to work, verification of ID, UK DBS and overseas police check (if appropriate) prior to their return to work. If an individual has spent a consecutive period of six months or more outside of the UK during their career break and they have been in any country Page 10 of 19

for more than 30 days at the date of application submitted, then an overseas criminal record check (or where the country will not provide this, a certificate of good conduct) should be undertaken for each country visited. The cost of any overseas criminal record checks will be borne by the individual. 9.25 Where an employee is absent for 12 months or more, arrangements must be made by the Line Manager/Supervisor to ensure Corporate and Local induction is completed by the employee within 4 weeks of their return to work. 10 Annualised Hours 10.1 An annualised hours scheme aims to achieve a more even match between supply and demand for staff by distributing hours worked to coincide with actual levels of need flexing the working year. 10.2 Annualised hours can give the Trust and employees extra flexibility to vary patterns of work across each year according to service need and individual preference. The total number of hours to be worked in the full year must be agreed at the outset and in advance of any implementation. Exactly when these hours are worked each week or month is subject to agreement between the manager and members of the team. 10.3 Before an annualised hours scheme is introduced, managers must: assess the support among employees; determine whether the area of work is suitable; establish the reasons for introducing a scheme together with its intended benefits for enabling the Trust to deliver its services; set and agree: the parameters for minimum and maximum staffing levels; the skill and grade mix; the limits for time owing and owed; the minimum and maximum number of hours that can be worked in a week; guidelines for producing rosters and making roster changes at short notice; and a system of keeping track of hours worked; provide appropriate training to the team in how to operate the scheme; trial the scheme for an agreed period of time - normally between three to six months; monitor and review the trial in conjunction with the team and decide whether it is appropriate to implement on an on-going basis; ensure there is an on-going process of evaluation; retain the right to return to Trust based standard scheduling of hours to meet the needs of the organisation to ensure delivery of service. 10.4 In addition to the above, it must be clear at the outset what the implications and arrangements are for annual leave, sick pay and related matters when employees leave the employment of the Trust. 11 Procedure for Requesting Flexible Working Arrangements 11.1 All requests, including any appeals must be considered and a decision made, within a period of three months from first receipt. The exception to this is Page 11 of 19

where an extension is agreed by both parties and the documentation in appendix 2 is completed. The steps identified in this section (and section 12 if applicable) must be followed and it is the responsibility of the manager to ensure that a three month timescale is adhered to. 11.2 All requests for flexible working arrangements must be made in writing, signed and dated and submitted to the relevant line manager using the Flexible Working Application Form. 11.3 An employee must provide as much relevant information as possible in their application so that their manager can make an informed recommendation without delay i.e. specify the reason for the request to work flexibly, provide details of the flexible working pattern requested, state the date on which the change is being requested from and identify if a previous request to work flexibly has been made. The employee should also explain what effect, if any, they believe the proposed change would have on the Trust and how, in their opinion, any such effect might be mitigated. If an employee unreasonably refuses to provide the information required the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn. In such circumstances a further request may not be made for a further 12 months as per the details contained in paragraph 5.3 above. 11.4 The employees must aim to provide their manager with as much notice of their request as possible. This is to help ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place at the required time to implement any changes should the request be agreed. 11.5 Following receipt of a flexible working request the manager will acknowledge the request in writing (template letter available in Appendix1) and hold a meeting with the employee as soon as possible. The required timescales may be extended with agreement and completion of the documentation in appendix 2. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the request in further details, review any working pattern the employee is proposing and how it might be accommodated. If there are likely to be problems in such a working pattern these should be explored and/or possible alternatives where appropriate before arriving at any recommendation. The decision will not be communicated at this meeting. 11.6 Employees have the right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative. If an employee fails to attend a scheduled meeting without notification or without reasonable explanation the application will be treated as withdrawn. In such circumstances a further request may not be made for a further 12 months see paragraph 5.3 above. If the work colleague/trade union representative is unable to attend the meeting, then the employee may propose an alternative date which must be within five working days of the original date. If the alternative date is not agreed, then the meeting will go ahead without the work colleague/trade union representative. 11.7 Following the meeting, Section 2 of the flexible working application form must be completed and forwarded to the relevant Senior Human Resources Page 12 of 19

Manager who will make a decision and complete Section 3. The manager will be informed of the outcome. The application form will be retained on the employee s personal file and details will be recorded in ESR. 11.8 Once the manager has been informed of the outcome, they will notify the employee of the decision as soon as possible. If additional time is required to consider an application the period can be extended subject to agreement and completion of the documentation in Appendix 2. 11.9 If the request is accepted the manager will confirm the details of the new arrangements in writing, the letter must; be dated include a description of the new working pattern state the date from which the new working pattern is to take effect state that the change will effect a permanent change to the employee s terms and conditions The Human Resources Department will be able to provide support in meeting this obligation, all correspondence should be copied to Human Resources. 11.10 Where a request for flexible working is not agreed, the manager will confirm the decision in writing on the application form, including details of the business grounds on which the request was refused, an explanation of why the business reasons apply in the circumstances and the employee s right of appeal. The Employment Rights Act 1996 lists the following eight grounds an employer can give for refusal of a request for flexible working; planned structural changes the burden of additional costs a detrimental impact on quality the inability to recruit additional staff a detrimental impact on performance the inability to reorganise work among existing staff a detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand a lack of work during the periods the employee proposes to work 11.11 At any point throughout the process an employee can withdraw their application by notifying their manager in writing. 12 Appeals 12.1 If the employee(s) believes their request has not been properly considered they have the right of appeal within 14 calendar days of the notification of the decision to the Head of Human Resource Services. The appeal must be made in writing and must set out the grounds of appeal. 12.2 An appeal hearing will be arranged as soon as possible after receiving the employee s appeal notice (the timescales can be extended subject to Page 13 of 19

agreement and completion of the documentation in appendix 2) and will be heard by the level of management above that which made the original recommendation who will be accompanied by a representative from the Human Resources Department (an example procedure for the conduct of an appeal is outlined in appendix 3). Employees have the right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative. If an employee fails to attend the scheduled appeal meeting without notification or without reasonable explanation the application will be treated as withdrawn. If the work colleague/trade union representative is unable to attend the meeting, then the employee may propose an alternative date which must be within five working days of the original date. If the alternative date is not agreed, then the meeting will go ahead without the work colleague/trade union representative. 12.3 The employee will be informed of the decision as soon as possible following the appeal hearing. 12.4 If the appeal is successful the manager will confirm the details of the new arrangements in writing, the letter must be; dated include a description of the new working pattern state the date from which the new working pattern is to take effect state that the change will effect a permanent change to the employee s terms and conditions 12.5 If the appeal is unsuccessful the manager will notify the employee in writing. The notification shall include the following: date of decision grounds for the decision (in response to employee s grounds for appeal) an explanation for why the business grounds for refusal apply. 13 Training Training will be provided by the Human Resources Department to Managers following implementation of the procedure. 14 Equality and Diversity The Trust is committed to ensuring that, as far as is reasonably practicable, the way we provide services to the public and the way we treat our staff reflects their individual needs and does not discriminate against individuals or groups on any grounds. This policy has been properly assessed. Page 14 of 19

15 Monitoring Compliance with the Policy Standard / Process / Issue The number of requests accepted and rejected to ensure there is no unlawful discrimination Monitoring and Audit Method By Committee Frequency Reporting Director of Heads of Annually of Human Human information Resources Resources from ESR Meeting reports 16 Consultation and Review of this Policy This policy has been reviewed in consultation with the Employment Policies and Procedures Consultative Group 17 Implementation of the Policy (including raising awareness) A summary of the key changes will be notified to managers following implementation. Further advice and guidance will be available from the Human Resources Department. 18 References 1) Employment Rights Act 1996 Available at www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents 19 Additional Documents Annual Leave and General Public Holidays Disciplinary Policy and Procedure Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy Organisational Change and Redundancy Policy Pre-Employment Checks & Use of the Disclosure and Barring Service Policy Retirement Policy, Procedure and Guidance Special Leave Policy Study Leave/Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Policy Nursing and Midwifery Staffing Strategy Author: Employment Policies and Procedures Consultative Group Page 15 of 19

Appendix 1 The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Flexible Working Arrangements Confirmation of Receipt Form Dear (insert Employee name) I acknowledge receipt of your application for flexible working on:.(add date request received by Manager). I will arrange to meet and discuss your application as soon as possible. You are entitled to be accompanied at the meeting by a work colleague or a trade union representative. Please let me know as soon as possible whether you intend to be accompanied and provide their name, designation and contact details. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me at your earliest opportunity. Yours sincerely Manager Page 16 of 19

Appendix 2 The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Flexible Working Arrangements Extension of Time Limit Form Dear (insert Employee name) I wish to extend the amount of time that the regulations allow me to consider and conclude your flexible working request (3 months): I wish to extend the time limit to ( ) months. This means that I will have until (insert date) to complete the necessary action. The extra time is required for the following reason (insert reason) If you agree to this extension, please sign below and return it to me, retaining a copy for your own records. Sign: Date : Page 17 of 19

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Appendix 3 Example Procedure for the Conduct of a Flexible Working Appeal All attendees shall introduce themselves by name and title, and give the reason for their attendance. The process for the hearing shall be explained, and adjournments shall be permitted where necessary. The purpose of the appeal is to determine whether due process was followed in respect of a flexible working request and whether it was properly considered. The reason(s) for refusal of the request: a) Management shall present their case in the presence of the appellant and his/her representative and may call witness(es). b) The appellant or his/her representative shall have the opportunity to ask questions of management and their witness(es). c) The person(s) hearing the appeal shall have the opportunity to ask questions of the management or their witness(es). d) Management shall have the opportunity to re-examine their witness(es) on any matter referred to in their examination by the person(s) hearing the appeal, the appellant or his/her representative. The reason(s) for appeal: e) The appellant or his/her representative shall put his/her case in the presence of management explaining their grounds for appeal and may call witness(es). Any evidence to support the appeal, including witness statements that are relevant, should be provided a minimum of three working days before the appeal hearing. f) Management shall have the opportunity to ask questions of the appellant, his/her representative and his/her witness(es). g) The person(s) hearing the appeal shall have the opportunity to ask questions of the appellant, his/her representative and his/her witness(es). h) The appellant or his/her representative shall have the opportunity to re-examine his/her witness(es) on any matter referred to in their examination by the person(s) hearing the appeal or management. i) The person hearing the appeal shall ask the appellant if they feel they have had a fair hearing. If the appellant feels they have not, the person hearing the case shall ask them for details and address the issues. Summing up the case: j) Management and the appellant or his/her representative shall have the opportunity Page 18 of 19

to sum up their case if they so wish. The appellant or his/her representative shall have the right to speak last. In summing up, neither party is permitted to introduce new matters. k) Nothing in the foregoing procedure shall prevent the person(s) hearing the appeal from inviting either party to elucidate or amplify any statement he/she may have made, or from asking him/her such questions as may be necessary to ascertain whether or not he/she proposes to call any evidence in respect of any part of his/her statement, or alternatively whether he/she is in fact claiming that the matters are within his/her own knowledge, in which case he/she will be subject to examination as a witness under (b) or (f) above. l) The person(s) hearing the appeal may at their discretion adjourn the appeal in order that further evidence may be produced by either party to the dispute or for any other reason. m) Management, the appellant and his/her representative shall withdraw. n) The person(s) hearing the appeal and the officer acting as secretary shall deliberate in private. If any clarification is required on the evidence already given, both parties shall be recalled to the hearing regardless of whether the point giving rise to doubt requires response from only one party. Communicating the Decision o) The employee shall be informed in writing of the outcome of the appeal as soon as possible, and normally no later than 14 days after the hearing. The decision shall be final and there shall be no further right to raise the matter within the Trust. (The timescale for notification of the decision can be extended subject to agreement and completion of the appropriate documentation). IMPORTANT NOTE Management in the context of this procedure may be the line manager i.e. the officer who made the recommendation regarding the flexible working request, or the Directorate Manager/Head of Department/Clinical Director who provides final authorisation of the recommendation. Alternatively, the case may be presented by HR. Page 19 of 19

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Equality Analysis Form A This form must be completed and attached to any procedural document when submitted to the appropriate committee for consideration and approval. PART 1 1. Assessment Date: 6 March 2015 2. Name of policy / strategy / service: Flexible Working Policy 3. Name and designation of Author: Ms K Pearce Senior HR Manager (Projects) 4. Names & designations of those involved in the impact analysis screening process: EPPCG 5. Is this a: Policy x Strategy Service Is this: New Revised x Who is affected Employees x Service Users Wider Community 6. What are the main aims, objectives of the policy, strategy, or service and the intended outcomes? (These can be cut and pasted from your policy) The policy clarifies what flexible working arrangements are available within the Trust and the process to be followed in setting them up and running them. Although intended to be comprehensive it may not cover every issue that relates to a particular set of circumstances. For further information, please contact the Human Resources Department. 7. Does this policy, strategy, or service have any equality implications? Yes No x If No, state reasons and the information used to make this decision, please refer to paragraph 2.3 of the Equality Analysis Guidance before providing reasons: See below

8. Summary of evidence related to protected characteristics Protected Characteristic Race / Ethnic origin (including gypsies and travellers) Evidence, i.e. What evidence do you have that the Trust is meeting the needs of people in various protected Groups The policy includes a statement confirming all staff are eligible to apply for flexible working. From April 2013 to March 2014 94% of requests were approved. 6% of the approved requests came from staff who identified as BAME. Of the requests which were rejected (6%), 0.2% of those were from staff who identified as BAME. Does evidence/engagement highlight areas of direct or indirect discrimination? If yes describe steps to be taken to address (by whom, completion date and review date) No Does the evidence highlight any areas to advance opportunities or foster good relations. If yes what steps will be taken? (by whom, completion date and review date) No Sex (male/ female) Religion and Belief Sexual orientation including lesbian, gay and bisexual people Age Disability learning difficulties, physical disability, sensory impairment and mental health. Consider the needs of carers in this section Gender Re-assignment Marriage and Civil Of the requests accepted, 7% came from male staff and 87% came from female staff. National evidence suggests that the majority of employees working flexibly are female and the results are therefore not unexpected. However it does confirm Trust policy is used by both male and female staff. Of those rejected 0.3% were male the remainder were female No concerns were highlighted following a review of local data 55% of requests accepted were from heterosexual staff, with 1% from LGBT staff (this corresponds to staff in post data). No requests from LGBT staff were refused. No concerns were highlighted following a review of local data There is no local / national data available more generically the Trusts Gender Identity Group have confirmed the Trust (public bodies) are see by the Trans community as inclusive employers The monitoring data in ESR in relation to sexual orientation has a high percentage of null records. An action has been added to the equality action plan to look at ways to cleanse the data The monitoring data in ESR in relation to sexual orientation has a high percentage of null records. An action has been added to the equality action plan to look at ways to cleanse the data

Partnership Maternity / Pregnancy 9. Are there any gaps in the evidence outlined above? If yes how will these be rectified? No 10. Engagement has taken place with people who have protected characteristics and will continue through the Equality Delivery System and the Equality Diversity and Human Rights Group. Please note you may require further engagement in respect of any significant changes to policies, new developments and or changes to service delivery. In such circumstances please contact the Equality and Diversity Lead or the Involvement and Equalities Officer. Do you require further engagement? Yes x No 11. Could the policy, strategy or service have a negative impact on human rights? (E.g. the right to respect for private and family life, the right to a fair hearing and the right to education? No PART 2 Name: Karen Pearce Date of completion: 26 March 2015 (If any reader of this procedural document identifies a potential discriminatory impact that has not been identified, please refer to the Policy Author identified above, together with any suggestions for action required to avoid/reduce the impact.)