Policy 5-140: Telecommuting for Staff Employees

Purpose and Scope‌

1. Purpose.

   To provide guidance to University Departments and Staff Employees regarding telecommuting at the University of Utah.

2. Scope.

   [reserved]

Definitions‌

The following definitions apply for the limited purposes of this policy and any associated regulations.

1. Telecommuting: A flexible work arrangement that allows a staff employee to work at home or elsewhere for part, or all of, their regular work schedule.

2. Telecommuter: A staff employee of the University who has been approved for alternate work arrangements, other than working from the primary office.

Policy‌

1. Telecommuting is a management option for an alternative work arrangement. Typically this means working from telecommuter's residence or other location away from the office environment where the telecommuter's work position is located.

2. Telecommuting is neither a universal employee right nor a universal employee benefit.

3. Telecommuting arrangements may be mutually agreed to by the telecommuter, department manager and a higher-level supervisor (Director-level or above) and may be discontinued by the University at any time.

4. Telecommuting may be used as an option when appropriate to the particular needs of the department and telecommuter or under special circumstances such as a pandemic or natural disaster.

5. Managers are responsible to develop a means of evaluating employee hours worked and work performance and holding telecommuter accountable for the output and quality of work expected.

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   Sections IV- VII are for user information and are not subject to the approval of the Academic Senate or the Board of Trustees. The Institutional Policy Committee, the Policy Owner, or the Policy Officer may update these sections at any time.

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Policies/ Rules, Procedures, Guidelines, Forms and other Related Resources‌

1. Policies/ Rules. [ reserved ]

2. Procedures, Guidelines, and Forms.

   1. Guideline G5-140: Telecommuting Guidelines

3. Other Related Resources. [ reserved ]

References‌

[ reserved ]

Contacts‌

The designated contact officials for this Regulation are

1. Policy Owner(s) (primary contact person for questions and advice): the Director of Employee Relations for Human Resources is responsible for answering questions and providing information regarding the application of this policy.

2. Policy Officer(s): the Vice-President for Human Resources (or designee) and the Senior Vice-President for Health Sciences (or designee) are responsible for representing the University's interests in enforcing this policy and authorizing any allowable exceptions.

   See Rule 1-001 for information about the roles and authority of policy owners and policy officers.

History‌

Revision History.

1. Current version. Revision 0.

   1. Effective Date. October 11, 2011

   2. Legislative History

   3. Editorial Revisions

      1. Editorially revised March 7, 2023 to move to current regulations template.

2. Previous versions. [reserved]

3. Renumbering

   1. Not applicable