Hybrid Working Guidance June 2024

4. Principles

Here are some key principles that underpin working in a more flexible way:

• It’s based on trust. We trust you to choose the best places, and available technology to support the work you do, and to balance this with the needs of your service and your team as well as your own needs.
• Your performance will be evaluated on the impact you have and the outcomes you deliver.
• This way of working is open to everyone who is in a multi-located role regardless of how long they have worked for us, this includes our agency workers and contractors, providing it supports service delivery.
• We commit to making sure that you have the right technology and equipment to support you to work in this way.
• Hybrid working should not adversely impact your colleagues nor the level or quality of service to our customers.
• We know that connecting with your colleagues and others is important for your wellbeing. We will continue to provide safe office spaces for you to collaborate and connect with each other.

Some key things to remember about hybrid working:

• It will depend on whether your role is multi-located, the department you work in, the level of supervision you need in your role, any minimum levels of physical cover required as well as the technology and environment you have available to you.
• Our business needs will take priority when considering our approach and individual working arrangements.
• Working in this way will not change your contractual terms and conditions of employment in respect of working hours or contractual location of work; it’s an informal arrangement that may be changed depending on business needs.
• The location of your contractual base for expense claim purposes will be stipulated in your contract of employment and will remain unchanged if you are an existing employee. Claims are made from your contractual work base location as per your contract (not your home).
• It’s not the same as a flexible working agreement. If you want to make a more permanent change to your hours or working pattern, you will need to request this separately through our Flexible Working Policy, which you can download and read from our Flexible Working pages of our intranet.
• If you identify as a disabled person and have any access needs or accessible equipment, these will be considered when planning for hybrid working. Please refer to reasonable adjustments guidance.
• Your manager will work with you to explore how hybrid working could work for you and your team based on the needs of the business.

Please remember that any working arrangement is subject to the ongoing agreement, and sometimes might need to be changed for business reasons.