The University's Hybrid Working Policy sets out best practice measures, guidance and support to enable colleagues to work safely and effectively in a hybrid manner. This policy replaces the interim Off-Campus Working Policy which was introduced during the covid pandemic. We know that the majority of staff want to continue to spend some working time off campus where your roles allow this. Over 80% of you who responded to staff surveys in the last year have confirmed this. We want to build on the good methods we’ve developed, and we know that hybrid working is an essential part of meeting our institutional goals.

In addition to the policy we also have guidance for managers about hybrid working, further resources for hybrid working and have developed a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Please continue to ask questions or provide feedback via your HR Business Partner.

As detailed in the policy our commitment to hybrid working is underpinned by core principles that will ensure we can fully realise the benefits of this approach:

Hybrid working principles

1. Meeting the needs of our communities: the University serves diverse communities including students and staff, as well as local, regional and international audiences. Where and when people work must primarily enable the University to meet the needs of those communities, ensuring they receive the best possible service.
2. Meeting our environmental commitments: a mix of on-campus and remote working is a key enabler to meeting the University’s environmental and sustainability commitments. The University will continue to review its use of space on campus, ensuring it is constantly working to improve efficiency in an effort to reduce carbon emissions.
3. Supporting team needs: the University expects teams and managers to be best placed to decide how a hybrid model works for them but recognises that there will be practical questions around implementing hybrid working locally. The University will provide guidance for managers to support conversations, continually reviewing the support offered in line with feedback.
4. Recognising individual needs: the University understands that not all roles can be carried out remotely and remains committed to supporting individuals’ needs in terms of flexibility, equality and inclusion, and creating a positive work-life balance, irrespective of working location.
5. The importance of excellent leadership: managers will lead by example, setting parameters for working based on the needs of their service and their teams. As the University adjusts to new ways of working, ongoing support and guidance for managers will be provided to support the leading and developing of individuals and teams working remotely and on-campus.
6. Measuring outputs and outcomes: the University is committed to finding efficient and digitally enabled ways to deliver its outputs and objectives and will carefully consider the management information needed to measure progress towards those ends.
7. Effective use of technology: the University will provide access to the necessary hardware and software, on a department-by-department basis, to enable effective hybrid working, as well as continuing to develop technological platforms and training offering to further digital capabilities.
8. Creating a positive working environment: the University strives to create environments that are safe, positive, and conducive to working and collaborating via the innovative use of both physical and digital spaces.
9. Foundations in trust: staff and their managers will be trusted and empowered to manage their own service needs and workload as far as possible, identifying the best workspaces for different activities, and managing time spent working remotely and on-campus to deliver required outputs.
10. Transparency and openness: regular conversations between line managers and staff will be key to keeping on track with what needs to be achieved, and staff will need to ensure regular and open conversation around where and when they are working to enable effective teamwork.
11. Continuous review: the University and its community will remain open to new and effective approaches to ways of working. The University’s focus remains on excellent service provision for its community, whilst helping to promote a positive work-life balance.