In additional to the Flexible Work Proposal/Agreement PDF that you completed with your manager to document your weekly schedule, you are now required to complete an online Flexible Work Agreement that is required to document your remote work location for tax purposes.
As Ohio State continues to support flexible work arrangements – whether remote, in the office or hybrid – all employees need to appropriately document their work locations. All faculty and staff who are working remotely in any capacity need to complete an online Flexible Work Agreement and have it approved by their manager by Thursday, Sept. 30.
Using a common framework, unit leaders and managers, will be making decisions about work responsibilities based on the mission and needs of our college and the area you work in as well as the roles of each individual. We will consider the opportunities where employees can work differently — through remote, hybrid or other work arrangements. With the lessons of the pandemic, we are more equipped than ever to support flexible work arrangements and employees who require accommodations. (See Accommodations Information below.) Managers seeking additional support, please reach out to your HR Consultant.
- Timeline and Process Managers shall inform their direct reports that now is the time for staff to submit to their supervisors all request for flexible work arrangements using the following forms:
Important Update:
Flexible Work Agreement form to be accessible in HR Connection
The Flexible Work Agreement form currently on the HR website as a PDF form is in development to be an online form in HR Connection soon. Employees will be able to complete their agreement with their manager online via HR Connection. This solution will store completed agreements in a secure location and enable Payroll to access work location information for tax reporting when that process restarts in compliance with state law.
HR employees will pilot test the online form before making it available to everyone. More communication on the pilot will be coming soon. Anyone working a flexible schedule will be required to complete a Flexible Work Agreement before a new work plan begins.
What you need to do:
- Continue to use the PDF version of the Flexible Work Agreement in your college or unit until the online version is available.
- If you have any questions, contact your employee and labor relations consultant.
Managers should meet with their employees to discuss all aspects of the agreement including but not limited to the expectations of performance, termination of agreement, meeting expectations, and attendance. Once the form is signed, please make sure to turn the form into your department HR Professional in order for the agreement to be placed in your personnel file. If additional assistance is required, please contact your EHE HRBP.
- Telework refers to an arrangement where an employee works from home, or from another location away from campus, as the employee’s assigned workplace location. Depending on the details of the arrangement, telework constitutes a temporary or permanent reassignment for either a portion of the employee’s work time or all of it.
- An employee’s job classification, compensation, and benefits will not change if the employee is approved for telework.
- All duties, work obligations, performance expectations and evaluations, responsibilities, and conditions of employment with the University remain the same, as the agreement only entails a change to a remote location.
- A telework employee may be requested to attend meetings, project reviews, or other business purposes. If necessary, EHE will seek to designate certain times or events when the employee is expected to be on campus and give adequate notice if those expectations change. Nonetheless, the employee’s supervisor may require the employee to report to their EHE campus work location during normal business hours with reasonable notice.
- Hybrid Work refers to an arrangement where the employee is performing some percentage of job duties off-site, while performing on-site for the remainder of the time.
- Time Flexibility refers to flexible schedule, compressed workweek, job share, change in full time equivalency (FTE)
- Requesting a Flexible Work Arrangement For employees who are interested in or requesting adjustments to their schedules and work location should refer to the following information for review and approval:
- Review the Flexible Work Policy
- Follow the Flexible Work Employee Guidelines
- Complete a Flexible Work Arrangement Proposal
- Complete a Flexible Work Agreement
- Modification or Early Termination of Flexible Work Arrangement
- A manager, in consultation with the Human Resources, may modify or terminate an arrangement for performance concerns, changes in operational needs, or other non-discriminatory reasons. To the extent practicable, notice will be provided two weeks before the modification or termination. An employee may request to terminate the arrangement and return to on-campus work at any time.
