FWA options are designed to balance the need to support the university mission and in-person experience, the unique needs of each school/college and department, various roles and job requirements, and well-being and equity for all university staff. Once a supervisor receives a request for a FWA, the supervisor, in consultation with an HR Professional as appropriate, should thoroughly analyze the appropriateness of whether an employee should have a FWA and consider the following:  

• the employee’s position description and responsibilities; and
• the employee’s ability to be successful with an FWA. 

Employee’s position

Supervisors should consider the duties and responsibilities associated with a position when considering whether a specific employee is a good candidate for an FWA. Considerations include: 

• The various options for FWAs and which of the options might be applicable to each position.
• For employees seeking FWAs that include telework, additional considerations include:
  
  
  • Front-facing, in-person customer, student or patient service positions are generally not suitable for telework.
  • Positions that lend themselves to telework are generally those that require independent work that can be performed with limited oversight.
  • If the essential functions of the position require ongoing access to equipment, materials, facilities and files that can only be accessed on VCU property, the position is likely not suitable for telework.
  • If security issues require the position to be conducted on VCU property, the position is not likely suitable for telework.
  • Senior leadership positions and positions that require management of on-campus teams are typically not suitable for teleworking.

Employee’s ability to be successful with an FWA

Factors to consider when assessing an employee’s suitability for an FWA include:

• Does the employee demonstrate strong accountability, autonomy, reliability, engagement and productivity (an overall good performer)? An employee who has been rated as “developing” or “needs improvement” is not eligible for hybrid telework.
• Does the employee have strong problem solving capabilities?
• Is the employee well organized?
• Does the employee have sufficient, appropriate technology resources in the remote work location (if applicable)?
• Does the employee have effective written and verbal communication skills?
• Has the employee demonstrated the ability to be highly productive while working independently and without constant supervision?
• Is the employee able to work within timelines and meet deadlines with little prompting?
• Can the employee work in an environment with little structure?
• Does the employee have a consistent record of accurately complying with time and leave reporting procedures?
• Will the employee, the team and the university benefit from the employee’s FWA?
• If an employee requires a workplace accommodation to work remotely due to medical reasons, the employee should be referred to the VCU ADA Coordinator for assistance.
• If the employee is on a visa, the employee must comply with the visa requirements and be sure that the visa requirements can be met in a remote work environment. For more information, employees should contact the Office of Global Education.
• If the employee is currently residing out of state, the employee must comply with all state laws that impact their remote work, including but not limited to employment and law taxes.

Supervisor training to successfully manage FWAs

FWAs call for a focus on results and productivity rather than direct oversight and require trust and effective communication between supervisor and employee. A mandatory online training can be found in Talent@VCU  for supervisors who manage staff with FWAs. The training will covers topics including:  

• FWA options
• Communication
• Problem solving 
• Goal setting
• Talent@VCU resources for managing FWAs
• Managing remote teams
• Equity 
• Space utilization

A mandatory online e-learning is available for employees requesting a FWA and their managers:

Flexible Work Arrangements and You @VCU

Please note, VCU provides many kinds of flexible work arrangements; some include telework and others do not. 

Once the e-learning is complete, employees who wish to participate in a flexible work arrangement must complete the below FWA agreement form. 

VCU Flexible Work Agreement

The manager must ensure that the FWA plan includes:

• The specifics of the FWA as provided on the FWA form.
• The terms of the FWA, as agreed upon by the manager and employee. This must be completed before the employee may work a schedule that differs from the university’s core work hours.

Before beginning the FWA, the FWA agreement form must be signed by the employee and the manager. The form may be revised or amended for its duration, with consent of the parties. The agreement will be maintained in the employee’s personnel file. A copy can also be maintained by the employee and the manager. If the employee and manager cannot agree on the terms of an FWA, an appeal process is contained in the Great Place policy.

The FWA plan should be reviewed periodically, and must be reviewed at least annually. We recommend that the manager and employee review the FWA as part of the performance management cycle. Renewal is not guaranteed. The FWA, employee performance and other circumstances will be considered by the supervisor in determining whether changes should be made to the FWQ mid-year and to renew the agreement annually. 

If any amendments to the agreement are agreed to between the employee and the department, those amendments should be set forth in an updated FWA agreement.

A trial period can be a valuable tool to assess the effectiveness of a proposed FWA. In regular situations, a trial period of 30-60 days is an ample amount of time. The FWA can be entered into on a trial basis, with the dates or number of allotted instances of the trial period noted in the agreement. 

Supervisors should evaluate the arrangement periodically throughout the trial period. Extension of the trial period is not guaranteed; the FWA, employee performance and other circumstances are considered by the supervisor in determining whether to extend the arrangement.

If an employee and supervisor have discussed a proposed FWA, and the employee does not agree with their supervisor's decision regarding the request, the employee consults with their HR Professional and may appeal the supervisor's decision to the VP/Dean of the unit/school via email within a reasonable period of time. The respective VP/Dean will review the supervisor's decision and any other information that the employee wishes to submit and will provide a decision in writing via email regarding the supervisor's decision. The decision of the VP/Dean is final and not subject to further review. 

Employees who have concerns regarding manager decisions based on discrimination or retaliation should connect with their HR Professional and can also contact the Office of Integrity and Compliance or the Office of Institutional Equity, Effectiveness and Success.

Employees requiring a workplace accommodation should contact the university’s ADA Coordinator. Employees with ongoing concerns about their working relationship with their supervisor should connect with their HR Professional and may also contact the Office of Faculty Affairs (faculty) or the HR Office of Employee Relations (staff).

FWAs are not subject to an employee grievance.

The FWA can be terminated at any time by either the department, the supervisor or the employee.

A department may determine that it is no longer in the best interest of the university to continue the arrangement. For example, a department might deem that an employee’s tasks are no longer suitable for telework; find that work product, productivity, or accountability standards are not being met; or a short-term need or other premise that gave rise to the telework arrangement may no longer exist. When a department determines that a change must be made to the existing FWA plan it should provide two weeks’ notice unless extenuating circumstances make such notice impracticable. When a supervisor determines that an FAA arrangement is no longer feasible for an employee, the supervisor should submit an updated FWA form with the revised end date to the employee’s personnel file.

An employee may also seek to end the FWA by notifying the supervisor or the department that he or she wishes to discontinue the plan. The employee should give as much notice as is reasonably necessary to facilitate regular reporting to the work location. For example, if a telework employee and another employee have a shared workspace that each of them uses on non-telework days, the department may need time to locate another workspace. Generally, notice of intent to discontinue the FWA plan should be accepted by the supervisor and the department. In situations such as emergencies that precipitate the FWA, where the department needs the employee to continue with the current plan, the supervisor should first speak to the employee to try to reconcile the employee’s interests with that of the department.

VCU Flexible Work Arrangement Termination Form

 FWAs are not an accommodation.

• It is important to know that FWAs, as outlined in this guide, are not substitutions for, or part of, the reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities. In cases where an employee requests an FWA for medical reasons or to accommodate a disability, the university has a duty to reasonably accommodate (to the point of undue hardship).
• There is a separate process in place to initiate the interactive process toward determining eligibility for reasonable accommodations related to illness or disability. Please contact the VCU ADA Coordinator who will assess and evaluate requests on a case-by-case basis and explore possible ways to accommodate a disability.
• Examples may include compressed schedule, flextime schedule, job sharing, reduced schedule, staggered scheduling, and telework are for non-exempt employees. Although strict recordkeeping of hours worked is not required for exempt employees, similar schedules can be adopted.

An FWA for telework requires special considerations. If the arrangement involves telework, it must address the following:

• If an employee requires a workplace accommodation to work remotely due to medical reasons, the employee should be referred to the VCU ADA Coordinator for assistance.
• If equipment is necessary to complete duties, who is providing the equipment and who is responsible for such equipment? See "technology resources" dropdown box.
• Non-exempt employees are required to record all hours worked. Hours in excess of the standard workweek, or in excess of the hours to be worked, if different from the standard workweek, must be authorized by the supervisor in advance in writing.
• The recordkeeping and timekeeping requirements apply equally to non-exempt remote workers as they do to non-exempt on-campus employees. The supervisor should ensure the employee can access the university tracking system remotely. The employee remains responsible for accurately recording their hours worked. The supervisor should adopt practices which ensure the time worked is being recorded and monitored properly.
• A non-exempt employee that works over 40 hours per workweek must be compensated for additional hours worked (either by overtime pay or overtime leave). Employees should receive authorization from their supervisor before working overtime. 
• The authorized offsite worksite is considered an extension of the employee’s office space in the traditional work environment.
• Health or family needs should be addressed through the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program, Workers’ Compensation or other laws or policies meant to address such issues.

 FWAs are not to be used to accommodate outside employment.

• The Working @ VCU: Great Place Policy and the Conflict of Interest / Commitment Policy were updated in September 2023 to provide additional clarification on the subject of VCU employees working jobs outside of their VCU employment.
• Managers and employees may review the Outside Employment presentation for a description of the process VCU HR used to identify this possible point of confusion and provide further clarification to support employees and managers in understanding HR and University guidance on this subject.

As stated in the Great Place policy:

Requests for flexible work arrangements will be handled on a case-by-case basis and are granted at the university’s sole discretion. VCU employees shall be available during their scheduled VCU working hours unless they are on an approved absence. Whether working remotely or on campus, employees shall use their VCU working time to perform the duties of the VCU position for which they were hired.  

As stated in the COI policy FAQs:

Q: As a VCU staff member, may I pursue employment outside of VCU while working full-time at VCU?

A: VCU encourages employees to develop successful, fulfilling careers. Staff employees may pursue outside employment opportunities, but such endeavors may only be pursued after the working commitment to VCU has been fulfilled. To avoid a conflict of commitment, VCU employees must be available during their scheduled VCU working hours unless they are on an approved absence. Whether working remotely or on campus, employees must use their VCU working time to perform the duties of the VCU position for which they were hired. Employees with questions about whether employment outside of VCU poses a conflict should consult with their supervisor.

Staff may have employment outside of VCU as long as the following conditions are met: 

• They use their VCU working time to perform the duties of the VCU position for which they were hired;
  Their VCU work takes precedence over any other outside work, and such endeavors may only be pursued after the working commitment to VCU has been fulfilled;
  They may not work a position outside of VCU that negatively impacts the performance of their VCU job;
  They may not use university resources to perform their outside work, and must comply with VCU’s Computer and Network Resources Use | VCU Policy;
  Any work for an outside employer must not conflict with scheduled VCU work hours; and
  The employee’s work does not violate VCU's Conflict of Interest policy.

Q:  As a manager, if I have concern that an employee is conducting outside employment during VCU work hours, how should I proceed?  

A:  Managers should contact their HR Professional or the Office of Integrity and Compliance to discuss the situation and determine appropriate next steps for addressing the issue.

The Virginia Department of Human Resource Management provides teleworking guidelines for classified employees. View the Policy 1.61 Teleworking (PDF) on the DHRM website. VCU classified employees and their manager must also read, complete and sign the Standard Telework Agreement (PDF) provided by DHRM. A fillable version of this document is available via DocuSign.