JOB SHARE POLICY. In this policy, part-time posts are differentiated from job share posts as follows:

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1 HUMAN RESOURCES POLICY STATEMENT JOB SHARE POLICY Introduction This Council sees its policy on job-sharing and part-time working as an important part of its general policies on equality of opportunity. There is a shift in society at large towards more flexible patterns of work, and this can benefit both employer and employee. In addition, the ability to work on a part-time or job share basis can be of considerable assistance to employees, both men and women, who have caring responsibilities for children or for disabled or elderly relatives. In particular, the ability to work part-time or job-share can enable women to return from maternity leave by making it easier to combine child care with work. This also benefits the Council by enabling it to retain more easily the skills of female employees. The Council is committed to ensuring that part-time and job-sharing employees do not have less favourable promotion or training opportunities than full-time employees. Definitions In this policy, part-time posts are differentiated from job share posts as follows: Part-time post Job-share post Any post where the employee works less than the equivalent full-time hours for that post, and where it is a stand-alone post (i.e. there is no 'partner' doing the remaining hours) In this case, the contract of employment will specify that the post is part-time. Any post where a full-time post is shared between two employees who, between them, cover the full hours of the post. Both partners should be capable of meeting all the essential requirements of the job In this case, the contract of employment will specify that the post is job-share. This policy does not apply to employees who are employed on 'casual' contracts and whose work is intermittent, on an 'as and when required' basis. 1/5

2 General provisions applying to both Part-time (PT) and Job-share (JS) Employees As specified in the 1997 National Agreement on Pay and Conditions of Service (NJC for Local Government Services), PT and JS employees will have applied to them the pay and conditions of service pro-rata to comparable full-time employees of the Council, except for (1) training and development PT and JS employees will have access equal to that of full-time employees and, when on training courses outside their contracted daily hours, will be paid on the same basis as full-time employees It may be necessary to make adjustments to training courses, or to PT or JS employees' hours, to enable them to attend (2) the car allowance scheme This applies to PT and JS employees in full on the same basis as full-time employees (3) Payments for additional hours PT and JS employees who normally work Monday to Friday will be paid at flat rate for extra hours worked until the total of the contractual and the additional hours reaches the full-time equivalent hours in any one week. The normal enhanced rates will apply thereafter. (Employees who were already in a job-share post on 26th January 1999 will continue to be paid overtime rates for any hours worked in addition to their contractual hours, as per the previous agreement - JNC decision ) (4) More than one PT or JS post with the Council An employee may have two separate PT or JS posts with the Council. The total of the hours worked in both posts should not normally come to more than full-time equivalent hours per week. Where an existing PT or JS employee applies for a second PT or JS post which will result in the total coming to more than full-time equivalent hours, this will be considered by the short listing panel, with advice from Human Resources on any implications relating to working time or health and safety legislation. The panel should take a decision which is reasonable in the circumstances. (5) PT post in addition to Full-time post A full-time employee may apply for a part-time post (eg evenings or weekends) in addition to their normal working hours. Again, the short listing panel should take into account any relevant legislation, with advice from Human Resources, and reach a decision which is reasonable in the circumstances. 2/5

3 Provisions applying to Job Share posts only All jobs at all levels are open to Job Share unless the post is on the approved exclusion list as being available for full-time employees only. The working hours of a job-share post may not be less than one working day per week (in which case the person's job-share partner would work 4 days to make up the total hours to full-time). Human Resources will inform all applicants for vacancies whether the post is open to jobshare and supply a summary of the Council's job-share scheme. 1. Applications for exclusion If the manager of a service believes that a post would not be suitable for job-sharing, the following procedure will be applied: If the post is vacant The service manager should put the reasons for this view in writing to Human Resources, when the request to fill the vacancy is made. If the request is from an employee wishing to reduce their hours by converting their existing post to job-share The service manager should put the reasons for this view in writing to Human Resources, within 10 working days of the request being made. The written justification will be considered by the relevant member of the Corporate Management Team with the Head of Human Resources, within 10 working days of receipt. If the service manager's view is not upheld by the above officers, the job will be held to be available for job-sharing. If the service manager's view is upheld by the above officers, and the post is vacant, the decision will be reported to the Executive Committee Member (Resources). Right of appeal (existing employees wishing to reduce their hours by converting to jobshare) If the service manager's view is upheld by the above officers, and the request is from an employee wishing to reduce their hours in their existing post by converting to job-share, the employee will be informed of the decision in writing within 5 working days. The letter will include details of their right to appeal to the Council's Employment Appeal Panel. The employee should send a brief statement of their reasons for appealing to Human Resources, within 10 working days of receiving the decision. The panel will be convened within 15 working days of the date on which the appeal is received by Human Resources. 3/5

4 The panel will hear the appeal in private session. An officer from Legal Services will be present to advise Members. The employee may be represented by their trade union, and may be accompanied by witnesses who have agreed to appear. A member of the trade unions' negotiating team may attend as an observer. The decision of the panel is final on the individual issue. However, either side may raise issues of general principle or procedure arising from an appeal with Human Resources, and, if necessary, at JNC. 2. Applications from employees wishing to job-share their existing job Information about job-sharing is available from Human Resources, and employees are advised to seek an informal chat, in confidence, with a Human Resources Officer, before making a formal request. Any employee wishing to job-share their existing job should follow the procedure given below: (1) a written request should be made to the manager of the service, with a copy to Human Resources (2) unless the job is excluded (see above) the vacant part of the job-share post will be advertised following the Council's normal recruitment procedures (3) the selection panel should be satisfied that all the essential criteria for the post can be met by each partner, regardless of whether the duties of the job are to be shared equally. If each partner cannot individually meet all the essential criteria for the whole post, but the panel wish to appoint by apportioning duties between them, the jobs may be re-classified as two parttime posts, in consultation with the individuals concerned (4) job-sharing can normally only start from the date on which the new job-share partner commences work. (5) the service manager should agree working arrangements with both partners which ensure that there is adequate provision for hand over of work between the two 3. One partner leaving a job-share post Where one partner in a job-share post remains after the other partner has left, and the Council has decided that the vacancy should be filled: (1) the remaining partner should first be offered the choice of taking on the whole job (2) if this is not possible, the recruitment procedure outlined in 2. above will be followed 4/5

5 Should the Council decide to delete the vacant post, the remaining job-share post will be re-classified as part-time and a new Statement of Particulars issued to the post holder. 4. Job-share partner's role at interview Where an existing employee wishes to reduce their hours by offering part of their job as job-share, and this has been agreed, or where one half of a job-share post is vacant, and the post has been advertised, the existing employee who occupies one half of the post will attend the short listing and interview panels. Their role will be to contribute on any issues which arise which are specific to the job-sharing arrangement eg respond to questions asked by candidates at interview, or ask specific questions related to this. Their role will be ancillary to that of the managers on the panel, and it will be the latter who make the selection decision. This decision must be based on an assessment of the candidate's suitability for the job against the criteria on the employee profile. Subjective likes and dislikes or perceptions about compatibility must not be allowed to enter into the selection decision. On the other hand, practicalities such as the respective working hours preferences of the existing employee and the applicant may be taken into account, since these must meet the requirements of the service. 5/5