Hybrid Working policy

1. Policy statement

The purpose of this policy is to define how hybrid working works at Birkbeck, University of London. It sets out the principles underpinning the College's approach to hybrid working, and how the College expects it to be implemented and managed in practice.

The policy supports the strategic aims of:

• developing a culture that supports a progressive approach to work, which focuses on outputs, and outcomes;
• ensuring staff have a safe working environment both at work and remotely;
• enhancing staff wellbeing by providing more flexibility over where and how they work, empowering individuals to manage positively the balance between their work and home life, whilst maintaining a sense of organisational belonging;
• facilitating and supporting an appropriate level of collaboration and teamwork, both within and across teams; and
• supporting and enabling high levels of workforce productivity.

The policy should be read in conjunction with the College guidance (see section 9) on hybrid working. 

This policy applies to all College employees except those in roles where exclusive attendance on site is required, or to staff who work under a homeworking contract of employment. Such staff may still seek other forms of flexible working through a request under the Flexible Working Policy.

This policy does not apply to staff on a Teaching and Scholarship Staff contract.

Hybrid Working is a form of flexible working where employees spend some of their working hours or days at their contractual place of work and some of their time remotely within the UK, usually at their home. 

Flexible Working is an umbrella term which describes a type of working arrangement which gives a degree of flexibility on how long, where, when and at what times employees work, examples of different working arrangements can include part-time hours, compressed hours or job-sharing. 

Homeworking is a working arrangement where an employee works solely or mainly from home and for contractual purposes, their regular work base is their home. 

Remote Working refers to work undertaken away from Birkbeck sites.

The Hybrid Working policy applies to staff whose contractual or 'normal' place of work is the College’s Bloomsbury site, or other Birkbeck campuses or satellite sites in Greater London; and where all or part of their role is suited to remote working.

The College does not specify a minimum amount of time that any individual or team will spend on the College site. Individual faculties, schools and professional service departments, led by Directors of Professional Services or Executive Deans in conjunction with the Director of Operations or Head of School, as appropriate, are best placed to identify the suitability of a role for hybrid working, as well as the most appropriate level of hybrid working for their staff in terms of the split between working on a College site and working remotely. Directors of Professional Services or Executive Deans in conjunction with the Director of Operations or Heads of School, as appropriate, are encouraged to discuss and reach a shared understanding of how hybrid working will operate within their teams.

Issues to consider include:

• the individual circumstances; 
• the nature of the role and tasks required;
• a realistic assessment of the level of in-person contact required to facilitate effective, meaningful communication and collaboration; and
• what is happening within the role and team at any given time.

Where a member of staff does not wish to work in a hybrid way, or does not have a suitable environment in which to work remotely (see Section 7), they may work entirely from a College site. It is not expected that anyone will work remotely for 100% of their working time. If an individual wishes to request home working, or other types of flexible working in addition to or instead of hybrid working, this request should be made as a formal flexible working request under Birkbeck’s Flexible Working Policy.

Decisions about hybrid working should be made in line with the core principles set out in section 4 of this policy, and the College guidance on hybrid working.

Should the College, faculty, school or professional services department need to amend its hybrid working arrangements, it is expected that this change will be undertaken in discussion with staff and a reasonable period of notice provided, considering the needs of the whole team, as well as the needs of any stakeholders or service users. 

It is essential that employees and the College work in a spirit of mutual trust and confidence and that in carrying out their work remotely, individuals continue to promote the interests of the College. Employee performance should be assessed based on outcomes and contributions and supported by clear objective setting. All staff working in a hybrid way should have equal access to development opportunities and training regardless of where their work is undertaken.

Communication between managers and their teams is key and a regular pattern and method of communication should be established. Employees should remain contactable during their normal working hours dependent on work commitments and responsibilities. Employees may be asked to attend in-person events where appropriate, for example to collaborate or attend team meetings or training.

Staff who are working remotely must also ensure that they do so in an appropriate environment with minimal distraction.

All staff working in a hybrid way must ensure that they have a suitable environment to work in. This should take into account health and safety, confidentiality, and information security requirements. 

Health and Safety
Staff have a responsibility to take reasonable care for their health and safety while working at home or remotely.

Wherever possible, staff should have a dedicated workspace when working remotely, with sufficient space, lighting and equipment to enable safe and comfortable working, in accordance with Birkbeck’s ‘Organisational arrangements for the management of health and safety’ and ‘Organisational arrangements for the management of the risk arising from the use of display screen’. Birkbeck’s mandatory Display Screen Equipment (DSE) e-learning module also explains to staff how to set up their workstation correctly, whether in the office or at home.

Staff who have an accident or near miss arising out of or in connection with work while working from home are required to follow College procedures for reporting such incidents (see Health, Safety and Wellbeing Connect site).

Wellbeing
Hybrid working can have positive benefits for staff wellbeing, however, for some staff periods of remote working may result in them feeling isolated or lonely and can have an impact on their mental health. This can be minimised by promoting an inclusive environment where all staff feel involved in the team, where managers maintain regular contact with staff, in person and virtually and where time in the office is used effectively, for example, prioritising collaboration, teamwork, team events and socials on office days. This can help staff maintain a sense of belonging and connection at work.

If a member of staff is not well enough to work, they should not continue to try to work whilst unwell regardless of where they are working. Sickness absence should be reported through the normal procedures.

Hybrid workers should make sure that they raise any concerns or challenges around wellbeing as early as possible with their manager. Information on the wellbeing resources available to staff can be found on the staff Health, Safety and Wellbeing Connect site.

IT/Information Security
All staff are responsible for safeguarding the security of College data. Working in a hybrid way brings greater flexibility but there can also be increased risks to information security when working remotely, particularly in public spaces, for example, someone gaining unauthorised access to a device and potentially confidential information and loss or theft of devices.
Ways in which staff can help to manage these risks in a remote environment include:

• not letting others view their screen or listen to confidential conversations;
• locking computers and other devices as soon as they have finished with them;
• keeping their devices in their sight in public places. If a device is believed lost or stolen, it should be reported immediately; and
• only storing essential information on devices and safely removing confidential information as soon as it is no longer required.

It is important, whether working on site or remotely, that staff are aware of and follow Birkbeck’s IT regulations and associated policies around information and device security and data protection and undertake Birkbeck’s Information security awareness training, which is mandatory.

Technology and equipment
Staff should take reasonable care of any College provided equipment and return it to the College if requested to do so.

Staff are responsible for providing appropriate and sufficient personal equipment for working remotely such as a desk, chair and monitor. The College is not responsible for the provision, maintenance, replacement, or repair of such equipment.

Staff are required to complete a DSE Assessment for their home environment, as well as their office environment to ensure it is a suitable workspace. If issues are identified, staff should raise these with their line manager immediately and recommendations will be made on steps that can be taken to improve their remote working arrangements. If this is not possible for an employee, they will be able to work fully on site and will be provided with a suitable workspace to do so.

Where a requirement for reasonable adjustments is identified following a home workstation assessment for a disabled member of staff, in the first instance the staff member should discuss this with their line manager with specialist advice from the College’s Health and Safety advisor or Occupational Health provider. A specialist assessment may be arranged if appropriate.

Staff are responsible for ensuring they have a good quality, reliable internet connection when working remotely. They should use Microsoft Teams for communications and calls wherever possible to avoid having to use a personal phone for work related purposes.

Financial implications of working from home
Staff are responsible for assessing the personal implications of regular remote working, including with their mortgage provider, landlord or insurer if they are working from home. The College will not be responsible for any costs that they may incur as a result.

The costs (and time) for a member of staff travelling between a home work base and a Birkbeck site will be met by the staff member.

Where the College has provided business equipment for staff to use at home, e.g. a laptop, then it should be covered by the College’s insurance for accidental damage. Damage as a result of neglect will be the responsibility of the member of staff. 

The College is not liable for damage to equipment owned by the member of staff. 

Director of Professional Services, Executive Dean, Head of School, Director of Operations 

• Read and understand this policy and all associated guidance.
• Decide, in consultation with the staff in their Faculty, School or Professional Services Department, the appropriate balance between office-based and remote working, within that work area.
• Identify any staff who are not able to work remotely in line with the core principles set out in this policy.
• Regularly review departmental arrangements to ensure they remain fit for purpose.
• Promote an inclusive culture for all staff and consider any additional support that individuals may need.
• Promote a culture of wellbeing across the department whilst using this policy.

Line manager

• Read and understand this policy and all associated guidance.
• Refer staff to Occupational Health if necessary to facilitate working from home.
• Ensure that staff complete a DSE workstation assessment for all workstations.
• Keep in regular contact with staff working remotely and ensuring that they have a regular opportunity to raise and discuss issues.
• Agree work-related objectives and targets for their staff, ensuring that any assessment of work quality is not based on presence in the workplace, unless identified
• to have had a direct detrimental impact.
• Provide regular opportunities for team communication and collaboration.
• Reflect this policy in recruitment activity such as job advertisements.
• Continue to develop the required digital and remote working skills and support individual development of such skills within the team.

All staff  

• Read and understand this policy and all associated guidance.
• Complete the DSE workstation assessment for all workstations.
• Comply with data security policies and guidance.
• Maintain regular communication with their line manager and team.
• Continue to develop the required digital and remote working skills.
• Continue to comply with other Birkbeck policies and procedures where applicable when working remotely, such as those covering absence reporting, conduct, health and safety, and data protection.

Human Resources

• Provide professional advice and guidance on the implementation of hybrid working, as required.

Health and Safety Advisor

• Provide advice and guidance on DSE workstation assessments and health and safety risk assessments.
• Provide advice to staff and their line managers in relation to any reasonable adjustments that are requested whilst working remotely.

Hybrid working guidance for managers
Hybrid working guidance for staff
Flexible working policy and guidance
Homeworking policy
Organisational arrangements for the management of health and safety
Organisational arrangements for the management of the risk arising from the use of display screen equipment
Occupational Health
IT Regulations
Staff Electronic Communications Policy
Health, Safety and Wellbeing Connect site
Grievance procedure 

Version no: 1.0

Policy owner: Human Resources

Approved by: University Executive Board

Date approved: October 2024