Agile Working policy (PS 313)
1. Aims and objectives of the policy
Nottinghamshire Police and the Nottinghamshire Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) are committed to delivering the highest standards of policing to the communities of Nottinghamshire through the utilisation of a highly trained, skilled and motivated workforce and to be an employer of choice.
Fundamental to that commitment is the development of work-life balance initiatives and a safe and secure working environment that will enhance the maintenance of an efficient, effective and diverse workforce, contributing to our wellbeing agenda and reducing travel time and costs and the overall carbon footprint of the force.
2. Key Principles
Definition - Agile working within Nottinghamshire Police and the OPCC is a term used to describe how individuals can undertake work and where the most effective location is to do their job. This may mean working at a different location, working in a partnership location where relevant or some working from home in agreement with the line manager.
Agile working is applicable to physically non–front facing roles only.
Front facing roles are roles which regularly required to physically respond to and/or interact with the public and are able to be deployed to operational situations e.g., response officers, CID and PCSO`s. However, it is understood that at certain times, it may be mutually beneficial for some officers/staff irrespective of their role to be allowed occasional agile working. This could be dependant on the task required, the equipment already available and must be approved by the first line manager.
Roles which fit within this criterion of agile working will be determined by the organisation. The organisation`s priorities will take precedence. It is anticipated that no role will be entirely home working.
Agile working is an approach that the organisation is committed to adopting. Unlike flexible working which the individual requests, agile working will be an organisation wide strategy which is implemented over time.
Agile working is about where and how you work.
- Where - office, flexible use of desk space, police premise, partnership premises or some working from home
- How - face to face, conference call or digital conferencing
There are many advantages to working from an office base as part of a team including ready access to colleagues and managers, informal communication, pooling of ideas, on-the-job learning, the development of effective working relationships between teams and the wellbeing aspect of social interaction.
Agile working should enhance these arrangements and lead to:
- Better, more responsive services
- Improved efficiency and performance
- More efficient use of premises and resources
- Better time management
- Effective use of technology
- Enhanced recruitment and retention
- Supporting a reduction in carbon emissions by reducing commuting
- Improved health and wellbeing
- Maintenance of business continuity
- As a reasonable adjustment, to support disabled employees to enter or remain in employment where this would otherwise be difficult
2.1 Eligibility
The nature of agile working means that any decisions to agree to this type of working is dependent on:
- The requirement and suitability of the role
- Sensitivity and restrictions of the types of operational and personal data processed
- The facilities and equipment in place to support the individual
- The service being delivered by the individuals, department and the organisation
- The health and safety, welfare and wellbeing of the individual
Managers require visibility and accessibility to their teams which should be considered.
2.2 Responsibilities
The Force will:
- Review and consider all roles for agile working
- Encourage line managers to promote agile working
- Promote development of more modern approaches to working practices
- Provide the technology required to enable agile working
- Provide reasonable adjustments only in the primary location of work
Managers must:
- Ensure that individuals are aware of the policy and their responsibilities
- Maintain regular contact with their staff
- Continue to perform the normal duties of a line manager
- Promote agile working and seek ways to ensure it is successful
- Consider and review the individual’s application form/checklist for agile working
- Ensure that individuals complete the DSE College Learn training (previously known as NCALT) and any other relevant packages including Management of information and Data Protection.
Individuals must:
- Ensure that they understand their responsibilities as part of this policy
- Ensure that they are available, within agreed working hours
- Ensure that they are contactable and deployable in the same way as if
they were working from an office, being in the office when asked
Adhere to Force policies and procedures - Adhere to their normal terms and conditions or police regulations
- Maintain agreed standards of work
- Maintain regular contact with their manager
- Understand that agile working is a way of working flexibly, other aspects of flexible working (such as amended hours) are not automatically part of an agile working arrangement
- Adhere to the agreed self-assessment in place
Details of the process to be followed and factors to be considered in assessing a request for agile working are set out in the Agile Working Procedure PD 789.
In brief the process is as follows:
- The Chief Superintendent/Head of Department determines if the role is suitable for agile working with the support of the People Services Business Partner
- Discussion between individual and line manager regarding their wish to work agilely, including agreement to the amount of time expected in the office
- Completion of agile working application form/self-assessment checklist and all relevant training packages. Completion of these packages is a priority
- Completion and adherence to the agreed self-assessment in place
- Regular review of role to ensure it remains suitable for agile working. This could form part of one-to-one meetings
- There is no right of appeal as the Chief Superintendent/Head of Department`s decision is final where a request is declined.
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PS 313:
Agile Working
Type of Document:
Policy
Version:
1.1
Registered Owner:
Claire Salter / Chief Superintendent Donna Lawton
Reviewer:
Jasvir Ginda
Effective Date:
September 2022
Review Date:
September 2025
Replaces Document (if applicable):
PS 164 Home working Policy
PS 177 Remote working Policy
Linked Documents:
PD 789 Agile Working Procedure
Agile Working Frequently Asked Questions
PD 613 Flexible working Procedure
G 2993 Agile Working Application Form/Checklist