糖心原创出品

Guidelines & Resources

糖心原创出品 is committed to ensuring a sustainable and productive workforce in fulfillment of our academic and research missions. Alternative work arrangements may be utilized as a recruitment and retention tool, and to support the work-life balance of faculty and staff, when such arrangements align with business objectives. The University offers two alternative work options: remote work and flexible work schedules, which may be approved under certain circumstances. In its ongoing commitment to providing excellent service to students, the community, and other stakeholders, the University will periodically assess, and as necessary, adjust its approach to alternative work options.

Scope of Guidelines

Alternative Work Options are available to faculty, staff, and graduate assistants when such are conducive to their work responsibilities. It is noted that faculty typically operate with a measure of flexibility in the scheduling of work hours, and it is not necessary for faculty to apply for a flexible work schedule to engage in the typical flexible hours that may occur in between one鈥檚 teaching schedule, office hours, grading, and research. However, faculty who wish to routinely telecommute and designate their home office as a primary work location should utilize these guidelines. Furthermore, all employees who wish to work from a remote location, outside of the state of Alabama, must receive special permission to do so. Additional information is found in the Remote Work section below.

Remote Work

Employees may request to work from home (or an approved remote location). Remote Work will typically be approved on the basis of a hybrid work schedule, and on rare occasions, may be approved for 100% remote work. Remote Work arrangements are approved for a maximum duration of 1-year, requiring annual review for renewal.  Some positions are more conducive to remote work than others and additional information may be found in the Eligibility for Alternative Work Options section below.

Remote Work Outside Alabama

Remote Work typically applies to UAH employees who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, who wish to telecommute from their primary residence in the state of Alabama. To ensure compliance with state and federal laws, special review and approval is necessary prior to granting remote work privileges to an individual if:

1. The individual wishes to telecommute from another U.S. state or territory, outside of the state of Alabama; and/or
2. The employee/applicant is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. 

UAH employees may not telecommute from locations outside of the United States, regardless of U.S. or foreign citizenship.

External Employment

Employees may not perform in-person or remote employment with an external employer while working remotely for UAH. UAH employment is considered primary, and therefore, all outside employment must be approved by the appropriate supervisor and cannot occur within the same timeframe in which UAH compensation occurs (i.e. double-employment). If an employee is found to be working for an external employer while simultaneously working for UAH, this may be grounds for immediate termination. 

Flexible Work Schedules

Employees may request to work a flexible work schedule which includes beginning the work day earlier or later than 8:15 am. In such cases:

• Each participating employee must work the core business hours of 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (for those that work day shift); and
• The business unit must remain fully operational between 8:15 am and 5:00 pm each day.

Employees may also request a reduction in their appointment effort (hours worked per week), as long as the request does not present a burden to business operations or customer service. When such requests are granted, compensation is reduced to reflect the reduction in work hours, and there may be an impact to employee benefits. For more information on benefit eligibility, refer to /hr/benefits/eligibility.

Requests to work a compressed workweek (such as working full-time in four 10-hour days) will generally not be approved.

Eligibility for Alternative Work Options

UAH faculty and staff contribute to the University鈥檚 academic and research missions in various ways. Therefore, the various positions at UAH have differing work-life advantages. Alternative work options are more conducive to certain types of roles and may not be implemented when there is a potential negative impact to business operations or service delivery. Each alternative work option request is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Eligibility 

Unless otherwise required by law, remote work arrangements are only available for Regular Twelve-Month Full-Time (40 hours per week) Employees who have completed one year of service. Several factors must be used when considering the feasibility of remote work arrangements for staff:

• position's job duties;
• need for in-person, on-campus interaction with administrators, students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, clients, vendors, agencies, or customers;
• position's ability to be performed independently of others with minimal need for support;
• ability to measure by quantitative and/or qualitative means or results-oriented standards;
• employee's most recent performance review rating of "meets expectations" or higher (a single category rating of below "meets expectations" will be considered as a disqualifier for a remote work arrangement);
• employee's conduct;
• remote location allows the employee to report to the office within a reasonable period of time (two hours), if needed;
• supervisor's ability to manage the employee effectively;
• supervisor's ability to ensure the office is adequately staffed and physically open for business during the unit's normal operating hours;
• operational constraints of the unit (e.g., hours, location, equipment/tools, or access to documents, etc.); and
• University and employee's ability to ensure the arrangement can comply with applicable state and federal

The provision of an alternative work option is a privilege and not a right of any UAH employee, and may be denied or terminated, at any point, at the University鈥檚 discretion. Alternative work options should always support a level of employee and business unit performance equal or superior to that of a traditional onsite arrangement. Alternative work options are not intended as a substitute for childcare or dependent care.

Alternative work options related to personal or family illness should be discussed with Human Resources and may be more appropriately addressed through the Family and Medical Leave Act and/or a Workplace Accommodation review.

Approval Process For Alternative Work Options 

An employee may participate in an alternative work option provided that:

• The business unit is eligible to offer alternative work options;
• The employee has received approval to utilize an alternative work option and has not had any disciplinary action within the previous 12 months; and
• The participating employee and supervisor have taken required training on Best Practices for Alternative Work Options

Step 1:
Business Unit Eligibility

To implement alternative work options, each participating college/center/ department must receive pre-approval of an Alternative Work Options Business Plan from the appropriate Vice President. 

NOTE:  The Business Plan form below is to be completed by each Unit Head Only.

Step 2:
Supervisor and Employee Training

Participating supervisors and employees should take the Best Practices for Alternative Work Options training program as part of the approval process. This 30-minute training is online and self-paced. At the end of the training, you will be asked to certify your completion for tracking purposes.   

Step 3:
Employee Request

Once the business unit has been approved to participate, the Dean/Director/ Department Head may review employee requests for alternative work options. All telecommuting agreements must be approved by the appropriate Vice President.  Employees who wish to request an alternative work option should utilize the following forms:

Remote Work Request

Review UAH Remote Work Policy (Interim), then complete a Remote Work Agreement and submit it to the appropriate supervisor to initiate the approval process.

Frequently Asked Questions about the UAH Remote Work Policy (interim)

 UAH REMOTE WORK POLICY (INTERIM) FAQs

Flexible Work Schedule Request

Complete the Flexible Work Schedule Request Form and submit it to the appropriate supervisor to initiate the approval process. 

Note: Departments who have an approved Alternative Work Options Business Plan may also create and post positions which include an alternative work option upon hire. A candidate鈥檚 ability to work successfully within an alternative work option should be assessed during the hiring process. At time of hire, a Telecommuting Agreement must be signed and should be reviewed on at least an annual basis.

Resources

Reading Materials

The following are articles that employees and supervisors may find helpful in learning more about alternative work options.