As part of our local pay negotiations with our trade union partners in February 2023, we agreed to reduce the full-time working week contractual hours for Professional Services colleagues from 36.25 to 35 hours per week, between the hours of 09.00 and 17:00. This reduction came into effect from Friday 1 September 2023.
We have been engaging with Schools and Professional Services to explore the possibility of adopting greater flexibility around working hours for our Professional Services colleagues. Rather than mandating set operating hours, we are taking this opportunity to consider how we can be more flexible within the guidelines set in each Service area.
Line Managers are encouraged to have open conversations with their teams about implementing additional flexibility around how their contracted hours will be fulfilled, and these discussions should also recognise that this approach might not be suitable for all roles and that some teams might already work in a flexible way.
The support and service provided to both our academic and student communities continue to be a key priority for Professional Services, therefore a six-month trial will begin from 1 September to offer flexibility in working hours. This trial will be managed locally, enabling us to assess its impact on operational and service needs.
Please note that, our academic colleagues continue to have flexibility in determining where and when they work, with notional working hours of 9am to 5pm, therefore this applies to Professional Services Colleagues only.
Discussions and implementation of the 35-hour week should be in line with the principles below.