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 applies when a staff member has applied for and received line manager approval to work across multiple work bases, including their home address
- The staff member will still be required to attend events or travel to other work bases or locations regularly or on an ad hoc basis
- The staff member’s contractual work base will remain a Trust site
Permanent homeworking
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This is where a member of staff works 100% of their hours at home. Permanent homeworking should only be agreed in extenuating circumstances. Before agreeing to a permanent homeworking request a manager will need to have discussed this with their local People Teams.
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A permanent homeworker will still be expected to attend onsite as and when required
Permanent homeworking could be relevant in areas where:
- 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.