Smart Working – information for staff

Our campuses are vibrant places and you may enjoy working on campus for most of the time. If you think that Smart Working arrangements might work for you for some of your working time, this framework exists to help you to have this discussion with your line manager.

Given the importance of our campuses to our University community, this framework does not allow for arrangements to work 100% remotely. Our campuses remain your normal place of work and, whatever your arrangements, they should normally include you spending, on average, a majority of your working week on campus.

The Smart Working framework is intended to give you flexibility to maintain a better work-life balance. On days when you are working remotely, it might be easier to pick up children from school or get to an early gym class. However, as in the office, you need to be able to work effectively and meet all of your work commitments. So, for example, you cannot use Smart Working arrangements to provide childcare if this would not allow you to work in a productive way or attend non-work activities when you are required to be working. As Smart Working arrangements are informal and can change, you cannot use this framework to establish formal caring arrangements.

This framework sets out what you can expect from your Head of School or Function and your line manager, and what you need to do.

What your Head of School or Function is responsible for

• Ensuring staff have the appropriate working environment on campus for their role.

• Using the Smart Working framework to set the expectations for their School or Function.

• Supporting line managers to deliver the framework.

What your manager is responsible for

• Ensuring the business needs of the team are met

  Your individual preferences should be considered fairly and equitably, but your manager will need to prioritise the delivery of your team’s work, the business needs and students’ expectations of your School or Function and the University.

• Maintaining communication and collaboration 

  Maintaining regular communication with their teams through both remote and face-to-face communication; team meetings; informal communications.

• Recording and reviewing arrangements with their teams

  There is no formal process to record smart working arrangements but expectations should be clear and so it may be helpful to confirm in writing, eg by email. Once Smart Working arrangements are in place, your manager should review these with you and your team regularly to ensure they still work for you and continue to fit with your role, the team and the needs of the University. 

What you are responsible for

• Thinking about what Smart Working could mean for you

  Take time to think about whether, and if so what flexible arrangements might work for you, in the context of your role and the work of your team. If you are interested in discussing Smart Working arrangements, set up an initial discussion with your line manager.

• Being flexible and working with your manager

  Managers must take a fair and consistent approach but there will inevitably be differences between individual preferences and business needs, particularly between different Schools/Functions and different roles/teams.

• Understanding and recognising the wider needs of your team, the University and our community

  On-campus delivery and support is central to many of our academic and professional colleague roles and those colleagues who are less involved in face-to-face delivery or research that requires infrastructure on campus will also need to work regularly on campus with their teams for collaboration and to experience campus life.

• Working in accordance with any arrangements reached with your line manager

  This includes maintaining a flexible approach to your work and your working environment, observing all University policies and procedures, and maintaining regular communication with your line manager and team, School/Function colleagues, wherever you are working.

• Coming to campus when required to do so

  These are informal arrangements, so you must be prepared to attend campus as may be reasonably required within your role or team, such as teaching, research activities, or specific meetings and events. Requirements may vary at different times of the year depending on your role, the work of your team and University activities, so you need to be able to travel to campus when you are required to do so, including on days when you might otherwise have arrangements to work remotely.

• Ensure information security when working in any location on portable devices
• Employees to pay particular attention to the Remote and Mobile Working policy available on the DTS Remote Working Guidance page to ensure information security while working under these Smart Working arrangements.

If you want to make formal changes to your working arrangements, for example, increasing or decreasing your working time, this is a change to your terms and conditions and so you cannot do this under informal Smart Working arrangements. Instead, you will need to make a flexible working request. These arrangements also do not cover overseas working, for which there are particular financial and tax implications, and so this must be approved separately.

If you feel you have medical reasons for being unable to work on campus, you should discuss this with your line manager or Head of School or Function. It is likely that a referral to Occupational Health will be needed to establish any medical reasons for adjusting place of work.