UWA Flexible Work and Leave Practices

http://www.hr.uwa.edu.au/working/flexible

The University of Western Australia supports a Life Balance philosophy where paid work and personal life are not seen as competing priorities. The University offers a range of flexible work and leave arrangements to assist staff to balance the demands of work with other aspects of their life.

FLEXIBLE HOURS

Academic Year Employment suits staff positions which are closely linked to commitments of the academic year and have duties which are predominantly student driven. In these cases, the staff member receives an annualised salary calculated on a pro-rata basis in the proportion of the hours worked over the year. This form of flexibility is particularly useful for those staff who need to accommodate school holidays and term breaks.

Annualised Hours is a flexible work option suitable for professional staff members who require blocks of time for study, travel and ongoing cultural or community commitments. Annualised hours is an arrangement based on the requirement that a full time employee works 1731 hours per annum. These hours may be compressed into a shorter period of time, as long as no more than 10 hours are worked in a single day, and no more than 48 hours per week. Every arrangement to work annualised hours is for a period of no less than one month and no more than one year.

Compressed week is a variation of flexible working hours. As long as they work no more than two days of ten hours per week, and subject to meeting the requirements of their work area, professional staff may request to compress their hours into a shorter working week.

Flexitime for professional staff can be negotiated at the local level, and accruals of up to 22.5 hours can occur before clearance is required. Starting and finishing times (between 6am and 8.30pm) can be negotiated to accommodate school, childcare, study and other arrangements. Flexitime is implicit for academic staff who have no prescribed hours of work.

Where flexible working arrangements are agreed to, core hours of work should be established with consideration given to the requirements for the proper functioning of the work area. The staff member will be required to be on duty for those core hours unless on approved leave.

FLEXIBLE LEAVE

Carer’s Leave (Personal Leave). All staff are entitled to paid and unpaid leave to care or support a member of their immediate family or household whose care is their responsibility. Staff are entitled to use their accrued sick leave credits for this purpose. Once these have been exhausted, unpaid carer's leave of up to two days for each occasion can be taken.

Ceremonial/Cultural Leave is available to assist staff to meet their customs, traditional law and participation in ceremonial or cultural activities. Indigenous Australian staff are entitled to a further two days cultural/ceremonial leave per calendar year. The University recognises the importance of NAIDOC week to Indigenous Australian staff and supports their participation in NAIDOC week activities.

Christmas Shutdown. The University has a shutdown period over Christmas and New Year in lieu of a number of statutory holidays throughout the year. This guarantees around two weeks away from the workplace for most staff. Generally, the public holidays taken in lieu during the Christmas break are Labour Day, Easter Tuesday, Foundation Day and Queen’s Birthday. The University normally closes at midday on Christmas Eve and reopens in early January.

The Deferred Salary Scheme is available to all staff. By working at a reduced salary over a fixed period of time, the Deferred Salary Scheme allows for a 6 or 12 month block of paid leave. This form of flexibility is useful for planning ahead for a career break, for example, to undertake further study, be at home for your child’s first or final year at school, take an extended period of overseas travel, or build a new home. Parental Leave. The primary carer of a newborn or adopted child is entitled to two years unpaid parental leave, including up to 36 weeks paid leave. The secondary carer is entitled to two week’s paid partner leave. The primary carer is also entitled to return to work part-time following their parental leave.

Purchased Leave. Academic and Professional staff can apply to purchase 1 to 8 weeks of additional leave per year by taking a reduced salary over a 52 week period. Leave is arranged with the permission of your supervisor, and is often used to take off extra time for school holidays, spending more time with young children, studying, taking a large block of leave at one time for overseas travel, or even renovating a house. Participation in the Purchased Leave Scheme is for 12 months and must be renegotiated each year. The additional leave must be cleared in the year it was purchased.

UWA has an inclusive definition of family which encompasses a wide range of relationships which may include one or more of the following: blood, marriage, affinity, adoption and dependency. Family responsibilities therefore includes care for older people, people with a disability, children, partners and responsibilities associated with extended families and religious or community structures. UWA recognises same-sex relationships.

FLEXIBLE WORK

Home-based work is an excellent way of balancing work and other commitments and may be an option for reconciling illness or impairment with work. Home-based work should not be seen as a replacement for childcare. It may also be a useful form of flexibility where office space at the University is limited. Academic staff can work from home as long as their obligations to their discipline and School are met. Subject to approval, professional staff may undertake home-based work for up to 60% of their normal weekly work hours.

Job sharing is usually where two or more people share the responsibility for one position. Both academic and professional staff can enter into a job sharing arrangement where approved. Job sharers may share all the duties of a position, or divide the position and be assigned designated tasks. They may work in a variety of ways, such as working alternate days or even weeks, or two and a half days each per week. One sharer may do a greater proportion of the work than the other, or both sharers together may work more than a full-time week. Sharers may overlap so they can communicate or attend important meetings together.

Part-time work, or a fractional appointment, is any percentage of working time that is less than the 37.5 hours of full-time employment, or 1 FTE (Full Time Equivalent). Salary and other entitlements are calculated on a pro-rata basis according to the percentage of the FTE worked. In part-time employment, the hours and days of work are usually determined in accordance with the requirements of the position and the local area, and flexible working arrangements such as flexitime, compressed week and purchased leave can be negotiated within these parameters.

The University Policy on Flexible Work and Leave Practices articulates the University’s commitment to provide employment conditions which are based on the right of employees to request flexible working arrangements. This policy underpins the UWA Life Balance Strategy and provides guidance to staff and supervisors and managers. The policy also outlines the accountability of managers when considering requests for flexible work or leave arrangements, and the requirement for a transparent decision-making process.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information on the flexible work and leave options, guidelines on how to request, implement and maintain a flexible work arrangement, and links to the Flexible Work and Leave Practices policy see the Flexible Work and Leave Practices website at http://www.hr.uwa.edu.au/working/flexible, or contact Human Resources on 6488 7481.