1.Definitions

 "Home based site" means a private dwelling agreed between the University and the relevant Union.

 "Home based employee" means an employee at the home based site.

 "Home based work" means regular performance of ordinary hours of duty at the home based site.

 "Office based site" means the location where the employee would ordinarily work if there were no home based work arrangement.

• Unless otherwise agreed, home based work will be on the basis that the employee spends at least two-fifths of his/her usual weekly hours of duty at the office based site.

• The University will be responsible for the provision and maintenance of University equipment and the provision of supplies as set out in subclause 3; provided that the University and the employee may agree on any alternative arrangements if appropriate. Such alternative arrangements must also be recorded.

• An employee in a home based work arrangement is prohibited from contracting out his/her work.

• The University shall ensure home based employees have the same opportunities for career development and training as office based employees. In particular:

A home based working arrangement will only be entered into on a voluntary basis which may be initiated by the employee. An employee may only initiate a proposal for home based work in respect of:

• that employee's substantive position, or

• a position in which the employee is temporarily performing duties.

(i) Before approval can be given for a home based work arrangement to commence, the University and the employee must agree to the following matters:  

• The address, telephone number, facsimile number and E-mail address of the home based site.
• The duties to be performed.  
• The days and hours of duty at the office based site and at the home based site.
• Duration of the arrangement and agreed period of notice for purposes of terminating the arrangement.
• The area of the home based site to be deemed the workplace (all other areas of the dwelling are not classified as the workplace).
• The specific facilities to be used at the home based site.
• The method of disseminating University communication bulletins to the home based employee where access to that information may be reduced.
• Methods of measuring work performance, provided that systems-based automated work measurements will not be used as the sole means for determining or monitoring individual work performance.
• Details of University assets and supplies to be used at the home based site, including maintenance arrangements.
• Details of employee's assets and supplies to be used at the home based site for official use, including maintenance and insurance coverage.
• Details of workspace and facilities to be provided when the employee attends the office based site.
• Any alterations to the workplace and facilities that may be required resulting from Occupational Health and Safety legislation.  

(ii) All matters listed in subclause 3(i) above and the matters listed hereunder shall be recorded:  

(iii) The record of home-based work arrangements agreed to or as re-negotiated must be signed by a University representative and the employee and placed on the employee's personal file in Human Resources. Copies must be given to the employee and his/her supervisor. A copy of the agreement shall be provided to the relevant Union, upon request.

(iv) After approval of a home based work arrangement and prior to the arrangement commencing, the University will provide the relevant Union with respect to the relevant work area details of the numbers and classifications of staff who will be working from home.

(i) Employees performing the duties of a position where the position could be described as having at least one of the following characteristics will not be considered for home based work:

• The position requires a high degree of supervision or close scrutiny;  
• The position requires a direct client face to face contact on a frequent basis without the option of easily rescheduling;
• The position does not lend itself to objective performance monitoring of outcomes;  
• The position requires the occupant to be a member of a team and that regular direct face to face contact on a daily basis with other team members at the office based site is an integral part of the job's responsibilities; or  
• The position has other characteristics which the relevant Union and the University have agreed are unsuitable for home based work.  

5. Terms and Conditions

(i) Terms and conditions contained in this clause will apply to an employee who is approved to perform his/her ordinary hours of duties or part thereof at a home based site. 

(ii) Provisions contained in this Agreement will apply to the home based employee, provided that the employee's office based site will be deemed to be his/her headquarters. 

6. Access Arrangements 

(i) The parties acknowledge that management or management representatives will from time to time need to obtain access to a home based site and that the relevant Union may also wish to visit a member while he or she is working from a home based site. The parties also acknowledge that only management will require urgent access which will only be granted under terms of this clause.  

(ii) The parties also acknowledge that the consent of the home based employee is required before access can be obtained to a home based work site.

 (iii) Unless urgent access is required to a home based work site, or the home based work employee agrees otherwise, on a case by case basis, a home based work employee must be given at least two clear days' notice of any persons' intention to physically enter to the home based work site. Neither management nor Unions will apply pressure to reduce this notice period.

 (iv) The purposes for which management may require urgent access to a home based work site are:

• maintenance of faulty equipment;
• occupational health and safety purposes;
• urgent security and audit purposes; and
• other purposes agreed between the University and the relevant Union.

(v) The purposes for which non-urgent access may be sought include but are not limited to:

• routine maintenance of equipment and supplies;
• assessing and monitoring security arrangements of equipment and documents;
• routine occupational health and safety assessments;
• access by Union to member where office based site access would not be adequate; and
• supervision where office based supervision would not be adequate.  

(i) In the event of renegotiation as a result of the commencement of a return to work program the employee's approved rehabilitation provider must be consulted.

(ii) A home based working arrangement may be:

• altered or discontinued by agreement at the request of the University or the employee, provided that neither party will unreasonably withhold agreement to alter or discontinue the arrangement; or
• terminated by the University due to operational requirements after the period of four weeks' notice, and following provision of advice to the Union including where the employee unreasonably withholds consent with respect to access by management or management representatives in accordance with subclause (6);
• terminated by the University on grounds of inefficiency of the arrangements after four weeks' notice; and following consultation with the relevant Union; or
• terminated by the University in the event of failure to comply with Occupational Health and Safety or security arrangements as outlined in subclause (6).  

(i) A joint review shall be commenced by the parties three (3) months prior to expiration of this Agreement.

(ii) The review will be based on survey data obtained from participating employees and organisational units.

(iii) All information relevant to the review will be provided to the Unions prior to the conduct of the review.

(iv) The terms of reference of the joint review will include appropriate terms to evaluate:

• any need for reimbursement of additional net costs incurred by home based employees;
• any need to revise security arrangements for home based work; and
• any need for a further review.

(v) The parties agree to consider other characteristics beyond those set out in subclause 4 which may be inappropriate for home based work, specifically arrangements that could involve continuous and repetitive keyboarding.

Sample Telework Policy