Home Based Work Policy - Academic and General Staff

Policy

A home-based work policy provides flexible working arrangements for staff to assist in balancing the demands of work and family/personal life. The University recognizes that promoting flexible working arrangements has mutual benefits in that the University stands to gain by attracting and retaining skilled employees, thereby maximising productivity.

A staff member may work from home for regular periods of time under certain conditions, which are described in the Guideline. 'Once off' or occasional work from home for a few hours does not require formal application although approval must be obtained from the supervisor. Supervisors and managers need to be mindful that duty of care responsibilities still apply.

Standards and Guidelines

The opportunity to work from home is not an entitlement or a right, and can only occur by formal agreement (the Agreement) between the University (employer) and the staff member (employee).

Home-based work means regular performance of ordinary hours of duty at a home-based work site. It may not necessarily mean that the employee is working full time from home. Time at an office-based worksite is preferable to avoid problems associated with working in isolation and to assist with team participation and supervision. The hours of duty spent at a home-based site need to be negotiated between the employer and the employee.

An employee who has entered into a home-based work agreement is prohibited from contracting out his/her work.

The duties to be performed whilst undertaking a home-based work arrangement should be clearly detailed and formalised in the Agreement prior to commencing such an arrangement. Likewise measurement of output and supervision shall be agreed upon prior to the arrangement being in place.

Definitions

Home-based site = a facility designed for the purpose of performing the duties agreed between the University and the employee and located in a private dwelling or part thereof.

Home-based employee = an employee at the home-based site.

Home-based work = regular performance of duties at the home based site as agreed between the employer and employee conducted within the standard span of hours, unless otherwise approved.

Home-based work agreement (the Agreement) = a signed written agreement outlining the conditions of a home-based work arrangement between the employer and employee.

Office-based site = the location where the employee would ordinarily work if there were no home-based work arrangement.

When is home-based work appropriate?

Work that involves a high degree of individual autonomy and independence is most suitable for a home-based working arrangement. For example:

• project work
• research
• report writing
• policy development and analysis
• systems design and development

Generally home-based employment is not suitable for jobs that:

• require a high degree of supervision or close scrutiny
• require direct face to face contact with other staff, students or public relations
• do not lend themselves to objective performance monitoring
• require the occupant to be a member of a team with regular face to face contact on a daily basis with other team members
• require the employee to service University facilities and/or assets
• have other characteristics which the University deems make them unsuitable for home-based work.

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (1984), an employer must provide a safe working environment and duty of care as far as practicable towards employees. The same applies to the home based site. Therefore, prior to an employee being granted approval to commence home-based work the following shall occur:

• The University and the employee will clearly designate the area of the home-based site to be deemed as the worksite and record this in the Agreement. The designated home-based workplace would not normally include a whole dwelling.
• The employee will complete the "Occupational Safety and Health Home-Based Work Report" and send this to the OSH Manager in the Office of Human Resources. This will ensure that the basic Occupational Safety and Health requirements in setting up a work area have been met. In the event that equipment/resources to be used at the home-based site do not meet safety standards and the requirements of the Home-Based Work Report, the home-based work arrangement will not be approved until appropriate changes are made.

Employees undertaking home-based work are covered by the University's Workers' Compensation policy and the requirements under the Worker's Compensation and Rehabilitation Act WA (1981).

In the event of being injured in the course of performing work related duties, the normal eligibility criteria for acceptance of a claim will be applied by the University's Insurer. Travel between home and the University is not normally covered by the Act. Therefore it is important to stipulate in the Agreement the hours and duties being performed at the home based site.

All Occupational Safety and Health policies, which apply to employees of Murdoch University in general, shall, as far as practicable, apply in carrying out work at the home-based work site. The Occupational Safety and Health Manager in the Office of Human Resources is available to offer advice regarding home-based work environments.

Equipment and utilities used at home-based work sites

Prior to an employee being granted approval to commence home-based work the employer and the employee will complete the equipment checklist to determine items required by the employee in order to undertake their work duties at the home-based site. The list includes method of communication such as telephone, mobile telephone, computing equipment and stationery. This list will specify who owns each item. Whoever owns an item is responsible for its maintenance and insurance. The final agreed list that is negotiated between the employer and employee will be included in the Agreement.

Although employees may use their own equipment, it is preferable that they use equipment owned by the employer for work related duties at the home based site and use this equipment solely for University purposes. Movement of equipment from an on campus location to an off campus location must be recorded in the Asset Register within their Division/Area. Information on University Assets and Insurance is held by the Office of Financial Services.

The employee is to take all reasonable precautions to ensure that equipment owned by the employer and located in the designated work area of the home-based work site is treated in the same manner which applies at the employee's usual place of work thus avoiding:

• damage to the equipment; or
• damage to the home-based site; or
• injury to themselves.

Initiation and approval of home-based work

A home-based working arrangement will only be entered into on a voluntary basis, which may be initiated by the employee. Both the University and the employee must ultimately agree on the arrangement. An employee cannot be directed to work from home and the University is under no obligation to approve a request from an employee to enter into a working from home arrangement.

Each application for a home-based work arrangement will be considered on a case by case basis. Every application for a home-based work arrangement requires the approval of the Executive Administrative/Divisional Head on the recommendation of the employee's supervisor. The Executive Dean/Administrative Head is responsible for ensuring that the requirements for approval have been satisfied prior to approving an application for a home-based work arrangement. In the event of a dispute about home-based work the Director of the Office of Human Resources shall mediate and if necessary arbitrate a decision.

Process used to negotiate a home-based working arrangement

1. The employee will write an "Expression of Interest" and submit this to his or her Executive Dean or Divisional Head through the manager/supervisor for approval. If not approved, the employee's supervisor will discuss the reasons for refusal with the employee.
2. The "Occupational Safety and Health Home-Based Work Report" should then be completed by the home-based worker and submitted to the Occupational Safety and Health Manager in Human Resources.
3. An agreement is then prepared, which is signed by the employee, the supervisor and Administrative/Divisional Head. A copy is to be forwarded to the Office of Human Resources and placed on the personnel file. This will outline the terms and conditions of the home-based work arrangement.
4. The appropriate Occupational Safety and Health training and information shall be provided to employees who are undertaking home-based work arrangements by either the Division's Safety and Health Representative or the Occupational Safety and Health Manager.
5. The supervisor should regularly review the home-based working arrangement particularly during regular work performance reviews. In addition to this, a review of the agreement must also occur in the following circumstances:

• a change to duties or work location occurs;
• the mix of hours or the length of the arrangement is to be re-negotiated; or
• the agreement expires.

Security - Computer Network

The supervisor and home based employee must ensure that arrangements are in place for the security of the computer network and that the employee whilst working form home will abide by the standards and guidelines as defined in the Murdoch University IT Security Policy.

In addition to the standards and guidelines:

If the employee is using computer equipment supplied by the University for the purpose of working from home:

• The computer equipment will be used exclusively by the employee.
• The computer equipment will not be connected to a foreign computer network (this includes connections to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) using a modem)

If the employee is using their own computer equipment:

• Access to the Murdoch University network will be by connection to the Murdoch University VPN service through any ISP, or through the Murdoch University modem service.
• Data which is classified as confidential or sensitive must not be stored on the employee's computer hard disk.

Computers used for the purpose of working from home must have the latest University approved anti-virus software with updated virus detection files. Anti virus active protection must be enabled at all times. Guidelines on the use of anti-virus software are available from ITS.

Contact Availability

The employee will be available for contact by the supervisor during the specified hours of home-based work. Confidentiality of the staff member's home phone number and address must be maintained and only given to people who have expressed permission of the employee, as per normal University policy.

Access arrangements to the home-based site

The consent of a home-based employee is required before access can be obtained to a home-based work site. Reasonable access should not be denied for reasons which include:

• routine maintenance of equipment and supplies;
• assessing and monitoring security arrangements of equipment and documents;
• Occupational Safety and Health inspections;
• ITS incident investigation;
• supervision

Termination and Renegotiation

A home-based-working arrangement may be discontinued or altered with adequate notice at the request (in writing) of either the employee or the University. Neither party should unreasonably withhold agreement to alter or discontinue the arrangement.

Grievances

An employee's grievance at a decision relating to home-based work should be referred to the Supervisor in the first instance.

If required, a conciliation meeting may be organised with the Director of Human Resources or nominee, the Division/School/Office and the aggrieved employee. The Director of Human Resources may make a final decision on suitability of a home-based work arrangement.

Finance Policies and Procedure Manual - Insurance Section

Occupational Safety and Health

Information System