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Guidelines for Flexible Work Schedule - Policy

In response the growing popularity of flexible work schedules and increased requests from our employees, St. Bonaventure University is pleased to offer the opportunity for flexible work schedules.

As a residential university, St. Bonaventure has special needs that require some services to be available at all times.  Therefore, a major responsibility of supervisors and managers is to schedule staff to meet operating needs.

The standard university work schedule is 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday during the academic year and 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday during the summer months.  While the needs for the university and most staff members can be met within the standard hours and week, supervisors may establish alternate work schedules or staff may seek to arrange an alternate work schedule that better satisfies the needs of the individual and meets the needs of the university.  Recognizing the benefits of an alternate work schedule, a staff member’s request can be approved at the sole discretion of the supervisor.  Alternate work schedules requested by staff are called “flexible work schedules.”  Approved flexible work schedules must sustain or enhance the staff member’s ability to do the job and must not present an undue inconvenience to the public and/or members of the University community.

Flexible work schedules are not appropriate for all positions or to all work sites within the university. When appropriate, supervisors and staff are encouraged to apply these guidelines to meet the mutual needs of the university and the staff member.

The following provides guidance to address requests for a flexible work schedule.  These guidelines include definitions of the various types of flexible arrangements and outlines responsibilities of the staff member and the University.  It is constructed to assist staff members and supervisors in assessing and evaluating requests for flexible work arrangements.

Flexible Work Schedules/Flextime

Discussion of flexible work schedules can be initiated by the supervisor or a staff member.  Staff seeking a flexible work schedule should submit the request in writing to the supervisor by completing the Flexible Work Schedule Request Form.  Following are a few examples of variations to work schedules:

1. Fixed starting and quitting times – changing starting and quitting times.  For example, a staff member may work from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily.  The arrangement may be reviewed and changed by the supervisor at any time.

2. Fixed varied starting and quitting times -   a fixed schedule of varying starting and quitting times might work Monday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Wednesday 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., etc.  The arrangement may be review and changed by the supervisor at any time.  A common feature of this schedule is that there are “core” hours when the unit or department is fully staffed.

3. Compressed work schedules changing the number of hours to be worked per day to permit fewer work days per week.  For example, a staff member who is regularly scheduled to work 40 hours per week may work 4 ten hour days.

Questions to Consider

When contemplating implementation of the above flexible work schedules, the staff member and supervisor need to consider both university and individual issues.  Answering the following questions will be helpful:

• How will university and departmental needs be met?

• How will the needs of the customer (student, etc) be met?

• Does the job contain tasks that can be done at non-traditional times?

• Have the support needs of the staff member and the supervisor been carefully assessed?

• In the absence of the supervisor, can the staff member function independently?

• Can arrival and departure times be monitored?

• What will the impact be on the other work functions of the department?

• Can “core hours” be established for managing peak periods, coordinating work among staff, scheduling meetings, office events, etc.?

• Can accountability and clear performance expectations be provided?

Schedule arrangements are dependent on several factors, such as current job performance and attendance, the ability to work independently, the nature of the work to be performed, the desire of the staff member to be successful in a flexible work schedule, and good communication skills.

Lunches and/or scheduled rest periods are not to be eliminated when staff work a flexible schedule. 

Approval of a request for a flexible work schedule is at the sole discretion of the supervisor and departmental leadership.  An employee cannot use the hourly complaint and grievance procedure to grieve a decision on a request for a flexible work schedule.

06/24/08