General Note
NHS Fife acknowledges and agrees with the importance of regular and timely review of policy/procedure statements and aims to review policies within the timescales set out.
New policies/procedures will be subject to a review date of no more than 1 year from the date of first issue.
Reviewed policies/procedures will have a review date set that is relevant to the content (advised by the author) but will be no longer than 3 years.
If a policy/procedure is past its review date then the content will remain extant until such time as the policy/procedure review is complete and the new version published, or there are national policy or legislative changes.
1. FUNCTION
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that a fair and consistent approach is adopted when normal daily travelling arrangements of staff to and from work are disrupted by such events as severe weather conditions and public transport strikes.
All employees of NHS Fife are considered to be essential and in applying this policy the priority is to ensure that there are sufficient skilled staff on duty to provide an appropriate level of service to the patients.
This policy covers all operational hours within NHS Fife, for example, day operation only health centres and offices to the full 24 hours, 7 days a week service areas.
2. LOCATION
This policy applies to all employees of NHS Fife.
3. RESPONSIBILITY
The responsibility for the application of the policy rests with Line Managers within NHS Fife and HR staff.
4. OPERATIONAL SYSTEM
4.1 GENERAL PRINCIPLES
All staff are expected to make every reasonable effort to report for duty on time and remain on duty for their rostered period. Managers will exercise discretion in approving late arrival for and early departure from duty and will approve payment of salary or wages in full where satisfied all reasonable efforts to get to work on time and remain at work were made.
4.2 In exceptional circumstances staff may be required to carry out duties not normally associated with their post during periods that there are insufficient staff available to provide the appropriate level of care to patients. Staff will not be allowed to carry out duties that require additional training or would put them or others at risk
4.3 It is recognised that a Policy dealing with this issue cannot be, nor should it be, completely prescriptive. Decision making process must be guided by the principle of reasonableness taking into account relevant individual circumstances and service needs as necessary.
5. WHERE EMPLOYEES HAVE WORKED ADDITIONAL HOURS
Some employees may report for duty early due to disruption of normal transport arrangements. Where the manager is satisfied this is the case, they may approve that such hours be recorded on time sheets and full payment will be made in accordance with the relevant conditions of service. Alternatively, they may be able to be released early on the day in question which would not result in any additional payment being required. Where employees have worked additional hours on days when no time off in lieu provisions are applicable as laid down in conditions of service, but the employee requests time off in lieu rather than payment, this should be arranged by the manager and the appropriate additional hours should not be recorded on time sheets.
6. ARRANGEMENTS FOR STAFF TO LEAVE WORK EARLY
6.1 During periods of severe weather, where there is concern for travel arrangements of staff, the decision about when to allow staff to leave work early will normally be taken by the Chief Executive of NHS Fife (or designated deputy) e.g. Director of Acute Services, or H&SC Heads of Service where the decision is required overnight or at weekends the senior manager on-call will be authorised to make the decision.
6.2 It is recognised that staff will be anxious regarding their domestic arrangements and staff will be allowed to use NHS Fife’s telephone facilities where appropriate. Staff whose circumstances make it essential that they be allowed to leave earlier e.g. those who have dependants who have no other carers available or those with particular health problems; will be allowed to leave at their line manager’s discretion and subject to the needs of the service.
6.3 Regular updates of the weather and road conditions will be obtained by the Emergency Planning Officer, who will ensure regular communications are made available to the senior management team and other line managers. Line managers are responsible for keeping their staff informed, for monitoring staffing levels and using discretion where necessary depending on individual staff circumstances. Each area of NHS Fife will have a central point for co-ordination of staff attendance and impact of the situation on service delivery.
7. ALTERNATIVE WORK ARRANGEMENTS
7.1 In certain circumstances, employees may be able to assist with the provision of health services at the nearest, appropriate NHS establishment and be deployed to these areas where appropriate. The line manager or staff member should liaise with the manager at the nearest, appropriate workplace. When deploying staff to another location the health, safety and wellbeing of staff and service users should be prioritised. They should contact the manager at the alternative workplace to establish whether or not they can provide assistance in the circumstances. See Appendix 1 for further guidance.
7.2 Home working may be appropriate and should be arranged by contacting their line manager to discusswork to be undertaken. Staff must check on the weather / discuss the adverse conditions at their normal work base and agree with the line manager a return to the workplace.
8. ABSENCE FROM DUTY
8.1 Discretion will be exercised to approve absence from duty where a manager is satisfied that an employee has made all reasonable efforts to get to work. Managers may approve a day’s absence with pay. A request for further absence with pay should be referred to the Head of Workforce Resourcing & Relations, by the appropriate manager. Absences beyond 3 days will normally be regarded as annual leave or special leave without pay. Staff who find it impossible to attend work are required to:
- telephone their line manager, where possible, without undue delay and explain the position.
- telephone their line manager daily with an update on the current situation.
8.2 Where an employee has failed to report for duty and, following a full investigation of the circumstances, the manager considers the reason to be unacceptable it will be in order to allocate outstanding annual leave or unpaid leave. It will be the responsibility of the manager to confirm the basis upon which they have made such an allocation. If an employee is aggrieved by this decision they will have the right to raise this issue under the Dealing with Employee Grievances policy.
9. ARRANGEMENTS FOR STAFF REQUIRED TO STAY IN THE HOSPITAL OVERNIGHT
9.1 It may be necessary, in order to maintain an essential level of service, to arrange for some staff to stay at the hospital overnight. When staff have stayed overnight at work or been unable to travel home safely they should be provided with an evening meal or an alternative and breakfast, regular drinks should also be made available. No charge will be made for these meals.
9.2 Where an employee has necessarily incurred additional expenses and is out of pocket as a result of travelling to or from work, or carrying out additional duties to ensure provision of services including being required to stay overnight at the hospital or a nearby facility, which may include a hotel or other provider, Where no other accommodation is available a claim for reimbursement should be submitted to the appropriate manager.
APPENDIX 1
WORKING AT AN ALTERNATIVE LOCATION WITHIN ANOTHER BOARD AREA
It is recognised that for some members of staff, depending on their home address, the nearest NHS establishment might be within another Board area from the one in which they are employed. If having made every effort to attend their own place of work or an alternative location within their own Board area, it may be appropriate for the member of staff to offer their services at an alternative NHS establishment within another Board area. In these circumstances, the employee should contact their own line manger to agree this course of action, and who in turn will then contact the relevant duty manager at their nearest appropriate NHS establishment to determine whether or not the member of staff should present themselves to work at this location to provide assistance.
It is important that staff do not just turn up at these establishments without first making contact with their line manager to determine if assistance is required or indeed appropriate.
In these circumstances the following checks should be carried out where an NHS Identity Badge is available:
- Within standard/normal working hours, contact should be made with the Board’s own HR Department, using the appropriate contact number below, who in turn will make contact with the employing NHS Board and check currency of employment and with the appropriate registration body if necessary.
NHS Borders –HR Administrator 01896 826162
NHS Fife - contact 01592 648187
NHS Forth Valley - HR Connect - 0330 041 4694
NHS Lothian - Medical Staff - 0131 465 7737 or General Staff - 01506 523418
- Outwith standard/normal working hours, it will not be possible to check the authenticity of a member of staff’s Identity Badge and therefore the contact details should be kept so that the appropriate checks can be made and the individual recalled if necessary. However, in the event of severely low staffing, and after a thorough risk assessment, the member of staff may be allocated tasks that can be supervised and have either minimal or no patient contact in a clinical area where patients have lower dependency / less complex needs.
If the member of staff does not have an NHS Identity Badge the following would apply:
- Copy any other photographic identification that they have brought with them;
- Within standard / normal working hours, contact should be made with the Board’s own HR Department who in turn will make contact with the employing NHS Board and check currency of employment and with the appropriate registration body if necessary. Following a risk assessment, the member of staff may be allocated tasks that can be supervised and have either minimal or no patient contact in a clinical area where patients have lower dependency / less complex needs.
- Outwith standard / normal working hours, it will not be possible to check the authenticity of a member of staff’s identification and therefore the contact details should be kept so that the appropriate checks can be made and the individual recalled if necessary. In these circumstances it would not be appropriate to do any risk assessments and the individual should not be allowed to commence work of any kind until the necessary checks have taken place.
All hours worked by a member of staff working at an alternative location must be recorded and either sent to the individual’s line manager if employed within the same Board or forwarded to the HR Department for individuals employed in another Board along with copies of the identification and contact details and they will be forwarded to the individual’s line manager in their own Board.