The Trust is committed to providing working environments suitable for its staff members to perform their roles effectively. The Trust recognises that a diverse service and diverse workforce need agile working arrangements to deliver value to both the staff and the Trust. The option of remote/home working is one approach the Trust will use to support this commitment.
If you would like to apply to make a permanent change to your working arrangements, use the information on this page to help you understand more about the Trust Policy and Process to help you with this.
If you have any questions about temporary or permanent remote working arrangements and you can’t find the answer below, please email employmentrelations@hhft.nhs.uk
We do encourage all line managers to have regular conversations with their team about flexible working during their one-to-one conversations and when discussing the wellbeing wheel at their annual appraisal review.
We’ve set out the information, resources, and support that’s relevant to each stage of the process:
Considering - if you’re just starting to think about remote working, then look here for more information about what you may need to consider first.
Applying - if you decide that you’d like to apply for permanent remote working, look here for information about how to apply. Always have a conversation with your manager first
Working - once you’ve had an application for permanent remote working approved, you’ll find information and resources here to help you work productively and safely from home.
If you’re thinking of remote working, it’s worth knowing the different types of remote working patterns set out in our Trust policy
- Occasional remote/home working: where a colleague works remotely/from home on an occasional, infrequent basis. This would typically be once or twice a month, on average.
- Regular remote/home working: where a colleague works remotely/from home regularly, even where there may not be an established pattern. This would typically be more than one day a week in a given month, on average.
- Full-time remote/home working: where a colleague works remotely/from home for the majority their time.
Being clear about what you want to achieve from a flexible working arrangement is a great starting point for finding a way of realistic and practical working that will suit both you and the organisation.Take some time to read through the policy so you understand what’s possible and what you need to do if you decide to go ahead. (HR policies)
If you’ve never worked remotely or from home before, it’s likely to feel like quite a change. Doing a small amount of remote working can actually increase productivity. However working remotely for a prolonged period of time can sometimes impact our personal wellbeing.
Working at home full time can also blur our boundaries between work-time and personal-time, which is important to enable us to rest and recuperate. So it’s really important to think carefully about how home working will work for you. Some things you need to consider include:
- Place: where will you work? Most of us don’t have an office building at the bottom of our garden! Having a clear place to work is important to creating a manageable boundary between your home and work life.
- Space: do you have a space with the equipment and environment that you’ll need? Working from the sofa isn’t sustainable long term. Think about what you’ll need to be set up safely and productively to work somewhere else.
- Pace: how do you feel about working and managing your time alone? Working from home may open up new opportunities for flexibility in your working day. But it also means you’ll need to think different about routines, balance, and boundaries.
When deciding to work remotely, it’s important to think about how health and safety will be arranged. Before deciding, consider these questions:
Do you have a suitable desk/table and chair you are willing to use?
Musculoskeletal problems, pains and aches are very common; people often sit still with awkward postures for hours, causing strain in muscles and joints. The same happens when you are working remotely. Is your “home workplace” comfortable? Can you achieve good posture?
Are you able to maintain reasonable environmental conditions while working? i.e., comfortable level of heating and lighting.
It’s easy to forget that while you’re normally in an office or on site, your heating and lights are off at home. Once you start working remotely at home you may use more gas and/electricity, which may increase your bills. Think about this along with any other financial impacts like cost of commuting or that regular Costa coffee!
Is your work area in a higher risk location, such as loft or basement?
The Trust has a duty to ensure that you’re working in safe place and can escape in an emergency. If you’re planning to work in an area that isn’t normally occupied, have a conversation with your manager. You may need to seek advice from the Trust H&S or Fire Team.
Do you suffer with any health condition that may result in seizures or loss of consciousness?
Working remotely is usually associated with lone working. It is very important to consider any emergency arrangement that need to be implemented to ensure your safety.
Can you get help in case you've fallen ill suddenly (in connection to question above)?
In some cases, you may need to agree arrangements with your manager about how you’ll get help in an emergency. Please don’t hesitate to contact Safety for any advice.
Do you have a stock of basic first aid products (i.e., plasters, bandages)?
The Trust has a duty to ensure your basic first aid needs are considered and implemented. If your work is low-risk, such as desk-based work and you work in your own home, you don’t need anything more than you would normally have in the house.
Does your work involve more than office work (i.e., using chemicals or equipment)?You may need to agree some extra health and safety arrangements if your work involves:
- Using chemicals – COSHH Assessment
- Working equipment – Servicing and inspections
- Electrical items – PAT Testing
Do you use equipment, such as hoists, which need to be inspected?
Some equipment must be inspected by law. You and you manager will need to ensure that this is happening. Medical Equipment or Estates Team can help you with this.
If you’re thinking about applying to work remotely, have a conversation with your line manager as soon as possible so you can discuss it together.
Read through the Remote/Home-Working Policy and the flexible working in the NHS toolkit with includes templates on how to have a good conversation about flexible working with your manager
If you’d like to read more about working remotely, here are some external articles and resources that may help you think about what to expect:
BBC News - Coronavirus: Five ways to work well from home
Unison – a blog post about productive home working
FutureLearn – tips and techniques for working remotely
NHS England – guide to remote working
If you decide that you want to work remotely regularly or full-time, then you’ll need to complete a Remote/ Home Working application. A Remote/ Homeworking risk assessment also needs to be filled in and attached to your application.
Complete the online Remote/Home Working Application Form - here. You will also need to complete the ‘Person’ and ‘Workstation’ sections of the remote/home-working risk assessment, and upload this to your online application form.
You must have an appropriate location to work from if you are applying for regular or full-time remote/home working.
It’s essential you have a conversation with your manager, if you haven’t already, before you send an application in.
Here’s the advice from the Trust policy:
Complete Part 1 of the online Remote/Home Working Application Form. You will also need to complete the ‘Person’ and ‘Workstation’ sections of the remote/home-working risk assessment (see section 8), and upload this to your online application form. The application form and risk assessment are both available on the Remote/Home-Working Hub on the intranet.
You must have an appropriate location to work from if you are applying for regular or full-time remote/home working.
-
Complete the first two sections of the Remote Working Risk Assessment ("Person" and "Workstation")
If you’re application is approved, you’ll be assigned mandatory training through GreenBrain
If you’re a manager, look at this guide to the risk assessment
After your application to work remotely is approved, discuss and agree a start date with your manager if you haven’t already. Make sure you follow up on any issues or actions identified in your risk assessment as soon as possible.
You’ll be assigned mandatory training in GreenBrain to help you work productively and safely from home – it’s really important you complete this as soon as possible.
If you’ve previously learned about your Colours through one of our Insights training courses, then you’ve probably considered how working remotely may affect us all differently depending on our preferred working styles and needs; the kind of communication, support, and engagement we need will be different. It’s particularly important to understand this if you’re a manager. Take a look at these resources that describe different colour preferences and how that’s likely to affect needs when working remotely.
Leadership styles remotely
Remote working styles of each of the four colour energies
If you would like to know more about understanding working preferences through Colours Insights, contact organisationaldevelopment@hhft.nhs.uk
Complete the assigned training in GreenBrain (‘When home is work’) as soon as possible – within a month of starting remote working.
In addition to the mandatory training in GreenBrain, here are some additional resources you may find useful:
Fiona Watton (Associate Director of Leadership, Management and Organisational Development) has written a blog with her top tips on how she manages to work from home effectively. Why not download Fiona's working from home tips and share them with your team!
Join the HHFT Home Worker Forum on MS Teams to connect with other staff who are working remotely and take a trip to the ‘virtual corridor’ – search for ‘Home Worker Forum’ in Teams.
Stay up to date with resources from Health4Work to stay safe and well while working remotely - you can view these here.
Make time for wellbeing conversations with your manager – try using the Wellbeing Wheel at your next check in
