Hybrid Working Policy help needed

[jamcorrosion]

Hi - my job has a policy as above, states to be in the office for 3 days a week, with an option to submit a form for unforeseen circumstances. The policy states that the focus is on days not hours spent in the office per day but the expectation is that majority of the day is spent in office when there. There’s no definition of ‘majority’ so I’ve assumed it means more than 50%. This policy has been in place a year. Recently received an email from a senior member of staff to the whole team stating that when in the office we are expected to be there for a full day.

Since this policy was introduced - I arranged my childcare around it. My son is in nursery 7.30-5.30 daily (I’m a single parent) I chose these hours so I could get to the office early. Usually around 8.15/30, I stay until lunchtime which is four hours and then head home. I do this as I thought it was better to travel home on my unpaid hour than later in the afternoon on works time.

Since receiving the email I have reached out and explained my usual routine and asked for clarification if this is no longer ok. I have been told it is no longer ok and I cannot leave at lunchtime consistently only occasionally for appointments etc. Apparently this was clarified with HR before I was given a response. Where do I stand here as the policy doesn’t state full days? I have offered to stay till later in the afternoon and explained why I chose lunchtime. Also explained that I can’t stay till later than 4pm really due to traffic and nursery pick up.

I’m just not sure where I stand or how to handle? As the policy is not specific at all. Can the goalposts be changed like this?

IABU - Suck it up
IANBU - This isnt ok to just change it

A day is a day.

In OP’s defence, she has been very clear that she is not picking her child up until the end of the work day. Working with a small child at home all afternoon is not what she is trying to do.

I agree she’s probably going to have to stop going home at lunch (I think I work at the same place as her). But the only problem is wfh more than she’s meant to, not the additional, (and much worse imo), issue of working while looking after a small child.

PwC? Yes if I were your boss I’d expect you to be in most of the day, but leaving at 4 (provided you covered client commitments) would be fine.

Fwiw i dont read what your are doing as being a day in the office. Its more like showing face on a pretence of complying with the policy. If your days are designed to accommodate childcare then your should be in the office until its time to collect your wee one. Id play ball with your employer - when wee one goes to school you might struggle for childcare and need employers support to adjust things again.

@jamcorrosion Mumsnet wants me to believe that the reason why I earn an average salary is because mumsnetters work harder than me.

And then I read this nonsense about interpreting "majority of the day" as 51%, then sodding off home after 4 hours in the office.

I hope my manager is thankful that I'm not a person who sods off after doing as little as possible, but that I go above and beyond to try to do the right thing.

Ah, I didn't spot that bit.

But agree, this is taking a policy to the exact word rather than the intention.

Absolutely

Why are you ignoring everyone asking why you don’t leave at 4? Why do you need to leave at 3? Your DC doesn’t need collecting until half 5?

I guess it is a question of seeing how far they push now. They may well insist on a whole day.

I do 8 or 8.30 am till 4 or 4.30 pm. Worse case if I leave 30 mins early due to afterschool club pick up I log back in after getting home to make up the half hour. Never had any issue. But those that leave at lunch time have started getting in trouble at our work place.

This is one of those situations where you are not clearly in the wrong but your employer is trying to tighten things up after the fact.
The key issue is that the policy you were given said the focus was on days not hours and used vague wording like majority of the day. You relied on that for a year and arranged childcare around it. They cannot reasonably criticise you for following the written policy as it stood.

An email saying full day is an expectation does not automatically override a policy that has been in place and relied upon unless they are formally changing it and giving notice. If they wanted full days they should have said that clearly from the start.

That said employers can change expectations going forward. What they should be doing is consulting and being clear about when the change takes effect and how it works in practice especially where childcare is involved.

At this point I would stop arguing about interpretations and put it on a formal footing. Ask HR to confirm in writing what counts as a full day and from what date the expectation applies. Then submit a formal flexible working request setting out what you can do and why. Childcare is a perfectly legitimate reason and they have to consider it properly.

You have already done the right thing by flagging it early and offering compromise. This is not misconduct and you are not being unreasonable. It is a policy clarity issue and one they should handle fairly.

My workplace is nothing like that: all working hours are productive as we have locations in lots of different time zones.

I think leaving at 1500 is a bit cheeky. The travelling in your lunch break is a bit of a red herring as you could technically take your lunch at any time, so why not say you’ll take your lunch at 1600 and travel back then? I’m sure you can make up the 15m for the free days in the two days you work from home.

If, as you say, you are working longer days when your child is with her father I don't see the issue. The problem is likely to be visibility.

Yes I think we do as well. And same for me my current colleagues are across the country. And this is what a lot of responses are failing to understand that the culture has always been really flexible and not standard working hours - what I do isn’t uncommon people work to suit their circumstances. So it’s taken me by surprise as it doesn’t fit with my experience so far

We have a similar set up of mandatory office day but don’t insist on full day. The thought process was to allow a bit of flexibility eg someone arriving 9.15 after school run is ok. A few push it and literally come in for a few hours going every week at lunch. All that will happen is they will probably tighten up and make it compulsory full day. The concept of don’t push your luck seems to escape some people.

10-3 has been core hours most places I have worked - where you have to be in if ft worker.
4 hours is taking the p#ss op especially on day your expected to be in work. Not work a half day then work from home the rest of the day - its really twisting the policy to suit yourself, basically showing your face for the sake of it.

Only being in the office for half a day on the days you need to be in the office is not enough.

The messaging about it being about days and not hours means you could probably do 7 hours in the office and leave in time to do pick up and then finish up for an hour at home.

you are also never having lunch with colleagues, if others are then this isn’t acceptable.

can you start leaving at 4 instead on the office days.

Oh come on now. You’re taking the piss .

Exactly. OP doesn't have an answer for this, I think it is safe to assume.

I have done a lot of travelling on work time - it’s the nature of the job I have. There’s travel a lot sometimes and other times none at all. People don’t work a standard day it’s always been very flexible

This. Work through lunch and leave at 4pm. It's not hard.

I agree with this generally. However, knowing where OP works (I think, and a couple of other people who also work there have guessed as well), and what she said about the email coming from a senior manager to the whole team, suggests to me this isn’t a change to company policy. But something coming from a specific senior manager. I certainly haven’t received this email.
The company policy remains that the focus is hrs not days, and that if you can’t do a full day in the office you are not expected to make that time up - that is specifically stated. However it is also very clear, and always has been, that that flexibility can only happen if it works for the team, and its meant to be ad hoc, not a case of “I’m not ever in the office in the afternoons”. If your manager wants you in, you can’t say “nope” and point to the flexibility policy as a reason for refusing.

Not if she's working from home for the rest of the day. Plus that's not what the contract says.

@jamcorrosion what if you do as you have been doing on 4 days a week rather than 3?

If you leave at 3, then are you going to get anything useful done for the rest of the day?

Leave at 3.
Arrive home at 4.
You won't get straight down to work, say start at 4.15. You know go to the toilet, make a coffee, getting laptop out. Refocus....
Then you're going to be leaving 5.15 latest to pick your kid up. So best position an hour work.
Very difficult to concentrate as you'll be keeping an eye on the time. You are not going to do good work. They'll be looking at your work too I suspect as they'll be suspicious you will be picking your kid up first.

Leave at 4.15 and be glad you got a year before they stopped it.