Policies + Procedures — Human Resources Policies — Flexible Work Arrangements for Staff

4.40 Flexible Work Arrangements for Staff

I. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for approving, evaluating, and maintaining Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) for staff members.

II. Scope

This policy applies to all regular full and part-time staff employees who have completed their probationary period. It does not replace or supersede policy 4.33 Working From Home, which applies to short-term situations.

III. General

Bucks County Community College exists to provide high-quality educational experiences in and outside of classrooms, cultural offerings, and community engagement. It is a highly collaborative workplace that provides robust on-campus experiences for students, faculty, staff, and visitors. To achieve this, we must ensure vibrant campus environments exist that include numerous opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to interact with each other in formal, informal, and unplanned settings, at all three campuses.

While having all employees of the College working collaboratively in the same places most easily and organically creates such an environment, the College will consider FWAs for eligible positions and employees as appropriate. FWAs must not present an impediment for the College, other staff, students, faculty, or guests to the College—that is, inconvenience or additional work cannot be imposed upon others because of an FWA. FWAs are not appropriate for every position or individual. For positions that are eligible, all requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

IV. Descriptions

Flexible Work Schedule

A flexible work schedule is an ongoing adjustment to an employee’s regular schedule. For example, instead of working 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., an employee might work 7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. or 10 a.m.–6 p.m. The following are considerations when developing such schedules:

All offices must be staffed in person during the entire workday. Most offices are open 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., but those times may be changed by the College.
Every work schedule must include an unpaid lunch period of at least 30 minutes.
Core business hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Every employee must have a work schedule that includes these core business hours, except for employees scheduled for shifts outside of normal office hours.

Flexible Work Location

A flexible work location allows an employee to work specific days at an off-site location that is not owned and operated by the College. There are two types of flexible work location arrangements as follows:

Hybrid. Hybrid work arrangements authorize an employee to perform their regular job duties from home or another approved off-site location for one or two days per week, with the requirement of at least three (3) days on-site each week.
Remote. Remote work arrangements authorize an employee to perform their regular job duties from home or another approved off-site location.

Requests for a flexible work location as a reasonable accommodation for a disability are handled through the accommodation request process, not the FWA process. Employees should discuss these requests with the Office of Human Resources.

V. Eligibility

Eligibility for a Flexible Work Schedule will be determined based on office staffing needs, an individual’s ability to work independently, and confidence that the office will be safe and secure for work outside of normal business hours.

Eligibility for a Flexible Work Location will be determined based the suitability of the position for off-site work, the fitness of the employee for off-site work, the appropriateness of the proposed off-site workspace, and the potential impact on the office team and the various stakeholders the position serves or with which it interacts. In addition, consideration will be given to ensuring offices are staffed to achieve a robust office and campus environment, provide timely and personalized in-person service, and to afford optimal collaboration with students, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders. Positions that maintain campus functions and/or directly service College property will not be considered for flexible work locations. Positions with regular in-person interaction with students, faculty, staff, and visitors will undergo a rigorous review process.

In addition, hybrid or remote work arrangements will generally only be authorized for employees residing in Pennsylvania. This is due to the complexity of payroll and employment and workers compensation laws in each state. Due to the complexity of tax and employment laws, flexible work locations off-site will only be authorized within the United States (U.S.).

All requests for FWAs must be reviewed by the Chief Human Resources Officer and approved by the President & CEO. A signed Flexible Work Agreement must be approved in advance before an employee may begin an FWA. Employees who are approved for a hybrid or remote FWA will be required to complete an application and acknowledge and abide by the Compliance Requirements as set forth by the College.

VI. Review and Modification

Periodic Review

All FWAs will be structured on a trial basis and reviewed periodically to determine if the arrangement is effective or needs to be modified or terminated. A formal evaluation will be performed during each annual performance review.

Modification and Termination

An FWA may be modified or terminated at any time at the discretion of the College.

The College may, on occasion or on a regularly scheduled basis, require in-person attendance for meetings, trainings, peak times for on-campus presence, office coverage, to discuss work progress or other work-related issues, or for other events. These requests will override a regular FWA. For example, vacation and leave requests of team members take priority over individual FWAs. Accordingly, there may be occasions when an approved FWA cannot be accommodated for a period due to the absence(s) of other team members.

An employee may request modifications or termination of an FWA at any time. In cases where the FWA has included working off-site, the College will determine if appropriate workspace is available on one of the campuses to allow for the employee to work on-site.