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Managers, Supervisors and HR Professionals

Guide to Managing Human Resources

Chapter 8: Around the Office

Contents

Summary
In addition to the job description and the performance standards you establish for your employees, other tools help them do their jobs. These tools can consist of a desk manual, work rules, guidelines on office procedures, and personnel files. Job aids such as these can:

  • Provide continuity and equity in the workplace when implementing policies and procedures
  • Allow the employee to operate with some independence
  • Free your time for other management responsibilities

Desk Manuals
Desk manuals can be a great resource for employees, especially if you have several employees performing similar tasks, or if certain tasks must be performed in a specific way. Desk manuals can be developed by you and/or your employee and should be easily accessible. Set time aside for updating the manual as necessary.

The manual should include:

  • Instructions on how to use the manual
  • Definitions of procedures or processes
  • Information about when and where to get help
  • Other resources and references

Work Rules
Many rules are already in place in the form of policies, contracts, procedures, regulations, laws, and mandates. These rules determine the actions of the University, departments, and employees, and actions to be taken by you as a supervisor. Work rules may be needed for direct guidance for employees, covering their day-to-day responsibilities outside specific, work-related performance standards for their position. If you are establishing new work rules or changing existing work rules, the Labor Relations Unit in Human Resources must notify the appropriate exclusive representative, such as AFSCME.

Establishing Work Rules
Work rules should be:

  • Necessary. Is there a need for clearly defined, written work rules?
  • Reasonable. Rules should make supervision easier.
  • In compliance with existing policy, contracts, and laws.
  • Beneficial to your employees as they conduct the department's business.
  • Clear. There should be no question about the intent of the language.
  • Enforceable. Be willing to enforce the work rules after they are established.
  • Publicized. Posted on departmental bulletin boards, covered in staff meetings, distributed to each employee, and made part of an employee's orientation and information packet.

The Rules of Work Rules
Follow these guidelines to make your work rules as effective as possible:

  • DO. Write for a specific job category or location such as service, clerical, front desk, grounds.
  • DO. Consult with your Employee Relations Specialist so you get off on the right track.
  • DO. Write rules that are practical for you to monitor.
  • DO. Make sure you are willing to apply them evenly to ALL employees in the job category.
  • DO. Be prepared to provide oral communications to employees who may have reading or language difficulties.
  • DO. Review after contract negotiations or policy revisions to ensure rules comply with the contract or policy.
  • DON'T. Repeat a law, policy, or contract.
  • DON'T. Violate a law, policy, or contract.
  • DON'T. Include performance standards in work rules.
  • DON'T. Use wording that is vague.
  • DON'T. Institute verbal work rules.
  • DON'T. Phase in rules after they are issued; start enforcing them on the effective date.

Sample Department Work Rules

Proper Notice for Sick Leave: Employees must call their immediate supervisor or designated contact within thirty minutes of their beginning work time if they will be absent due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances. Exceptions to this rule will be considered on an individual basis.

Use of Department Vehicle: Employees must have a valid California driver's license, must be on department business, and should reserve the car at least one day in advance. Reservations are on a first come, first served basis. The employee is responsible for obeying traffic regulations.

Break Periods: Breaks should be taken at the work site in predesignated areas. Employees who wish to leave the work site must receive permission from their immediate supervisor or manager.

Equipment, Supplies, and other University Property: No department supplies and equipment are to be taken out of the building for personal use. Abuse, misuse, or theft of supplies or equipment, or defacement or abuse of University property will result in disciplinary and/or legal action.

Hours of Work
A work schedule is the normal hours of work on specific days within a 40-hour work week. Work hours for employees, including salaried and hourly employees, are based on a schedule determined by you. Scheduling work hours includes work days, starting and stopping time, lunches, and breaks. When you are establishing work hours:

  • Make sure they comply with policies and contracts.
  • Schedule and control them. If you make a change you should consult with the appropriate policy or contract for notice procedures.
  • Authorize overtime and keep accurate records. Process payment of overtime promptly.

Flexible Work Arrangements
A variety of flexible work arrangements are permitted under personnel policies and collective bargaining agreements. Many departments have successfully incorporated variations on the traditional 8:00 to 5:00 with lunch from noon to 1:00 schedule. Alternative possibilities are wide-ranging, and include:

  • fixed full-time schedules, such as arriving at 7:30 a.m. and leaving at 4:00 p.m., with a half-hour for lunch
  • flexible schedules centering on a fixed core, such as varying arrival time between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and departure time between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
  • compressed work weeks of fewer than five days, such as working
  • four 10-hour days
  • part-time work
  • job shares (a form of part-time work)
  • part-year work, such as 9-, 10-, and 11-month career appointments with corresponding 3-, 2- or 1-month periods of furlough each year
  • telecommuting, in which the employee works at home or at an alternate work site part of each week and communicates by phone or by other electronic means

Advantages of Flexible Work Arrangements
The Chancellor encourages you to give serious consideration to employee requests for alternative work arrangements, because flexibility can enable employees to resolve conflicts between their responsibilities at work and at home. By helping employees integrate their personal concerns with their work concerns, you can benefit in the following ways:

  • Improved productivity and morale
  • Stronger ability to recruit and retain the best employees
  • Better economy and efficiency of operations (as when staffing varies based on peaks and valleys of activity, or space is freed up as a result of telecommuting)
  • A more creative and motivating work environment

Evaluating Requests
Although flexible arrangements are encouraged, they are not an employee right. You have the approval authority, and should only approve requests that will not be detrimental to your departmental operations. Many times, however, a request that may at first seem unworkable turns out to be quite feasible after careful study and perhaps some minor adjustments. For example, an employee may want to arrive at 7:00 and leave at 4:00, yet you know the services which the employee provides must continue to be available until 5:00. Perhaps another employee in the unit prefers to work a late schedule, arriving at 9:00 and leaving at 6:00. By approving both schedules in tandem, you may actually be able to extend the department's hours from 7:00 to 6:00, and thus improve service.

Your Employee Relations Specialist can help you review employee requests to look for ways to maintain departmental operations and minimize liability. For example, you will need to assure that employees who are eligible for premium overtime do not actually work more than 40 hours in a week. Telecommuting arrangements in particular present a number of liability issues, which your Employee Relations Specialist can help you minimize.

Attendance
Employees are expected to be at work on time; they are also responsible for notifying their supervisors when they will be absent because they are ill or for other unexpected reasons. An unacceptable number of absences or tardiness may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. Following are some guidelines for attendance:

  • Keep accurate and current records.
  • Let your employees know what is expected of them in regard to attendance and punctuality.
  • Review your employees' attendance records. This will give you a chance for corrective counseling or to commend employees who have outstanding attendance records.
  • Ensure that vacation leave, compensatory time off, and alternate holidays off are scheduled and taken at the convenience of the department.
  • Review requests for time off for personal reasons in advance when possible. When deciding whether to grant the request, consider the operating needs of your unit and the reason for the request.
  • Take appropriate disciplinary action when an employee abuses attendance standards. Review Chapter 22, Taking Disciplinary Action, as well as the appropriate policy or contract, and consult with your Employee Relations Specialist before taking any action.
  • Report all absences accurately and as soon as possible to ensure proper payment.

Personnel Files
The proper handling of personnel records or personnel files in departments often raises questions. The campus keeps only personnel records that are relevant and necessary to the administration of personnel programs. These records should be maintained with accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness, and appropriate and reasonable safeguards should be established to ensure security and confidentiality.

Properly keeping personnel records matters because if you don't, the result can be a loss of privacy for the employee and a grievance or lawsuit for the University.

Questions and Answers

What is a personnel file?
A historical body of information on an employee from date of hire to present, maintained by the person's name or by some identifying number or symbol.

What belongs in the personnel file? (See Records Disposition Schedules Manual, contracts, and policies for required purge dates.)
Job related items, including job descriptions, HRMS Transaction Notices, where appropriate, and Emergency Data records; selection records, including application, resume, tests, and offer/acceptance letters; employee development records, including education updates, classes, degrees, and completed training; performance records, including performance appraisals, counseling memos, disciplinary letters, commendation letters, and Special Performance or Achievement Awards; separation records, including resignation letters, termination checklist, and exit interviews.

What does not belong in the departmental personnel file?
Anything not directly related to the job, including pre-employment information, reference information, grievances, outside agency complaints, affirmative action/EEO data, credit reports, and garnishments. Workers' Compensation records stay in the file, but should be removed before a file is shown to a potential hiring department.

Where is the file located?
Normally in the Department Personnel Office or the supervisor's office.

How is the file maintained?
Before you place any documentation in a personnel file, have a conversation with the employee. The employee should receive a copy of all material placed in the file.

Who can review personnel files?
The employee or designated representative, the employee's supervisor, a prospective hiring department, Employee Relations and Labor Relations staff and other UC offices with a specific need.

When can employees review their files?
As soon as is practical, but no longer than 30 days after making the request, as described in policy and contracts.

Can employees request a correction or deletion of something in the file?
Employees may request correction or deletion of a record containing information about themselves. Policies and contracts specify method, time frame, and to whom requests should be addressed.

Should we charge the employee for a copy of the file?
You should not charge for the first copy of an employee's own record; a fee of 10 cents per page may be charged for additional copies (no charge for time spent locating or assembling the file).

Other Resources

  • Employee Relations Specialists in Human Resources
  • Employee Development & Training Classes and Workshops
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