Flexible working: what universities are doing

Oxford Brookes University

Oxford Brookes has developed a reputation for innovative practice in many areas of flexible working. This is based on its 2002 human resources strategy. The strategy has four strands, two of which focus on recruitment and retention, and equality of opportunity at work. This led to a decision by the University to audit all members of staff about work–life balance in early 2003. The audit was conducted through an anonymous questionnaire sent to all employees, and through focus group discussions. This led to human resources setting up the Oxford Brookes University Work–Life Balance Partnership Project in November 2003, which aimed to address some of the issues that arose from the audit. The audit found that:

• 98 per cent of staff felt it was important to achieve a balance between work and home life
• 93 per cent of staff said they worked better if they could balance home and work life 
• over half of staff wanted to work more flexibly 
• academic staff seemed most dissatisfied with their work–life balance, due to a perception that their workload had intensified in recent years, particularly in the evenings and at weekends 
• line managers’ attitudes to flexibility were key, both in ensuring consistency in implementing policy, and in providing a good role model for staff 
• many staff lacked information on the University’s flexible working policy 
• work–life balance issues should be as much a consideration as equal opportunities concerns.

Review of flexible working options

The University reviewed its existing flexible working policies and produced a guide promoting good practice. To address the issue of poor communication of flexible work options, the University set up a dedicated Work–Life Balance for all website with links to the full text of policies and other useful information, such as university childcare facilities. This includes clear guidance on what to do if a request for flexible working is refused.

The University also decided to extend the right to request flexible working to all staff.

Intensification of the academic workload was addressed by the establishment of a working party on workload planning, led by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar. The project team also recommended a separate policy on work–life balance for academic staff, and that guidelines be set down on evening and weekend working.

Framework for flexible working

The University has also introduced a framework on flexible working, which embraces both existing and new policies, and recommends that flexible working be considered ‘whenever possible’. Evidence shows that this policy is having a trickle-down effect on managers.

Career breaks, special leave and maternity leave

Other innovative new work–life balance policies include career breaks of between three months and two years, open to all staff who have worked a minimum of 26 continuous weeks, subject to operational requirements. There are also a number of forms of special leave, including leave for a domestic emergency, such as flooding in the home. Managers can grant a day’s paid leave for such events. Maternity leave is now 63 weeks for staff with at least 26 weeks’ continuous service – they receive full pay for the first 13 weeks and half pay plus statutory maternity pay for the next 13 weeks. The rest of the leave is unpaid. They can also tack a career break onto the end of this. The University also operates a childcare voucher scheme and offers holiday play schemes.

Management attitudes

The University has been involved in an action research project looking at leadership characteristics that enable the establishment of a successful work–life balance culture. This looked at how managers’ attitudes to work–life balance influenced how policy was implemented on the ground. It found that managers with family responsibilities were most likely to understand how their own work patterns influenced the work–life balance culture in their team. Most managers were positive about flexible working and found few drawbacks to it. Managers with a consultative style of management, who were decisive and able to take risks and who trusted their staff, were accessible and communicated well were best able to cope with the challenges of flexible working; any problems with the policy were usually the result of poor communication and bad management. The project recommended that managers needed guidance in the styles of management and leadership needed to promote work–life balance, and a strong steer from University leaders that this was expected of them. It also suggested that flexible working be mainstreamed into the leadership and management training.

University of Huddersfield

The University has extended the provision of flexible working to all staff. There is a formal procedure which is easy to understand and operate, but most cases are agreed between an individual and their line manager. The majority of requests have been met and no appeals have been lodged so far. The University stresses that those applying for flexible working must show the potential impact on their department. The Flexible Working Request Form is just two pages and downloadable online. The form is sent to human resources for assessment of how the changes will affect the department, including the effect on the employee’s pension, etc., and then human resources advises the line manager. On receipt of a completed form, management has 28 days to arrange a meeting with the employee to discuss the proposal. The manager has to inform the employees of his/her decision in writing within 14 days of the meeting. The manager can agree to operate the new hours for a trial period of up to three months, including a mid-way review. An employee has 14 days to appeal if a request is turned down. Clear reasons are set out for when a manager should refuse a request.

Examples

• A support staff worker in staff development wanted to work part-time to care for an elderly relative.

I reduced my working pattern from full-time to four days a week and requested that Friday was my non-working day. My mother suffers from a variant of muscular dystrophy which has gradually reduced her mobility and balance, and she is a wheelchair-user. At the time of my request for reduced hours, she has recently suffered two falls which confined her to the bedroom for several months. My 79-year-old father was her sole carer and needed help and support. The process of achieving this reduction was both rapid and straightforward. I discussed the issue with my immediate work colleagues, line manager and HR director and then completed a formal request. Within approximately two weeks my new working pattern had been implemented. My only negative observation would be that I asked if the change could be subject to a review in 12 months’ time, but I was informed the arrangement would have to be permanent. From a personal point of view, the arrangements have worked satisfactorily. As my mother’s condition has improved I find that the non-working day is often spent on my own domestic arrangements, thus freeing up evenings and weekends as necessary to spend with my parents. The impact on the office was a reduction of 10 per cent capacity, and I am aware that this causes a backlog at certain times of the year.

• A senior lecturer with changing life circumstances.

I was employed on a full-time basis and currently work 0.6. Unfortunately, the reason for this change in my hours was due to the sudden death of my husband in an accident. On return to work after compassionate leave, I continued working full-time hours, but progressively felt that I was not fulfilling my role within the University to the best of my ability, and also not managing home life with two young children effectively. This resulted in a very high level of stress, and my having a number of weeks off work on certified sick leave. This allowed me to evaluate my work–life balance. I spoke to my head of division and personnel about different working patterns that would provide me with the scope to fulfil my commitments effectively. The information available on the intranet was invaluable and provided me with a sound understanding of the process of reducing working hours. My head of division supported me fully and the process was actioned smoothly and quickly. My workload and student numbers were adjusted. My working days are not set, which fulfils both my and the department’s needs, providing flexibility to attend meetings/courses and meet my teaching commitments, and also allows me to adjust my working week to meet family needs. Because the academic staff within the division have their own workloads, I do not feel I am ‘overlooked’ in any decision-making or treated any differently from the full-time members of staff. I thoroughly enjoy working part-time and believe I have found the work–life balance to suit me and my family.

University of Sunderland

The University has been implementing work–life balance policies such as flexitime and jobshares since the early 1990s. As part of its equal opportunities policy, it has updated and introduced a greater selection of work–life balance policies including maternity, adoption, retirement and special leave. The most wide-ranging of these is special leave policy, introduced in May 2007. This policy covers:

• parental leave
• time off for dependants
• time off for other emergencies 
• compassionate leave 
• time off for public duties 
• court attendance 
• members of the reserve forces
• trade union duties.

The policy has given line managers greater flexibility and confidence to deal with special leave arrangements at the local level, where there is better knowledge of individual circumstances, for instance, whether compassionate leave should be paid in circumstances not associated with an immediate family member. The policy also covers all staff rather than just those with caring responsibilities.

The new policy was promoted through lunchtime briefings to all the schools and services.  It is available on the University’s website.

Queen’s University Belfast

The University’s Equal Opportunities Unit was set up in the late 1980s as a specialised unit within Human Resources to provide advice on equal opportunities issues. In 1999, the Women’s Forum, chaired by the Senior Pro Vice-Chancellor, was established to address long-standing gender imbalances. It has 27 subgroups which report back monthly. In May 2000 the forum produced a report based on the views of 600 women members of staff, and the Queen’s Gender Initiative was set up to implement the report’s 12 recommendations. The Initiative is independent of Human Resources and its director is directly answerable to the Vice-Chancellor. It has set up a website and distributed a leaflet to all staff to inform them about its work. In 2002 the University developed a Northern Ireland Local Academic Women’s Network with the University of Ulster, and received a Royal Society Athena award in 2003 for its work on addressing gender issues.

The University carefully tracks women academics’ career progression and monitors uptake of flexible working, including identifying any problems with this – for instance, through exit questionnaires. It has set up a peer support group for women professors, encouraged jobshares in top posts, and targeted ‘women in waiting’ with specific events. It also has an annual mentoring exercise. It conducts an annual survey of flexible working for support staff and has mainstreamed flexible working hours. The University’s childcare package includes after-school and holiday provision, a voucher scheme and a register of childminders.

The University has a five-year strategy, which includes the provision of six months’ full-time research for women academics returning from maternity leave, promoting jobshares at senior level, investigating homeworking and condensed working hours, looking at providing more full-time childcare places for staff, and ensuring committees routinely work within core hours.

Example

• Bursary officer, Finance Directorate

Ms X worked full-time in the Finance Directorate until her mother had a stroke. As her father has a disability, X was keen to help look after her mother. She requested a one-day reduction in her working week. This was sent to the Deputy Director of Finance, who approved it. In November 2006, X took on a new role and changed her working pattern to 4.5 days so that she could draw her pension earlier. This was again negotiated and agreed with her line manager, and the changes have been made permanent.

University of Leicester

The University has undertaken a range of measures to promote equal opportunities. These include the introduction of a university equal opportunities policy, the setting-up of university and faculty equal opportunities committees, the introduction of departmental equal opportunities officers and plans, the inclusion of equal opportunities as a standing item on departmental committees, regular analysis of data on equal opportunities, and the production of policy and guidance on flexible working. The University has published a Gender Equality Scheme and Action Plan for the period 2007–10. This is university-wide, and progress will be monitored by the University’s Equal Opportunities Committee. It includes a review of flexible working arrangements and a commitment to gather information about good practice nationally. It is also looking to develop a Women’s Network for staff and/or students, and will review how its current ways of consulting staff work and whether they represent the views of women and men equally.

University of York

Department of Biology

The department was awarded the Athena SWAN silver award in March 2007 for its work in promoting women scientists. This includes skills training in grant writing as well as the development of a website for post-doctoral researchers with a range of links and features, including a family-friendly web page. To address work–life balance, the department has looked at the academic workload and has sought to lighten this by appointing non-academic staff, where possible, to undertake essential managerial and administrative tasks. The department promotes flexi-time and ensures meetings and social events are held between 9 am and 5 pm. The timing of social events is varied so that part-time staff do not always miss out. Recruitment literature has been altered to make the possibility of part-time or jobshare arrangements explicit, and the department is advertising flexible working to current staff on its website.

Department of Chemistry

The department was also awarded the Athena SWAN Gold award in March 2007. It has set up an Inclusiveness for All Committee to identify gender and ethnicity issues. The Head of Department and his predecessor are key members of the Committee, which includes a cross-section of staff from postdocs to administrative and technical staff.  An officer has been appointed to start training on inclusion issues. The department offers flexible working at all levels, including annualised hours and part-time working. Meetings and seminars are scheduled between 9 am and 5 pm. It is piloting flexi-time and promoting flexible working within the department. It aims to ensure more flexible scheduling of meetings to take account of flexible working patterns, to establish more inclusive departmental social activities, and to involve families more.

University of Oxford

The University has started a pilot study, 'Options for balancing working life and life outside work', for non academic and academic-related staff, which is open to all. It offers reduced working hours, term-time, jobshare/job split, rota working, flexible hours, seasonal hours, occasional remote working, unpaid mini-breaks, and additional unpaid leave.

University of Bristol

The University has developed a single policy to cover all existing flexible working practices. This applies to all staff, and options include job-sharing, part-time working, term-time working, flexible working hours and homeworking, although staff can also apply for other forms of flexible working.

Liverpool John Moores University

This was the first university in the UK to win the Investors in People Work–Life Balance Model award for its approach to flexible working, which has increased motivation, staff loyalty and focus. It says flexible working should be seen as standard across the University and not an add-on to 'normal' full-time working patterns. The University prefers to negotiate flexible working requests on an individual basis, tailoring solutions to individual and departmental needs, rather than setting down strict flexible working policies.