Purpose

This Flexible Work Hours Policy is designed to provide members of the professional staff with reasonable flexibility in establishing their daily working hours so they are better able to balance the needs of family and work. The objective of this policy is to better accommodate the needs of staff members while maintaining excellent service to students / prospective students and their families, faculty and professional staff, alumni and friends of the College, and other members of the Franklin & Marshall community.

Eligibility

Members of the professional staff, with the exceptions noted below, may request a modification to their typical working hours per this policy, if a modification is needed so they can better attend to the needs of eligible family members. For purposes of this policy, "eligible family members" will generally include the staff member's spouse or domestic partner, child(ren), mother, father, step or foster parent, step or foster child, mother-in-law, and father-in-law. Other family members, such as a sibling or grandchild, may be considered if a professional staff member must provide care for that family member on a regular basis.

Due to the nature of their work and the need for around-the-clock coverage, Public Safety Officers, Dispatchers, and Public Safety Sergeants are not eligible for flexible working hours per this policy.

Staff within the Floyd Institute will generally not be eligible for flexible work hours per this policy, as their normal working hours vary based on department needs.

Facilities & Operations and Mail Services personnel may be exempt from this policy if needed to work specific hours to provide service to the College community.

Additionally, professional staff required to provide office coverage during specific times of the day or evening will typically be ineligible for a schedule modification. Such members of the professional staff are not specifically precluded from requesting a modification to their work hours per this policy if service to their customers can be maintained at an entirely satisfactory level.

Members of the professional staff working on a part-time basis are generally scheduled to provide office coverage when needed. As such, modifying their work hours per this policy may not be an option. However, part-time members of the professional staff are not specifically precluded from requesting a modification to their work hours per this policy if service to their customers can be maintained at an entirely satisfactory level.

Policy

A professional staff member may request a modification to his/her standard hours if a modification will better allow him/her to attend to the needs of an eligible family member. A professional staff member may request a variation to his/her normal starting time, stopping time, and lunch break providing he/she:

1. works Monday through Friday during the "core hours" of 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.,

2. works his/her normal 7 paid hours per day (for those normally scheduled to work 35 hours per week), 7.5 hours per day (for those normally scheduled to work 37.5 hours per week), or 8 paid hours per day (for exempt staff, and those non-exempt staff normally scheduled to work 40 hours per week), and

3. takes a minimum half-hour unpaid lunch break or maximum one hour unpaid lunch break each day.

A professional staff member may:

• • request to begin each work day, Monday through Friday, no later than 9:30 a.m.,

  • leave work each day no earlier than 3:30 p.m., after working his/her regularly scheduled 7, 7.5, or 8 paid hours and taking a minimum half-hour unpaid lunch break or maximum one hour unpaid lunch break each day.

For example, a staff member who would like to be home mornings until his/her children leave for school, and who normally works 7 hours per day, may request to arrive at work at 9:30 a.m. and leave at 5:00 p.m. each day, with a half-hour unpaid lunch break. Or, a staff member who needs to leave work by 4:00 to care for an ill parent, and who is scheduled to work 8 hours per day, may wish to start work each day at 7:00 a.m. and leave at 4:00 p.m., with a one hour lunch break.

At all times, professional staff members are expected to arrange their working hours to assure the needs of their department and their "customers' needs" (students, prospective students, parents, faculty and staff, alumni, prospective donors, etc.) are met. Additionally, a schedule rearrangement may not negatively impact the ability of the professional staff member's co-workers to perform their job duties effectively.

A schedule modification per this policy should not result in a decrease in the number of weekly work hours. Additionally, non-exempt staff members may not increase their number of daily or weekly work hours per this policy.

Work Schedule Modification Following Childbirth or Adoption

The College provides reasonable flexibility with work schedules for professional staff during the 12 month period following childbirth or adoption. A professional staff member may request a modification to his/her standard work hours during the first 12 months following the birth or adoption of his/her child. The professional staff member will generally be required to maintain his/her normal 35 to 40 hour work week, but may request a schedule other than his/her normal schedule if it better meets the staff member's needs during the first year following birth or adoption. For example, a staff member may request to work from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. instead of the standard 8:30 until 4:30. A request for a temporary modification to normal working hours following childbirth or adoption will generally be granted when doing so will not negatively impact departmental effectiveness or service to students, faculty and professional staff, or other constituencies.

Nursing mothers are encouraged to review the Breaks for Nursing Mothers Policy.

Request/Approval Process

1. A professional staff member who wishes to adjust his/her work hours as outlined above is to make a written request to his/her manager or department chair, with an information copy to the Associate Vice President, Human Resources. As noted above, professional staff may request a modification to standard working hours based on the need to care for or attend to an eligible family member(s).
   
   The professional staff member's written request should include:

   • a brief explanation of why a schedule modification is needed (the staff member is not required to provide personal or confidential information),

   • a description of the hours the professional staff member would like to work, and

   • an explanation of how the staff member will assure his/her work performance and service to students, colleagues, and other members of the College community will be maintained at a thoroughly satisfactory level.

2. The manager / department chair will review the request and respond based on the guidelines provided through this policy. Managers / chairs will generally be expected to approve a schedule adjustment, in consultation with the staff member's Senior Officer as necessary, providing the professional staff member: (a) continues to work on a daily basis, Monday through Friday, during the core hours of 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; (b) works 7, 7.5, or 8 hours per day based on his/her normal 35- , 37.5- , or 40-hour per week schedule; and (c) allows for at least a half-hour unpaid lunch break each day or a maximum one hour unpaid lunch break per day.
   
   Before approving a request for a modified schedule, the manager/department chair must assure the professional staff member's job performance, departmental effectiveness, and service can be maintained at a thoroughly satisfactory level.

3. The Associate Vice President, Human Resources is to be notified by the manager or department chair if the schedule modification is approved.

Any changes to an already-approved flexible schedule must be approved by the staff member's manager / department chair.

Additional Information

• Non-exempt members of the professional staff who work a flexible schedule are required to record their actual working hours, with actual starting and stopping times, on time sheets each pay period.

• If a work schedule modification is approved, the professional staff member must continue to work the same number of hours per day, and days per week, as he/she currently works.

• Additional, or overtime, hours may from time to time be required of a professional staff member. For non-exempt professional staff, hours over and above normally scheduled hours are to be approved in advance by the supervisor and recorded on time sheets. Exempt staff are generally expected to work at least 40 hours per week, with reasonable flexibility to work additional hours as needed to effectively complete assignments.

• Campus offices are generally expected to remain open and accessible to students, faculty and staff, and visitors between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

• Once a staff member has received approval to rearrange his/her work hours, the staff member will be expected to follow the new schedule on a consistent basis; i.e., his/her work hours should not vary on a daily or weekly basis. However, occasional variations in working hours due to unforeseen circumstances, meetings scheduled outside the staff member's new work hours, health care or other necessary appointments, etc. are permitted and should be discussed in advance with the immediate supervisor.

• Following consultation with his/her Senior Officer and the Associate Vice President, Human Resources, a manager or department chair may require a professional staff member to revert to traditional working hours if the staff member's use of flexible working hours hinders his/her effectiveness, service, or the department's productivity.

This policy may be modified or discontinued at any time, at the sole discretion of the College.

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Policy Maintained by: Human Resources, Associate Vice President
Last Reviewed: July 25, 2016