Purpose
The One World Scout Bureau aspires to be an innovative and flexible global organisation driven by values that offers our people an opportunity to do rewarding and fulfilling work. Our workplace is people-centred, diverse and inclusive, offering a supportive learning environment to develop and grow professionally.
The One WSB recognises the need to develop flexible working practices that enable staff to maximise their performance and productivity, while maintaining a positive work-life balance and creating a collaborative working environment.
This Flexible Work Policy and guideline provide a framework to offer flexible working arrangements for WSB staff. The policy formalises the flexible working arrangements that were adopted in a variety of ways during the COVID-19 pandemic, and takes into account the results of the cultural survey conducted with staff in 2022.
Scope
This Flexible Work Policy and guidelines considers hybrid and remote working as flexible work arrangements.These terms can be defined as follows:
- Hybrid working means working for several days in a week from your home in (or close to) the city of your duty station, customarily a WSB Support Centre, and working for the remaining days in a week from your duty station, customarily a WSB Support Centre.
- Remote working means working for a period of prolonged days or weeks from a location away from your duty station, either in-country or overseas. Remote working does not include hybrid working, working from another WSB office, change of duty station, or travelling for an approved mission as defined under the WSB Travel Policy.
This policy is not applicable to Staff that applied under the Duty Stations section of the OneWSB Employee Handbook to work under exceptional circumstances for a prolonged arrangement to work from a different duty station.
Guiding principles
- These flexible working arrangements support the organisation’s mission and vision. They align with the Bureau’s operational and business needs.
- The flexible working arrangements must sustain the service levels, quality of work, and productivity of staff.
- The arrangements will not affect the obligations, duties, and work relationships of staff members.
- The flexible work arrangement approvals are made without favouritism or bias.
- The legal country requirements of each WSB Support Centre take precedence over this policy.
Eligibility for flexible work arrangements
The line manager, in consultation with a Senior Management Team (SMT) member, is responsible for determining if a position is eligible for a flexible working arrangement based on the WSB and team’s operational and business needs.
Generally, if the duties and responsibilities of the position can be accomplished at an equal or higher level of performance, well-being and staff satisfaction in a remote working or hybrid working arrangement, the position may be appropriate for flexible work.
Regardless of flexible work arrangements, staff may be required to work from the duty station or a specific venue at any time at the sole discretion of their line managers, in consultation with the SMT member, especially with regards to events, meetings or specific periods where physical presence is required or preferable in the view of the line manager and SMT member.
Decisions regarding scheduling and attending meetings in-person or virtually should be based on optimising outcomes and not on personal preferences for flexible work. The implementation of flexible working arrangements should not compromise work performance, productivity or collaboration among team members.
Hybrid working
For hybrid working, the frequency of required presence at a duty station, customarily a WSB Support Centre, for a particular position will be determined and approved by the line manager, in consultation with the SMT member, with clear expectations set between the line manager and the staff member.
The hybrid working arrangement will generally require at least 3 days of presence in the office per week with the other days of the week working from home or another workspace.
In the hybrid working arrangement, staff working from home are expected to work the same hours outlined in their contract and perform their duties and responsibilities as they otherwise would when working from the office.
Remote working
To work remotely, eligible staff must apply for and receive the approval of their line manager and responsible SMT member. A request made by staff to work remotely should include details regarding their intended location and hours of work (taking into account time zones) and time period(s).
A remote working arrangement may last for a specified period not exceeding a combined total of 35 working days pro rated in a single fiscal year.
In the remote working arrangement, staff are expected to work the same hours outlined in their contract and perform their duties and responsibilities as they otherwise would when working from the office. They are also expected to:
- Be available at agreed times for communication, such as online meetings or real-time messaging with colleagues.
- Be responsive to communications, such as replying to emails and Slack messages as soon as they are able, in a similar timeframe working from the office.
- Adhere to deadlines.
- Take advantage of online tools such as Dropbox and Slack for collaboration and submission of deliverables.
- In case of working from a different time zone, staff must agree with their line manager and other team members on an agreed period in a day which overlaps with their usual duty station local business hours to facilitate meetings and discussions.
The remote working arrangement and expectations should be discussed prior to being implemented, and performance and ability to collaborate should be assessed through a discussion between the staff member and the line manager both during and after the period of working remotely. A review and any changes to the remote working arrangement should be discussed during regular bilateral meetings, as well as the mid and end-of-year performance reviews with the Line Manager.
To ensure a productive working environment and continued collaboration with colleagues, staff who are engaged in remote or hybrid working are encouraged to:
- Work from a quiet and distraction-free working place.
- Have a reliable internet connection and conducive physical workspace.
- Take enough health breaks throughout the workday.
Equipment and security
It is the responsibility of the staff to protect the Bureau-issued equipment from theft, damage, and unauthorised use when using this equipment at off-site work location. Furthermore, staff must take proper measures to secure confidential information, assets and systems.
Reimbursement and compensation for flexible working
There is no change to the overall compensation package while staff are working remotely regardless of their location. Staff who are approved and engage in hybrid or remote working are responsible for their own costs to enable the flexible working arrangement.
In the case that the home country of a staff is challenged with limited connectivity or challenges hindering the staff ability to stay productive, upon the approval of the SMT member and local HR, a limited financial contribution can be considered to support the concerned staff.
Staff are responsible for their own travel costs to enable hybrid and remote working, except if it forms part of their “home leave passage allowance” arrangement in line with the OneWSB Leave policy and policy of the respective WSB Support Centre. If a staff member receives approval for remote working and subsequently needs to travel for a mission that incurs higher travel costs than from their WSB Support Centre, those additional costs will borne by the staff member.
Staff are responsible for any change in their tax obligations or medical insurance, if applicable when engaged in a hybrid or remote working arrangement, and in no event will the Bureau be liable for any income tax obligations, interest charges, or penalties to which staff are subject or for any other associated costs.
Appendix A - Guidelines
When evaluating whether the duties of a particular position can be performed off site, the line manager should consider the following:
- Nature of the work and responsibilities to be performed are conducive to a flexible work location without causing disruption to performance or service.
- The needs of the Bureau to advance its core mission and the needs of the team to fulfil its role in that mission: including frequency of meetings, team goals and projects.
- Other collaborating departments’ needs and schedules.
- Whether daily in-person interaction is required of the position, including office appointments or meetings with volunteers, visitors, or colleagues.
- Generally, positions with significant face-to-face in-person interactions or that require regular access to onsite confidential documents may not be suitable for flexible work.
- The role does not require onsite supervision.
- The utility in-charge or administrative support staff looking after the orderly manner of office premises.
- Staff positions that are required to use certain equipment or be connected to a physical computer server at the office.
If a position is determined to be eligible for flexible work arrangement, the line manager should next evaluate if the incumbent is in good standing, in that the staff can satisfactorily complete their job functions from an off-site work location, as outlined below (line manager should assess staff work habits, attitude, and overall performance):
- Staff has a clear understanding of the position and expectations.
- Staff demonstrates ability to work independently and does not require close supervision.
- Staff demonstrates ability to work collaboratively with the Bureau’s stakeholders.
- Staff must have met or exceeded performance expectations in their last performance evaluation.
- Staff demonstrates consistent ability to complete tasks and assignments timely and accurately.
- Staff demonstrates a high degree of workplace responsiveness.
- Staff demonstrates good communication skills.
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Log Sheet |
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Category |
Human Resources |
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Edition No |
#1 |
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Approved By |
Senior Management Team (SMT) |
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Approval Date |
January 2023 |
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Effective Date |
15 March 2023 |
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Policy holder |
Director, Human Resources |