Work/Life Balance

Flexible Working Policy
All colleagues with 26 weeks’ continuous service can request flexible working, so long as they haven’t made a request in the previous 12 months. Examples of flexible working include:

• Change to the number of hours required to work
• Change to the times/shifts required to work
• Change to the place of work – for example, home working or working from a different location.

Colleagues can request flexible working for any reason and do not have to explain why. Once a request form has been submitted the line manager will arrange a meeting to discuss whether or not they are able to approve the request.

Career Break Policy
Colleagues with two years’ service, and satisfactory attendance and conduct can request an extended, unpaid period away from work. Some examples of reasons for a career break are to go travelling, to spend time with family or to study or do voluntary work.

Authorised Leave Policy
This policy gives details of many different forms of leave including parental, bereavement, compassionate, public duties and the Territorial Army.

There are also tools available to help colleagues understand and monitor how they spend their working time. Colleagues using Microsoft Office 365 have access to MyAnalytics. These dashboards can help colleagues organise their time, and also monitor how often they’re working outside of ‘normal’ working hours.