ECE Staff Telework Policy 

This policy is meant to build on the following central UW telework policy statements including: 

As a note, this policy does not cover long-term accommodations or occasional telework. For long term accommodations, please refer to: 

Commitment to In-Person Operations 

Per the guidance from the College of Engineering and the UW Central Administration, ECE is committed to providing in-person support in the following areas. 

  • Essential operations, including all operations that support health and safety of the campus environment 
  • Instruction and instructional support services 
  • Research and research support services 
  • Student support services 
  • Employee support services 
  • Services provided to the public or that are public facing
     

Hybrid Telework Conditions and Request Process 

In line with guidance from the College of Engineering, the ECE Department is allowing up to three days per week of hybrid teleworking for staff in positions that meet the following conditions: 

  • The staff member can effectively complete their job duties outside of the building 
  • Teleworking doesn’t affect the quality of service and department operations, and 
  • Teleworking doesn’t negatively impact the synergy of working as a team. 

The decision to authorize remote work will be made by the staff member’s supervisor and can be revised as health and working conditions evolve. Staff in positions that need specialized space/equipment/technology in order to effectively perform the job and/or that regularly require in-person faculty, staff, student interactions will not be able to work a hybrid telework schedule but can occasionally telework with their supervisor’s approval. 

Staff requesting to work a hybrid work schedule will need to work together with their supervisor to create a hybrid telework agreement in compliance with the UW Telework Policy. This agreement must be completed, reviewed and signed by both the staff member and their supervisor along with the department administrator’s approval before going into effect. 

Hybrid Work Schedule Training, Guidance and Norms 

Staff approved to work on a hybrid work schedule must complete and adhere to the following guidance and norms: 

  1. Your work schedule must be posted in both your email signature line and on office doors specifying your hours of work and telework days. 
  2. Your communication methods must be posted in your email signature line and on office doors specific to telework (e.g., Zoom, phone number, email, MS Teams can be substituted for phone number). 
  3. Your primary location (place of residence) while you telework must be within Washington State. 
  4. On-site attendance: A schedule will need to be developed collaboratively with the supervisor and staff for each unit for daily in-person coverage and published for transparency to the community. These units include academic services, senior staff, finance/grants. There may be times that require staff to come in during telework day(s). If required: 
    1. You will be notified at least a week in advance (5 working days) unless it is an emergency. 
    2. To build community, all department staff are required to come to campus for departmental events and meetings as needed.
  5. Telework agreements may be terminated by the Department at any time with thirty calendar days’ notice unless there is alleged misconduct or an emergency, in which case, it may be terminated immediately. All telework arrangements will be reviewed on a quarterly basis to evaluate the successes and challenges of these arrangements on the ECE community. 
  6. Time Off and Leave: All time off and leave provisions under applicable policy, or the collective bargaining agreement for represented employees, continue to apply under a telework agreement. Staff must notify their supervisor when calling in sick and request other types of time off via Workday in advance of time taken off. 
  7. Policy Compliance: Employees shall adhere to all departmental and institutional policies including, but not limited to, policies regarding confidentiality of information, work schedules, work hours, use of equipment, ethics, performance, leave use and tracking of work hours. 
  8. Ad-hoc Changes/switches to telework and in office days may be allowed but need to be approved by staff supervisors in advance. Staff would still be expected to stay within the same number of remote and office days per week, even if that means coming into the office on normally scheduled “remote” day.  

 Exceptions must be discussed with Aleesha Wiest (Administrator) and have a demonstrated business need.

Page updated September 27, 2023