1. Collaboration, inclusion, and availability

During agreed working hours, all staff are expected to be working and available. Staff working remotely must ensure they do so in an appropriate environment with minimal distractions.

Virtual accessibility when working hybrid means teams can work together collaboratively and ensure colleagues are able to arrange meetings based on the indicated availability of all attendees. To support this, staff must remain visible and accessible when working, regardless of location, through Teams, Outlook, and other standard communication channels. Staff must include their work location for each day in their Outlook or Teams calendar, in line with local arrangements.

University policies and procedures must be applied in a way that does not affect the treatment or progression of staff, regardless of work location, to ensure we continue to promote and advance equal opportunities and inclusion in employment.

2. Caring responsibilities

Staff with caring responsibilities are required to have appropriate arrangements in place for any dependents to avoid interruption to work during normal working hours, regardless of their work location.

3. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and technical equipment

All staff are required to comply with the Information Security Policy, the Conditions of Use of IT Resources and associated Codes of Practice, which regulate the use of the network and hardware and software provided by the University.

The University will provide a laptop for staff as the default device to carry out their role, unless their role requires a different type of device (e.g. desktop, tablet, or workstation). Staff with a hybrid working arrangement will be expected to use their University laptop when working on-site and remotely.

Any device provided to a member of staff remains the property of Imperial College London, regardless of the source of funding.

Additional guidance about the provision and use of laptops and other End User Computing devices can be found on the ICT web pages.

Beyond the ICT equipment provided by the University, whenever staff are working at home as part of a hybrid working arrangement, it is the responsibility of the individual to ensure that they have appropriate broadband capacity and access to an appropriately equipped working environment (please refer to section 6, Maintaining safe and healthy hybrid working practices, for further information).

If a member of staff is unable to access sufficient broadband capacity to carry out their role, they are expected to work on-site.

 4. Workstation furniture and desk allocation

The University will provide staff with appropriate working furniture (such as a chair and desk) for on-site use only. This provision will be in either the form of a designated work location and workstation or a shared working space or 'hot desk'. This will be determined by the frequency of the staff member's on-campus work and the requirements of their role.

Any additional work furniture required for hybrid working will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. 

5. Absence from work

All staff should follow the usual procedures for notifying their manager if they are unable to work or wish to request annual leave or special leave. 

Staff who are unwell (whether working on-site or in a hybrid role) are expected to inform their line manager in accordance with the Sickness Absence Policy and to log their absence as sickness on TeamSeer. Staff should not usually request to work remotely when unwell.

6. Maintaining safe and healthy hybrid working practices

Carrying out computer or paper-based work remotely is generally deemed low risk. However, to ensure staff have safe remote working arrangements, the University will require hybrid working staff to complete relevant assessments. Guidance on computer health, workstation setup, and home working is available via the Occupational Health web pages.

The University Safety policies apply to on-site and hybrid workers; staff should refer to them for further details.

Staff who have an accident or incident arising out of or in connection with work while working in a hybrid environment must follow University procedures for reporting accidents and incidents.

7. Health and safety obligations

Careful consideration must be given to circumstances where staff have supervisory and health and safety responsibilities on campus. This will include ensuring sufficient provision for effective staff and student supervision and for necessary first aid and fire warden cover.

Further information can be found on the Safety Department website. 

8. Data protection and confidentiality

All staff are expected to comply with the Data protection policy, Information Security Policy and Information Governance Policy Framework when working remotely.

In addition, it is a condition of employment that staff must preserve the confidentiality of any personal and/or sensitive information which is made available through the course of their work, whether directly or indirectly. This applies to information about current or prospective staff or students, as well as to any person with whom contact is made during the course of employment. Any breach of confidentiality will be regarded as serious misconduct and will result in disciplinary action.

Any paper and documentation taken from the University to work at home must be transported and stored securely. Confidential papers should be disposed of safely and securely. Staff may do this at home if they have a shredder. Otherwise, papers should be disposed of at a University location.

Further advice can be sought from the Data Protection team.

9. Access to remote working locations

There may be occasions when the University needs to access a staff member's remote working location. This could be to:

  • install, inspect, replace, repair, maintain, service or retrieve University property during the course of employment, where it is not possible or appropriate to do so on campus.
  • inspect or investigate significant health and safety concerns.

This will be discussed with the member of staff to agree a reasonable time, with reasonable notice, and will only be required when it is absolutely necessary and where there are not suitable alternative methods of achieving the required outcomes. 

10. Insurance

Members of staff working remotely are responsible for assessing the personal implications of home working for insurance, taxation, mortgage, utilities provision and any leasing and landlord agreements. These should be considered before determining the work location.

The University holds liability insurance that provides cover for its legal liabilities and its members of staff whenever they are engaged in University business. This cover applies irrespective of where the activity is taking place.

All members of staff are responsible for the security of the University's property under their control and for preventing loss, whether they work on-site or in a hybrid environment. Heads of Departments, managers, supervisors, and workers must take reasonable steps to ensure the care, custody, and security of University-owned assets within their control, in line with the University's Financial Regulations.

11. Associated costs/expenses

Imperial does not make financial contributions to those working hybrid for normal household expenses, such as heating, lighting, internet and phone lines, or council tax costs. 

The University will not reimburse travel expenses for hybrid workers travelling to work at a University location.

12. Remote working outside of the UK

Requests to perform role-related duties and work either partly or wholly outside of the United Kingdom will not usually be permitted other than in exceptional circumstances. This is due to the potential for significant tax compliance risks and cost implications for the University and/or the member of staff. If working outside the UK is being considered, the Working Overseas Guidance must be referred to for further information, and managers should discuss this with their Strategic People Partner.