YSM Finance and Business Operations
Flexible Work Arrangement Policy
Flexible Work Arrangements – General
This policy is intended to serve as a resource for supervisors and staff working in YSM Finance and
Business Operations (FinOps). Flexible work arrangements are intended to create flexible conditions that
will help the organization balance its objectives of excellent customer service with high employee
satisfaction. Successful work arrangements will serve the needs both of individual employees and the
department.
YSM FinOps is an organization that provides financial and operational support to units within YSM and
outside YSM; our customers are administrative staff, departmental staff, faculty, students and,
importantly, each other. Much of our work includes collaboration across work units and that often
requires face-to-face contact. So, while flexible work arrangements are supported, they are not suitable
for everyone. Additionally, flexible work arrangements will only be considered for employees with a
proven track record of independent work, ability to manage changing priorities and meet deadlines.
The choice of a flexible work arrangement for an individual or a unit must be made subject to the
overriding requirement that full departmental operations, services, and commitments will be maintained.
In all cases, flexible work arrangements are subject to supervisors’ approval. While working outside the
standard work schedule is expected for M&Ps, no one should be required to work a non-standard
schedule except in areas where such a schedule is a condition of employment or made necessary by
operational requirements. Supervisors may restrict or adjust flexible work arrangements when work flow
or other conditions dictate a change and flexible work arrangements may be adjusted due to departmental
needs throughout the year. Appeals of such decisions should be referred to the Associate Dean of
Finance, YSM.
A new staff member should be adequately trained and have completed the probationary period before
receiving approval to work on a flexible work arrangement.
A flexible work arrangement may be terminated in instances where performance or productivity is not
satisfactory, or where operational needs so require.
Flexible Work Arrangements – Variations
1. Fixed Flexible Schedule
The employee’s weekly pattern remains consistent, but is other than the department’s standard
schedule. This is the most common type of flexible work arrangement. It is commonly
supported within YSM FinOps. The arrangement should follow guidelines identified below
and are at the discretion of the supervisor.
2. Compressed Schedule
The employee’s workweek is fixed but compressed into fewer than five full days (e.g. four or
four and one half days). This work arrangement is not currently supported within YSM
FinOps. However, the department is investigating this option.
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3. Totally Flexible Schedule
The employee can start and finish work at his or her discretion on a daily basis and within
specific limits, so long as the total time required for a given period is completed. This
arrangement is supported by the department but will likely be implemented only
occasionally. The arrangement should follow guidelines identified below.
4. Flexible Work Location (including Episodic Work from Home)
An employee can work at an off-site location. Requests for episodic work off site can be
granted to employees in YSM FinOps, and should adhere to the guidelines stated below.
YSM FinOps is currently evaluating its policy with regard to employees’ telecommuting on
a regular (non-episodic) basis. Not every job lends itself to telecommuting and supervisors
must determine if a telecommuting arrangement is suitable given the requirements of a
particular job.
Guidelines
Hours of Work for Employees on a Flexible Work Arrangement
Discussions of workday start and end times should be had directly between employee and supervisor and
be established to meet work unit and employee needs.
The standard work schedule for YSM FinOps is Monday through Friday 8:30 – 5:00 with an hour for
lunch. It is expected that staff will have at least a thirty minute break for lunch. Employees cannot
request a shorter standard work day and omit lunch. However, supervisors may schedule a lunch period as
short as 30 minutes subject to meal break provisions described in section 501.3g of the Personnel Policies
and Procedures Manual.
For security and energy conservation reasons, weekend work should not be made available as an
alternative to the regular work week.
Holidays and Recess for Employees on a Flexible Work Arrangement – (This section remains under
review by the university.)
When a university holiday or recess day occurs, all regularly scheduled salaried employees receive the
benefit whether scheduled to work that day or not. Each such day will count for 20% of the employee’s
workweek. The schedule for the balance of the week should be adjusted up or down so that 80% of the
employee’s regular workweek is actually worked in that week.
Part-time salaried employees working 20 hours or more per week should similarly work an appropriate
portion of their regular schedule during weeks with a holiday or recess day.
Episodic Work from Home
Episodic work from home is defined as occasional and non-recurring and is generally no more than a few
days in duration. Episodic work from home includes working from home during hazardous weather
conditions (see addendum below). Approval for episodic work from home may be granted to an
individual in order to focus on completion of a project without the standard interruptions common in the
workplace. Intermittent work from home may also be used to accommodate a personal need. When the
employee has a workload that can be accomplished from the remote location and/or during non-standard
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hours, episodic work from home is appropriate, however, if no such work is available and the employee
needs to be out, the employee should be prepared to request paid time off (PTO). Not every job lends
itself to working from home and supervisors must determine if such an arrangement is suitable given the
requirements of a particular job. Just as with all PTO requests, all work from home requests must be
approved in advance by the supervisor. Supervisors and employees should have a discussion about a work
plan for the day. This should include a discussion about scheduled meetings, projects, work hours and
estimated time frames. Once approved, working from home will be tracked in full or half day increments
for M&P employees and in hourly increments for C&T employees.
In order to be eligible for episodic work from home, it is expected that the employee:
 Will make arrangements to call in to meetings and can participate in a quiet, focused manner
 Will come into the office to attend mandatory meetings
 Will check e-mail and voice mail on a regular basis during the day and will not leave an out-ofoffice message on phone or e-mail.
 Has access to a computer and connectivity to the Yale intranet; it is not sufficient to simply utilize
a blackberry or other telephone device to check e-mail.
 Must maintain the security and confidentiality at the same level as expected at all worksites.
Restricted access or confidential material shall not be taken out of the primary worksite or
accessed through a computer unless in compliance with University policy and approved in
advance by the supervisor.
 Must maintain confidentiality of University systems, records and documents.
 Must have a signed Appropriate Use Form on file in the office.
 Is responsible for providing and maintaining all telework equipment such as computer, internet
connection, phone line, furniture and related costs and will not seek financial support from Yale
University.
The supervisor’s general expectations regarding productivity/volume of work, quality of work and
timelines should be clearly communicated to the employee. The supervisor is responsible for evaluating
the work completed at home and reviewing progress with the employee. It is not the supervisor’s
responsibility to determine whether the reason for the employee’s need to work from home is acceptable
but the supervisor may deny requests if (s)he determines presence at the office is necessary, face-to-face
collaboration is needed and/or employee has not demonstrated ability to independently manage priorities
and meet deadlines.
Addendum
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Hazardous Weather Guidelines for Employees on a Flexible Work Arrangement
The university guidelines for dealing with employee attendance related to hazardous weather conditions
are provided at http://www.yale.edu/hronline/PersPracWeb/501.html.
On occasions when employees are released early due to weather conditions, employees working on fixed
flexible schedules or working on totally flexible schedules who have established a consistent schedule
pattern should be credited with having worked the day. Employees working on totally flexible schedules
without a consistent pattern should be credited with having worked until 5:00 p.m. on an early release
day.
Employees who are absent because of weather conditions must use PTO to cover their time out of the
office unless prior approval was granted by the supervisor for episodic work from home. All work from
home requests must be approved by the employee’s supervisor prior to beginning work. Once approved,
working from home will be tracked in either full or half day increments for M&P employees and in
hourly increments for C&T employees.
Employees on a flexible work arrangement who are absent on an early release day (whether –taking a
vacation, personal, sick or Paid Time Off (PTO)-day) or not scheduled to work do not receive time off or
any other benefit on account of the early release. The same holds true for employees whose schedules
would have ended at or before the early release time.
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