THE FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULE PROGRAM
Effective July 1, 2013
Eastern Kentucky University employees are the most important resource of the institution.
With that in mind, staff employees may request a flexible work schedule to meet individual
needs in their personal and work lives. Supervisors should consider such requests with the
focus being upon meeting the mission of the University and the needs of the Department and
University.
PROGRAM BACKGROUND
In the summer of 2008, a pilot E-KUstom Work Schedule Program, for flexible scheduling was
implemented. The summer program included flex-time, compressed work week scheduling, and
additional flexibility as needed. A modified program was implemented in 2009 with
continuation of the flex-time, compressed work week scheduling, and additional flexibility as
needed. At that time, additional clarification was provided to ensure that it was clear that not
every function is conducive to this flexibility due to service requirements and to reiterate the
modified schedules may not cause disruption to service to the University or contribute to
overtime. In Spring 2013, the Strategic Budget Reallocation Task Force Committee performed
a review of various University programs that may not be supporting the efficient and effective
operation of the University. In an effort to maintain this program and its benefit to the
employees, the Task Force Committee recommended to President Whitlock changes to the
program. President Whitlock has approved these recommendations, effective July 1, 2013.
DEFINITIONS
The Flexible Work Schedule Program encompasses all of the options below:
Flex-time
Term for work schedules that permit flexibility in arrival and departure times.
Flex-time requires that five (5) regular work days be worked in a single work week. Flex
time may also allow for a schedule to include five (5) regular work days to be completed
on any of the seven (7) calendar days of the work week.
All employees utilizing flex-time are required to work a standard seven and a half or
eight-hour day that includes “core hours” as defined by the Department. The workday
schedule for a Non-Exempt employee must incorporate a 30, 45, or 60 minute bona fide
meal period, which is time not worked and, therefore, time not paid. Exempt employees
should follow Departmental guidelines regarding meal periods.
Compressed Work Week
Term for work week that permits an employee to produce a full work week in fewer
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than five (5) work days. No work schedule may be implemented that results in a fulltime employee working less than 37.5 hours (40 hours in those Departments on a 40
hour schedule) during the work week.
The most common example is an employee working four 10 hour days in a work week.
This is categorized as a 4/40 Compressed Work Week. As with flex time schedules, a
Non-Exempt employee’s work day schedule must incorporate a 30, 45, or 60 minute
hour bona fide meal period.
Additional Flexibility
Term for other creative solutions agreed to by the supervisor, employee, and respective
Vice President.
Work day
Term for an employee’s normal scheduled shift/hours of work regardless of time of day
or day of week.
Work week
Term for seven (7) calendar days of the week beginning 12:00 a.m. Sunday to 11:59 p.m.
Saturday.
Flex-time, compressed work weeks, and additional flexibility are designed to provide for longterm customization of work schedules, subject to changes in order to meet the
Department/University’s needs. These schedules are not subject to weekly changes in
schedule to accommodate an employee request for any type of leave. Employee must adhere
to the flexible schedule; no changes will be allowed unless approved, in advance, by the
supervisor.
ELIGIBILITY
Non-Exempt/Hourly
Eligible to request flex-time, compressed work week, and additional flexibility.
Exempt/Salaried
Eligible to request flex-time and additional flexibility; not eligible for compressed work
week schedule.
Employees in Exempt positions are expected to work the hours necessary to complete
all work assignments and requirements of the position held. For full-time Exempt
employees, the normal work schedule is expected to be at least 37.5 hours per week. If
the number of hours necessary to complete an assignment exceeds 37.5 hours within a
week, the employee is expected to work a reasonable number of additional hours as
part of the employee’s job requirements.
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PROGRAM OVERVIEW
 The Flexible Schedule Program is a two-way street. Flexibility in scheduling demands a
mutual sense of responsibility and trust between the employee and the University.

The University retains the final decision-making authority to approve or disapprove a
request for participation in the Flexible Schedule Program. Participation in this program is
not an entitlement, and the request will be approved or denied based upon the needs of
the Department/University.

It is not required nor expected that the modified work schedules be uniformly available to
all positions. It is recognized that not every function is conducive to the modified scheduled
because of function requirements.

Flexible work schedules must not affect the services that are provided to other operating
units, other co-workers, or the University during the five day work week or modified work
week as scheduled by the supervisor.

The quantity, quality, and timeliness of employee’s work, who are participating in the
Flexible Schedule Program, must be enhanced or maintained.

Participation in the Flexible Schedule Program must not cause or contribute to the need for
a Department to incur overtime to complete Departmental/University work.

University normal business operating hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily Monday
through Friday. During business hours, each office is expected to be fully operational.
Offices that need to be open in order to provide needed services may remain open longer if
deemed advisable by the supervisor.

The Flexible Schedule Program is designed for long-term customization of schedules,
subject to change to meet the Department/University’s needs, and is not intended to be
implemented on a week by week basis.
SUPERVISOR’S ROLE
Supervisors must strive to accommodate the work load needs of the Department and the
University. No employee request for participation in the Flexible Schedule Program should be
automatically denied or approved; rather the Supervisor is encouraged to review the request in
light of continuing to provide quality service to the University balancing with the request of the
employee.
Supervisors can consider the following in making their decision to approve/not approve a
request for a customized work schedule:
 Will University/Departmental mission and needs continue to be met?
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Will customer service requirements be met?
Does the position perform tasks that can be done at non-standard times?
Can the employee function independently if, for part of their schedule, the supervisor or
designee, is not present?
Can arrival and departure times be monitored appropriately?
Will there be an adverse impact on functions and/or other employees in the
Department?
Can “core hours” be established for managing peak periods, coordinating work among
staff, scheduling meetings, etc?
Will the customized work schedule increase flexibility in meeting irregular scheduling
needs?
What is the benefit to the employee, i.e., to reduce commuter traffic congestion,
parking and energy consumption and/or to provide flexibility for child care, elder care,
and other family concerns?
Will the flexible schedule improve employee morale and subsequently improve both
recruitment and retention of employees?
Can the flexible schedule accommodate those persons for whom rigid work hours
constitute a hardship, barrier to other privileges, or even a barrier to employment?
Will the flexible schedule support personal wellness activities and/or support employees
wishing to further their education.
(See below section for Employee’s Role)
In the event that the supervisor and employee cannot reach an agreement on the customized
work schedule, the employee can request a review by the respective Vice President. The
decision of the Vice President is final.
Supervisors must document the employee participation in the Flexible Schedule Program using
the Flexible Schedule Request Form provided by HR. The required information consists of, at a
minimum, the specific request by the employee to participate, the supervisor’s response, and
the agreed upon customized work schedule.
Supervisors must notify their Vice President of an employee’s participation in the Flexible
Schedule Program. The Vice President retains the right to disapprove the employee’s
participation in the Flexible Schedule Program; approval or disapproval must be documented
on the Flexible Schedule Request Form.
Supervisors must submit the approved Flexible Schedule Request form to HR to be filed in the
employee’s personnel file. Supervisors should maintain a copy of the Flexible Schedule Request
form for their Departmental files and retain for five (5) years after termination of the employee
per the University’s Record Retention Schedule.
Supervisors must review the customized work schedule at least annually to ensure that work
load needs of the Department/University are met.
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Supervisors retain the right to terminate a previously approved work schedule with a five (5)
working day notice. Notice may be of lesser length in an emergency.
These procedures may not anticipate every situation that may arise under an alternative work
schedule. It is the responsibility of each Vice President, director, and supervisor to make fair,
consistent, and objective decisions when faced with circumstances that are not specifically
addressed in these procedures.
EMPLOYEE’S ROLE
Employees participating in the Flexible Schedule Program must be flexible in requesting hours
and mindful of the needs of their coworkers. Employees should be flexible when hours require
adjustments and considerate of their co-workers when they need to cover each other’s duties.
Implementing a flexible work schedule requires teamwork and cooperation between
employees.
The University does not have “comp time”. “Comp time”, for the purpose of this document,
would be defined as the banking of hours worked over the usual work schedule to be taken at
some future date. Employees must continue to report any leave taken on days that they are
scheduled to work under their compressed work week schedule, flex-time schedule, or other
flexible work week schedule. Appropriate leave must be reported if an employee is absent on a
scheduled flexible work day or a scheduled work day during a compressed work schedule. The
amount of leave charged will be equivalent to the hours the employee was scheduled to work.
For example, if an employee on a 4/40 compressed work week needs to take a day of sick leave,
the employee would report 10 hours of sick leave as opposed to an employee on a regular work
week who would report 7.5 (or 8) hours of sick leave.
If participating in compressed work scheduling, employees must change outgoing voice mail
message, utilize out-of-office assistant on Outlook calendar, and must designate a person/office
to contact if immediate service is needed.
If an employee participating in the Flexible Schedule Program is also utilizing the benefits as
provided for by the Faculty Staff Tuition Waiver Program, Policy 8.6.2P, per the Program,
employees are expected to take courses during times other than normal working hours.
Requests to take a course during normal business hours may be approved by a supervisor if
there is a limited offering of the course and it is not disruptive to the office. Time missed during
working hours will be required to be made up during the same pay period of missed time.
PARTICIPATION
All participation is voluntary.
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HOLIDAYS
Weeks in which a University Holiday occurs are not eligible for the compressed work schedule.
BREAKS
Employees who choose to participate in the Flexible Schedule Program have an option of taking
30, 45, or 60 minute lunch breaks. Lunch breaks should be scheduled near the middle of the
work shift. Employees working five hours or less may eliminate a lunch break. Employees
eligible for mid-morning and mid-afternoon 15 minute breaks may not use their breaks to
accumulate time. The meal period may not be used as work time in developing the flex
schedule.
BENEFIT TO UNIVERSITY AND DEPARTMENT
In many cases, a flexible work schedule has the added benefit of providing a wider span of
service. However, the level of service provided by the Department to its customers must not
decrease. Supervisors are encouraged to use the Flexible Schedule Program as an impetus for
cross training and backup assignments, while maintaining adequate internal controls, in order
to provide normal and/or enhanced levels of service. The implementation of a flexible work
schedule is contingent upon assuring at least minimal coverage during the normal business
hours.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Executive Director of Human Resources serves as the resource person and is available to
assist employees, supervisors, directors, and Vice Presidents, regarding the interpretation and
administration of the program. Details of the program will be kept current on the Human
Resource web page.
Scheduling of employees is within the prerogative of the University and is not subject to
grievance.
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