Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish the University's guidelines for alternative work schedules in order to comply with the Commonwealth's Department of Human Resource Management policy and Code of Virginia requirements.

Authority

Code of Virginia Section 23.1-1301, as amended, grants authority to the Board of Visitors to make rules and policies concerning the institution. Section 7.01(a)(6) of the Board of Visitors Bylaws grants authority to the President to implement the policies and procedures of the Board relating to University operations.

Federal Fair Labor Standards Act

Code of Virginia, Section 2.2-203.1, as amended

Code of Virginia, Section 2.2-2817.1, as amended

Virginia Department of Human Resource Management Policy 1.25 - Hours of Work

Virginia Department of Human Resource Management Policy 1.30 - Layoff

Virginia Department of Human Resource Management Policy 2.20 - Types of Employment

Definitions

Administrative and Professional (AP) Faculty - Employees who perform work directly related to the management of the educational and general activities of the institution, department or subdivision or whose professional positions served the educational, research, athletic, medical, student affairs and development functions or activities of the institution.

Alternative Work Schedule - Any work schedule that differs from the standard 40-hour workweek at the University which is Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. with a one-hour meal break.

Budget Unit Director - The University employee on record with the Office of Finance Data Control as having signature authority and financial management responsibility for a specific budget code.

Classified Employee - A salaried employee whose terms and conditions of employment are subject to the Virginia Personnel Act, Code of Virginia Section 2.2-2900 et seq., as amended, and who is employed in a classified position.

Compressed Work Week - Any work schedule permitting a full-time employee to work the equivalent of a full week in fewer than five days.

Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) - State agency tasked with providing policies that govern the management of the State's workforce.

Flextime - A range of flexible work schedules that permit employees, with advance approval from the hiring supervisor, to choose the time they will start and end work.

Hiring Supervisor - The management level with the authority to hire, assign work, manage work schedules, approve leave, evaluate, and discipline employees.

Job Sharing - Two employees voluntarily sharing the work responsibilities of one full-time position.

Nine-, Ten- or Eleven-Month Work Schedule - A work schedule of 40 hours per week for nine, ten, or eleven months per academic year, as approved by the hiring supervisor.

Standard Work Week - The regular workweek for full-time positions, which consists of a five-day, 40-hour per week schedule for every seven calendar-day period.

Public Service Hours - The normal operating hours for the university which are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday.

Scope

This policy applies to classified employees and administrative and professional faculty.

Policy Statement

The University supports alternative work schedules that allow for the effective delivery of academic, student, and administrative services. Alternative work schedule options may help to facilitate employees' commuting time and balance work and personal responsibilities.

Management reserves the right to establish and adjust the work schedules of employees being mindful of the business needs of the department or unit and the constituents they serve. Supervisors may terminate alternative work schedule agreements at any time. The supervisor should give the employee advance notice of the date the alternative work schedule will end; however, advance notice is not required.

Alternative work schedules are intended to benefit both the employee and the operation of the University. However, it may be necessary to require employees to work alternative work schedules as a condition of employment. In such cases, this requirement should be included when the position is advertised for recruitment and should be stated in correspondence offering employment.

Procedures

Alternative work schedules include flextime, compressed work weeks, job sharing and nine-, ten- or eleven- month appointments. While the intent of this policy is to provide work scheduling flexibility when possible to employees, it must be clearly understood that the accomplishment of the work of the University must be considered first in determining when and if various alternative schedules may be used. It is possible that, in some units, workload may not permit scheduling flexibility, or that it may be available only on a limited basis. Decisions as to the applicability of an alternative schedule shall be made by the hiring supervisor. Departments/units may require additional approvals above the hiring supervisor.

The Department of Human Resources is required to document and track all alternative work schedules in order to comply with State policy and to report employees' alternative work schedules in the Commonwealth's Personnel Management Information System. Therefore, all alternative work schedules must be reported to the Department of Human Resources on the Alternative Work Schedule Form.

Alternative work schedules must meet the following requirements:

• Forty hours of work time must be scheduled each work week.
• Current hours of service for the department's clients/customers must not be restricted.
• Non-exempt employees who work at least six consecutive hours must be provided with a meal break of at least 30 minutes. The meal break is not included in hours worked and is unpaid.

1. Flextime

   Any work schedule acceptable to the hiring supervisor and meeting the standards listed above is appropriate. Examples of flextime schedules are:

   1. Starting work at 9 a.m., one-hour lunch, and ending at 6 p.m.
      

   2. Starting work at 7:30 a.m, 30-minute lunch, and ending at 4:00 p.m.
      

   3. Split shifts, such as 7:30-11:30 a.m. and 2:30-6:30 p.m.
      

2. Compressed Work Weeks

   Any work schedule acceptable to the hiring supervisor and meeting the standards listed above is appropriate. Examples of compressed work week schedules are:

   1. Four, 10-hour work days per week; for example, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (with a one-hour lunch) or 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (with a one-half hour lunch).

   2. Four and one-half day work week, with four nine-hour days and one four-hour day (lunch excluded). This example can be used two ways: first, have a half-day off every standard work week; second, have every other Friday off with the approved work week beginning on Friday at noon in order to ensure 40 hours are included in each work week. (The second option is available only to exempt employees.)

   Requests for compressed work week schedules should be addressed to the hiring supervisor in writing and include the benefits of such a schedule.

3. Job Sharing

   1. An employee wishing to work in a job-sharing position should make a request in writing to the hiring supervisor. If the hiring supervisor is supportive of the request, the request should be submitted to the Budget Unit Director.

   2. The Budget Unit Director may approve or reject a job-sharing request following a thorough review. The Job-Sharing Guidelines available from the Department of Human Resources will be helpful in evaluating potential job shares.

   3. Should the Budget Unit Director support the job-sharing request, a recommendation should be sent to the appropriate Vice President for approval. The decision of the Vice President is final.

   4. Employees should be advised of the reasons why job-sharing requests are denied.

   5. Once approved, a formal recruitment for the job-sharing partner must be conducted in accordance with University policy.

   6. Both job-sharing participants should sign the Job-Sharing Agreement Memorandum, available from the Department of Human Resources, which outlines the nature of the employment relationship.

   7. The Budget Unit Director must send a copy of the approved job-sharing recommendation and the agreement to the Department of Human Resources to implement the change.

      1. Compensation: The employee who is changing from full time to part time will be paid 50 percent of his/her current full-time salary. Newly recruited job-sharing participants will have the annualized salary determined through the standard pay practices, and then it will be reduced to 50 percent.

      2. Benefits:

         1. Prorated holiday pay is provided.
            

         2. Prorated annual and sick leave is provided. Other types of employee leave are provided on a proporational basis.
            

         3. Employee paid health care insurance is available - no employer contribution.
            

         4. Employees are eligible to enroll in employer paid retirement benefits and life insurance.
            

         5. Employees are eligible to enroll in tax shelter annuity programs and qualify for the employer paid cash match program.
            

         6. Prorated tuition assistance is available.
            

4. Nine-, Ten- or Eleven-month Work Schedule

   1. A nine-, ten- or eleven-month work schedule must be approved by the hiring supervisor and the Budget Unit Director. If a classified employee does not voluntarily agree to the adjusted work schedule, the employee is covered by the provisions of DHRM's Layoff Policy.

   2. A copy of the approved nine-, ten- or eleven-month work schedule should be sent to the Department of Human Resources to implement the change.

   3. Employee benefits will be affected as follows:

      1. Employee is eligible for health care insurance; the employer portion of the health care premium will continue to be paid and the employee contribution will be deducted over 24 pay periods.

      2. Leave balances do not accrue for nine-, ten- or eleven-month employees during their non-working times.

      3. Retirement contributions will continue to be paid over the 24 pay periods.

      4. Life insurance will continue to be in effect.

      5. Optional insurance premiums will continue to be deducted the same as all other optional benefits.

Records Retention

Applicable records must be retained and then destroyed in accordance with the Commonwealth's Records Retention Schedules.

Responsible Officer

Recruitment & Employment Manager, Department of Human Resources

Related Information

Job-Sharing Guidelines

Alternative Work Schedule Form