20.11.24
This policy takes effect from 1 June 2023.
Policy statement
St Catharine’s recognises that its departments have working arrangements in place that may not be replicated elsewhere and there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ when it comes to how teams work. This non-contractual policy aims to provide guidance for all non-academic employees and outline options that Heads of Department (HODs) may use at their discretion, ensuring their team members can manage a work / personal life balance and the needs of the team continue to be met.
There may be some teams where it is not feasible to use time off in lieu (TOIL) or flexi-time because of the nature of the work or the impact it would have on the broader team, for example covering shift patterns in the catering or porter teams. Where a role may not be so dependent on the working arrangements of others, TOIL or flexi-time will be more appropriate and should be encouraged as the first option, as it may be operationally easier to factor in time off without significantly impacting on others.
Staff working hours
The current departmental full time weekly hours are as follows:
ADO, Tutorial, Library, Bursary and Operations (including Health & Safety) teams: 36.25 or 37.5
Maintenance, Housekeeping, Porters, Conferencing and Outdoor teams (e.g. Gardening, Grounds, Boathouse): 37.5
Catering team: 40
Working patterns
Within the Maintenance, Boathouse, Gardening, Grounds, Porter, Housekeeping and Catering teams, there is discretion to deploy staff to work shifts and staggered working patterns to ensure services can be provided throughout the day and across the week. Changes to team working arrangements will be consulted on as required with affected individuals, to meet the needs of the relevant function.
Other teams may have more standardised or core office hours when team members tend to work at the same time, in order to meet the demands of their department.
Changes to an employee’s start/finish times that are not part of a rota / shift pattern, should be discussed and agreed in advance with the relevant line manager, prior to being implemented. Employees who wish to request changes to their working patterns, either temporary or permanent, should do so by following the process outlined in the College’s Flexible Working policy.
Unpaid breaks
Breaks are normally stated in an employee’s contract of employment. Any request to change breaks should be discussed between the line manager and individual taking into account the balance between the needs of college as well as the individual’s circumstances. It is expected this will normally be achieved without the need for a flexible working request. Further guidance can be obtained from the HR Manager if required.
• Employees working fewer than 6 hours are not required to take an unpaid break, unless they request to do so.
• Employees who work more than 6 hours must take a 30-minute unpaid lunch break.
• Employees who work more than 7 hours can take a one-hour unpaid lunch break if they wish.
• Lunch breaks will normally be taken at a time of the employee’s choosing between 12 -2pm unless another window is agreed with the line manager.
Overtime
• On occasion it may be necessary for employees to work additional hours in order to meet business needs, including cover. In these instances, staff may be entitled to overtime for the additional hours worked.
• Overtime hours must be agreed in advance with the line manager and only where there is a clear business reason.
• No more than 10 hours of overtime may be worked over a 7-day period unless there are exceptional circumstances that must be approved in advance, by the SCO or Bursar.
• Overtime accrues in 30 minute blocks and only after an additional 30 minutes has been worked on a given day.
Overtime rates
When approved, overtime for the majority of staff is paid at the employee’s standard hourly rate of pay. The exception is our Porters who are entitled to overtime at 1.5 x the hourly rate of pay and 2 x the hourly rate of pay on Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Any variation from these rates must be discussed with a SCO prior to approval, and where staffing/overtime budgets will be exceeded, the Bursar should be consulted.
Call outs
In the event there is a situation whereby an employee is called out to attend an emergency (e.g. Maintenance or Welfare), they receive a call out allowance (4 x 1.5 hourly rate). If the call out is between the hours of 10pm – 6am or on any of their non-working days, they are also given half a day of TOIL to ensure the member of staff can rest appropriately and where possible, we would encourage this TOIL to be taken the following day.
TOIL
• TOIL is not a contractual entitlement and may cease at the discretion of the line manager.
• TOIL can only be accrued and taken with the prior approval of the line manager.
• For consistency, TOIL accrues at the standard rate of one hour per hour worked, up to a maximum of 5 working days per term, relative to the working hours and pattern of the employee.
• It should not be accrued in small amounts and result in a large number of hours being banked to take at a later date. TOIL should only accrue in 30 minute blocks and only after an additional 30 minutes has been worked on any one given working day. A small number of TOIL hours (e.g. less than 2- 3) can be taken as flexi-time where possible.
• Accrued hours should ideally be taken within 10 working days of being worked or as soon as is reasonable practical. In all cases, it should be taken no later than 3 months after the hours were first accrued. TOIL not taken by that time will no longer be available.
• In the event TOIL cannot be taken, overtime may be considered. The line manager should put a proposal to their SCO for consideration, noting the Bursar should be consulted if approving Overtime might result in salary budgets being exceeded.
• Overtime or TOIL for individuals in management/HoD roles will not normally be granted, unless explicitly agreed by their line manager and for significant business reasons. If there are concerns regarding workload and hours worked (routinely more than contracted), individuals are encouraged to discuss with their line manager in order to identify adjustments and support to redress the balance if flexi-time or working practices are not sufficient.
• There are certain departments where the service provision requires staff to work a shift pattern across 7 days. In that instance, where staff are directed to work their contracted hours at weekends or bank holidays as part of a shift pattern, overtime will not be paid, nor will TOIL accrue as standard.
Flexi-time
• Flexi-time is encouraged and should be used wherever possible, so that time is taken off in a similar manner in which it was accrued e.g. if an additional 2 hours were worked in a week, the individual could start later/finish earlier over a few days during the following week.
• Flexi-time should normally be discussed and agreed, prior to the additional time being worked and taken.
Christmas closure periods
The College closes for most staff between Christmas and New Year. Staff are normally required to reserve 3 days of their leave entitlement to cover this period. This arrangement does not apply to Porters due to the requirement for the main Porters’ Lodge to remain open for 52 weeks per year.
Implementation, monitoring and review of this policy
The HR Manager and Operations Director have overall responsibility for implementing and monitoring this policy.
This policy takes effect from 1 June 2023 and will be reviewed every 2 years unless changes in legislation or organisational working practices, require that to take place sooner.
Any queries about this policy should be addressed to the HR Manager.
