Flexible working

Flexible working is an intrinsic part of how we work here at Essex.

In both our University Strategy and People Supporting Sub Strategy, we outline our commitment to building a more agile and flexible working culture that is responsive to emerging issues and supportive of our staff whilst continuing to support our mission of excellence in education and research.

• Flexible working policy (.pdf)
• Flexible working form (.pdf)

Types of flexible working

• day-to-day flexibility: it is expected that the majority of roles will allow some degree of day-to-day flexibility. For example, this may be arriving and leaving slightly earlier than usual or taking breaks when needed
• short-term flexible arrangements: it may sometimes be necessary to make short-term arrangements to allow someone to manage personal pressures
• changes to working pattern: a different pattern to the standard contracted hours, whilst recognising that not all employees have contracts that reflect Monday to Friday arrangements. This may be a formal agreement, eg. compressed hours, annualised hours, term time working. It could be more informal, eg. starting or finishing at an earlier/later time
• hybrid working: the University supports hybrid working where roles and operational requirements allow. If working off campus an employee’s working environment needs to be suitable and free from distractions, allowing them to focus on their work. Employees may need to vary the days that they are on campus depending on the needs of their role. Although hybrid working may provide opportunities to participate in family activities (ie. school drop off) it should not be used as a substitute for childcare. Employees should discuss their arrangements with their manager. Please see our hybrid working principles and hybrid support for further information
• changes to working hours: where an employee would like to decrease or increase their hours.

There is no service length requirement in order to make requests and there are no restrictions on the number of requests made in a 12-month period where there are no changes to hours.