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Homeworking

Homeworking is a flexible working agreement that enables staff to work from home for some or all of the time.

Homeworking can be considered for a wide variety of posts. It is acknowledged that not all jobs or staff may be suitable for homeworking. Some jobs are intrinsically not suitable (e.g. roles requiring delivery of face-to-face patient care beyond access through virtual clinics).

Homeworking at UHB will look different for every role. Below are some ways in which it can be considered.

Ad-hoc homeworking

  • This occurs when a member of staff wishes, with the approval of their line manager, to work at home occasionally and irregularly for a specific purpose
  • In this definition the office remains the main place of work
  • Requests will be approved by the line manager on a request-by-request basis and should only be used for a short-term specific purpose

Ad-hoc may be appropriate if someone is unable to get to work due to:

  • an accident or injury
  • adverse weather
  • strikes i.e. teacher or transport
  • a major incident, as a temporary measure

Additionally it may be used to work on a specific project or piece of work.

Note: Homeworking should not be used where the medical opinion is that the person is unfit for work.

Regular homeworking

  • This is where a member of staff has applied for and received line manager approval to spend a regular and substantial proportion of their working time as a mix of office/site working and homeworking
  • In these arrangements, a member of staff will be considered a home worker for the period of time they are working from home
  • Example, a member of staff works from home every Monday and Wednesday

Permanent homeworking

  • This is where a member of staff works 100% of their hours at home. This would still allow for on-site attendance from time to time as and when required, on an ad-hoc basis

Permanent homeworking could be relevant in areas where:

  • The role does not require regular on-site presence
  • The job market determines that permanent homeworking is a competitive benefit, for hard-to-fill posts
  • It is necessary to open up a new talent pool and enable a more diverse workforce e.g. to support a candidate with a disability, where the nature of their disability may mean they could be meaningfully employed if enabled to work from home

On-site attendance

Regular homeworkers are expected to be available to attend on-site when needed, for example for training or where face to face meetings are required.

Permanent homeworkers must attend on-site if required to do so for a legitimate and unavoidable reason.

Further information

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