4-30 Alternative Work Schedules

• Attachments are included in the PDF file.
• Effective date of this revision: March 2013
• Contact for more information:  Human Resources

BACKGROUND

The responsibility for scheduling and controlling working hours of employees rests with each appropriate supervisor. Flexible work arrangements are intended as a tool for supervisors to use to accommodate individual needs while considering the business objectives of the University and the individual work unit.

PURPOSE

To meet the changing needs of a diverse workforce, the purpose of this policy is to provide supervisors and employees guidelines regarding flexible work schedules. The benefits of this flexibility include promoting work/life balance, supporting recruitment and retention, and helping reduce tardiness and absenteeism.

The program involves expanding hours to permit earlier or later arrivals and departures as well as offering a compressed work week. This policy is not intended to shorten the number of hours an employee must work; it simply allows more flexibility in setting employee’s work schedules for the mutual benefit of the University and employee. Not every function is conducive to such scheduling because of service requirements.

DEFINITIONS

Flextime: An arrangement that offers flexibility in an employee’s arrival, departure and/or lunch times but does not change the total number of hours worked in a day.

Compressed Work Week: An arrangement that enables employees on 100% appointment to work extended daily hours in order to complete a full work week in fewer than five days; this policy allows a choice of either: A) 4 (10 hour) days, or B) 9/80 (8 (9 hour) days and 1 (8 hour) day).

POLICY

All offices and work units must be open and adequately covered for efficient operation and service during the University’s Core Hours (Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), or as modified with appropriate Vice President approval. Some areas are required to be open earlier than 8:00am, on evenings or weekends to provide service to their constituents. Supervisors are authorized to approve alternative work schedules in accordance with the guidelines of this policy.

Flexible work schedules must not cause or contribute to the need for additional staff, additional equipment, or for existing staff to work overtime hours.

The supervisor can revoke alternative work schedules if the needs of the unit change or if performance concerns develop. No assignment of an alternative work schedule should be considered a permanent entitlement by the employee or supervisor.

PROCEDURE

1. Flextime: These types of arrangements do not need formal approval from Human Resources or Payroll, as individual supervisors have the ability to assess the feasibility within their own department and coordinate as appropriate.

a. Employees can propose an arrival and departure time for the total amount of hours of their “regular” shift (8 hours or 12 hours).  Schedules must be approved in advance by the supervisor.

b. Employees may elect to take a half-hour lunch break instead of the traditional one-hour lunch period. Full time employees must take a lunch break of at least 30 minutes. Employees electing the 30-minute lunch period may begin work 30 minutes later or leave work 30 minutes early, however the lunch period itself is not to be taken at the end or the beginning of the day.

c. Each full-time employee will work forty (40) hours per week or charge to the appropriate time accrual bank (Sick, Personal, Vacation, etc..)

d. Departments who want to offer unionized staff flexible work hours before 7:00 a.m. or after 5:00 p.m. should be aware that they may incur additional shift premium expense.

2. Compressed Work Week: These types of arrangements are required to be communicated to both the Human Resources and Payroll departments.

a. The only type of Compressed Work Week schedules approved for use are as follows:

i. Flexible schedules for 4 10-hour days. This type of schedule is available to non-exempt and exempt staff.

ii. Flexible schedule of “9/80”, in which an employee will work: 8 9-hour days, 1 8-hour day, and one day off in a two-week pay period. This type of schedule is available only to exempt staff.

b. For weeks in which a Compressed Work Week is worked and a University holiday is observed:

i. If an employee works the holiday, they will be paid for the day (and be eligible for any holiday- related additional pay or paid time off, as outlined in their appropriate CBA/Employee Handbook).

ii. If the holiday falls on an exempt employee’s non-scheduled day, the employee would take the holiday on a different day that is approved by their supervisor and would record the day taken off as “Holiday”.

iii. If the holiday falls on a non-exempt employee’s non-scheduled day, the employee would take the holiday on a different day that is approved by their supervisor and will record the day taken off as eight (8) hours holiday pay and two (2) hours leave time or lost time on their timesheet.

c. For weeks in which a Compressed Work Week is worked and the employee takes paid time off:

i. For non-exempt employees, leave time must be adjusted on the timesheet in both the regular column and the leave time column using the following increments: half-day increments for vacation, one (1) hour increments for personal, 30 minute increments for Sick, and 15 minutes for Comp Time.

ii. For exempt employees, leave time must be recorded in half-day increments.

d. Arrangements for Compressed Work Week schedule must begin at the start of a payroll period and must conclude at the end of a payroll period. The length of the assignment can be determined by the supervisor and the end date need not be communicated to Human Resources at the time the assignment begins, but must be communicated to Human Resources no later than two weeks prior to the assignment end date.

Central Michigan University reserves the right to make exceptions to, modify or eliminate this policy and or its content. This document supersedes all previous policies, procedures or guidelines relative to this subject.