Alabama Remote Working Policy - sample
1. Introduction
1.1 This policy should be read in conjunction with the organization's other policies.
1.2 If you have any questions regarding these guidelines and how they apply to you, please consult [Insert manager's name], [Insert manager's position] before taking any action that may breach this policy.
2. Eligibility
Employees may apply via their manager to work from home. To be eligible to work from home, an employee must have been an employee (full or part-time) for a minimum period of 26 continuous weeks and not be subject to either a probationary period or current disciplinary procedure.
3. Exceptions to Eligibility
The eligibility criteria above will not apply where an employee is requested to work from home by the employer or where the government or state issues guidance or orders requiring employees to work from home (where possible) for health reasons, national lockdown, local lockdown, or other restrictions.
4. Review of Remote Working
4.1 The employer will review remote working at an organization and individual level every 12 months.
4.2 Where an employee is permitted to work remotely but is subsequently deemed unsuitable by the employer to work remotely, or the employer requires attendance for any other reason, the employer reserves the right to review and revoke that employee's entitlement to work remotely at any time.
4.3 Where remote working is imposed due to health reasons, national lockdown, local lockdown, or other restrictions, the employer will review remote working as soon as such restrictions are eased or removed.
5. Suitability
5.1 Some employees may prefer not to work remotely and may prefer the greater separation between work and home life that comes from being at the organization's workplace.
5.2 It is also important to consider that remote working reduces the social aspects of working in an office and may lead to feelings of isolation from work colleagues and customers. Also, remote working requires more discipline to start a working day and take regular breaks and finish at your normal time.
6. Days
6.1 The employer does not intend remote work to be every day of an employee's regular working week. A mixture of remote working and attendance at the organization's workplace(s) during a working week is preferable.
6.2 The exact days allocated per week between remote work and physical attendance should be discussed and agreed upon between the employee and their manager.
6.3 However, the employer reserves the right to change any existing arrangements for individual employees or at organization-wide level, with or without notice.
6.4 The exception to this is as stated above, where the employer requests that the employee works remotely for all their working days or, due to local, regional, or national restrictions or lockdown, the employee is required to work remotely.
7. Flexibility
7.1 The employer and the employee can agree in advance on some flexibility regarding the days worked remotely and those working at the workplace. This is to allow for a change in demand or the nature of work required at a given time.
7.2 Such flexibility can also be agreed upon at short notice, for example, when an employee cannot attend due to external factors, such as travel disruption, weather, strikes, or family emergencies.
8. Hours
8.1 When working from home, employees should work and be available and contactable during their normal hours and days. These hours should not be routinely exceeded.
8.2 Employees should not work weekends and evenings unless essential and has been expressly requested by the employer – for example, to meet a critical deadline or in the case of a business emergency.
9. Etiquette for Remote Meetings
9.1 Ensure, where possible, that your remote working environment is suitable regarding location, privacy, noise, background for video, or the risk of being interrupted or overheard.
9.2 However, the employer recognizes that working from home means sharing work and home space and that home life should not be unduly compromised.
9.3 It is recognized that meetings are necessary for the operation of the organization. However, wherever possible, meetings should last no more than 30 minutes and should be only attended by those directly involved in the subject matter of the meeting.
10. Etiquette for Other Communication
10.1 Employees should avoid sending emails at the end of the working day or outside their normal working hours. This includes weekends unless the employee usually works weekends as part of their normal working hours and the recipient(s) of the email also works weekends on the same basis.
10.2 The only exceptions to this are in the case of a business-critical emergency. So, for example, do not be the person who sends an email on a Sunday afternoon.
10.3 Where necessary, the employer reserves the right to turn off email communications outside normal working hours.
10.4 This guidance also relates to text messages, calls, voicemail, instant messaging, or any other communication method or platform used by the organization.
10.5 This guidance applies to all employees and all managers, directors, vice presidents, presidents, or others in senior positions. However, in the case of managers, directors, vice presidents, presidents, or others in senior positions, there is a limited exception that allows communication outside normal work hours where required by the business and agreed in advance between the parties who are both or all at a senior level. The exception to agreeing in advance to communicate is in the case of an emergency.
10.6 Managers, directors, vice presidents, presidents, and others in senior positions should not communicate with more junior employees or send organization-wide communications outside work hours unless critical.
11. Scheduled Communications
11.1 If scheduling communications, the sender must ensure that a message is not sent or received outside an employee's normal working hours.
11.2 In the case of any organization-wide communication, it should be scheduled when most recipients would normally be working.
12. Physical Security & Data Security
12.1 All employees should follow the procedures outlined in any existing Data Protection and Cyber Security Policies issued by the organization.
12.2 All such policies will apply no matter where employees are located or work from.
13. Safety and Health
13.1 All employees should take reasonable steps to ensure that their remote working environment, where possible, complies with any Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) advice or policy that would normally apply at the workplace.
13.2 We ask all employees to be particularly mindful of obvious hazards, such as trailing cables, overheating plugs or sockets, and equipment left on for extended periods, including overnight. Damage caused by spilling food or drink on equipment.
13.3 Employees should ensure that their work environment is clutter-free, well-ventilated, and free from obvious hazards.
14. Breaks
14.1 All employees should take the same number and duration of breaks during their working day when working remotely as they take at the organization's workplace.
14.2 To be effective, any break should involve leaving your desk and moving. Staying at your desk to surf the internet is not an adequate break.
15. Date of Implementation
This policy is effective from [insert date] and shall not apply to any actions that occurred prior to this date.
16. Questions
If you have any questions regarding this policy document and how it applies to you, please consult your manager.
17. Alteration of this Policy
This policy will be subject to review, revision, change, updating, alteration, and replacement to introduce new policies from time to time to reflect the organization's changing needs or to comply with any applicable state or federal laws.
18. Governing Law
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the state of Alabama.
(c) CompactLaw / all rights reserved / version 18.0
1.1 This policy should be read in conjunction with the organization's other policies.
1.2 If you have any questions regarding these guidelines and how they apply to you, please consult [Insert manager's name], [Insert manager's position] before taking any action that may breach this policy.
2. Eligibility
Employees may apply via their manager to work from home. To be eligible to work from home, an employee must have been an employee (full or part-time) for a minimum period of 26 continuous weeks and not be subject to either a probationary period or current disciplinary procedure.
3. Exceptions to Eligibility
The eligibility criteria above will not apply where an employee is requested to work from home by the employer or where the government or state issues guidance or orders requiring employees to work from home (where possible) for health reasons, national lockdown, local lockdown, or other restrictions.
4. Review of Remote Working
4.1 The employer will review remote working at an organization and individual level every 12 months.
4.2 Where an employee is permitted to work remotely but is subsequently deemed unsuitable by the employer to work remotely, or the employer requires attendance for any other reason, the employer reserves the right to review and revoke that employee's entitlement to work remotely at any time.
4.3 Where remote working is imposed due to health reasons, national lockdown, local lockdown, or other restrictions, the employer will review remote working as soon as such restrictions are eased or removed.
5. Suitability
5.1 Some employees may prefer not to work remotely and may prefer the greater separation between work and home life that comes from being at the organization's workplace.
5.2 It is also important to consider that remote working reduces the social aspects of working in an office and may lead to feelings of isolation from work colleagues and customers. Also, remote working requires more discipline to start a working day and take regular breaks and finish at your normal time.
6. Days
6.1 The employer does not intend remote work to be every day of an employee's regular working week. A mixture of remote working and attendance at the organization's workplace(s) during a working week is preferable.
6.2 The exact days allocated per week between remote work and physical attendance should be discussed and agreed upon between the employee and their manager.
6.3 However, the employer reserves the right to change any existing arrangements for individual employees or at organization-wide level, with or without notice.
6.4 The exception to this is as stated above, where the employer requests that the employee works remotely for all their working days or, due to local, regional, or national restrictions or lockdown, the employee is required to work remotely.
7. Flexibility
7.1 The employer and the employee can agree in advance on some flexibility regarding the days worked remotely and those working at the workplace. This is to allow for a change in demand or the nature of work required at a given time.
7.2 Such flexibility can also be agreed upon at short notice, for example, when an employee cannot attend due to external factors, such as travel disruption, weather, strikes, or family emergencies.
8. Hours
8.1 When working from home, employees should work and be available and contactable during their normal hours and days. These hours should not be routinely exceeded.
8.2 Employees should not work weekends and evenings unless essential and has been expressly requested by the employer – for example, to meet a critical deadline or in the case of a business emergency.
9. Etiquette for Remote Meetings
9.1 Ensure, where possible, that your remote working environment is suitable regarding location, privacy, noise, background for video, or the risk of being interrupted or overheard.
9.2 However, the employer recognizes that working from home means sharing work and home space and that home life should not be unduly compromised.
9.3 It is recognized that meetings are necessary for the operation of the organization. However, wherever possible, meetings should last no more than 30 minutes and should be only attended by those directly involved in the subject matter of the meeting.
10. Etiquette for Other Communication
10.1 Employees should avoid sending emails at the end of the working day or outside their normal working hours. This includes weekends unless the employee usually works weekends as part of their normal working hours and the recipient(s) of the email also works weekends on the same basis.
10.2 The only exceptions to this are in the case of a business-critical emergency. So, for example, do not be the person who sends an email on a Sunday afternoon.
10.3 Where necessary, the employer reserves the right to turn off email communications outside normal working hours.
10.4 This guidance also relates to text messages, calls, voicemail, instant messaging, or any other communication method or platform used by the organization.
10.5 This guidance applies to all employees and all managers, directors, vice presidents, presidents, or others in senior positions. However, in the case of managers, directors, vice presidents, presidents, or others in senior positions, there is a limited exception that allows communication outside normal work hours where required by the business and agreed in advance between the parties who are both or all at a senior level. The exception to agreeing in advance to communicate is in the case of an emergency.
10.6 Managers, directors, vice presidents, presidents, and others in senior positions should not communicate with more junior employees or send organization-wide communications outside work hours unless critical.
11. Scheduled Communications
11.1 If scheduling communications, the sender must ensure that a message is not sent or received outside an employee's normal working hours.
11.2 In the case of any organization-wide communication, it should be scheduled when most recipients would normally be working.
12. Physical Security & Data Security
12.1 All employees should follow the procedures outlined in any existing Data Protection and Cyber Security Policies issued by the organization.
12.2 All such policies will apply no matter where employees are located or work from.
13. Safety and Health
13.1 All employees should take reasonable steps to ensure that their remote working environment, where possible, complies with any Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) advice or policy that would normally apply at the workplace.
13.2 We ask all employees to be particularly mindful of obvious hazards, such as trailing cables, overheating plugs or sockets, and equipment left on for extended periods, including overnight. Damage caused by spilling food or drink on equipment.
13.3 Employees should ensure that their work environment is clutter-free, well-ventilated, and free from obvious hazards.
14. Breaks
14.1 All employees should take the same number and duration of breaks during their working day when working remotely as they take at the organization's workplace.
14.2 To be effective, any break should involve leaving your desk and moving. Staying at your desk to surf the internet is not an adequate break.
15. Date of Implementation
This policy is effective from [insert date] and shall not apply to any actions that occurred prior to this date.
16. Questions
If you have any questions regarding this policy document and how it applies to you, please consult your manager.
17. Alteration of this Policy
This policy will be subject to review, revision, change, updating, alteration, and replacement to introduce new policies from time to time to reflect the organization's changing needs or to comply with any applicable state or federal laws.
18. Governing Law
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the state of Alabama.
(c) CompactLaw / all rights reserved / version 18.0