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Employee

Telecommuting &
Remote Work Policy
Version 1

Issue #: 1.1

Issue Date: 22nd February 2023

Issuer: Catherine Page

Contributors: Paul Wheeler

Classification: Confidential

Distribution: Internal

Status: Published

Master Location: BambooHR

Files > Global Handbook & Policies

© 2023 SintecMedia, NYC, Inc., SintecMedia Ltd., their affiliates and subsidiaries (d/b/a Operative)
(“Operative”).
All rights reserved.
Operative considers all information contained in or disclosed by this document confidential and
proprietary.
Table of Contents
1 POLICY STATEMENT............................................................................................................. 2

2 RELATED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ........................................................................... 2

3 SCOPE OF POLICY ................................................................................................................ 2

4 POLICY REVIEW .................................................................................................................... 2

5 THE BENEFITS OF A HYBRID WORKING MODEL .............................................................. 3

6 DEFINITIONS .......................................................................................................................... 4

7 TELECOMMUTING WORKERS ............................................................................................. 4

8 NEAR REMOTE / FAR REMOTE WORKERS ....................................................................... 4

9 MEETINGS, SOCIAL OFFICE EVENTS AND SUBSISTENCE ............................................. 6

10 BUSINESS TRAVEL ............................................................................................................... 6

11 CHANGE IN HOME LOCATION ............................................................................................. 6

12 WORKING AT HOME ETIQUETTE AND CODE OF CONDUCT........................................... 7

13 HEALTH AND SAFETY ........................................................................................................... 7

14 OFFICE ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT AND MEETING ROOM SCHEDULING ............... 8

15 EMPLOYEE SAFETY .............................................................................................................. 8

16 HOME INTERNET ................................................................................................................... 8

17 HARDWARE AND COMPANY EQUIPMENT ......................................................................... 8

18 HOME OFFICE SUPPLIES ..................................................................................................... 8

19 IT/SECURITY .......................................................................................................................... 9

20 DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY..................................................................................... 9

21 ACKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................................................ 9

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1 POLICY STATEMENT
At Operative, we are serious about the welfare of our employees, the services and products we provide to our clients,
our carbon footprint and the environment.

Pre COVID-19, 2020, Operatives generally worked in the office 5 days a week. A 2+ year period of full home working
followed, as the Pandemic continued, seeing a gradual return to offices in 2022.

This Policy describes Operative’s 2023 “Way of Working” and is a valuable resource tool to answer queries and facilitate
compliance. We are aware that this Policy does not cover every situation, so employees should check with their direct
manager, departmental manager or Global SVP/Local VP HR if unsure of anything.

2 RELATED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES


This Policy provides guidance on all Telecommuting and Remote Working at Operative.

You should read this Policy in conjunction with the Operative Global and Local Employee Handbooks and any other
relevant policies [see below].

3 SCOPE OF POLICY
The procedures outlined in this Policy apply to all relevant Operative employees and all internal / external contractors
at all grades. For ease, we have used a common reference to “employees” throughout this document.

It should be noted that employees permitted to telecommute, or work remotely, must continue to abide by all other
Operative Policies and Procedures, including but not limited to:

• Employee Handbooks
• Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment
• IT & Security
• Travel & Expense
• Health & Safety
• Timekeeping & Recording
• Leave and Time Off
• Performance Management

4 POLICY REVIEW
Operative’s management will review this Policy periodically in light of any developments in employment legislation or
good employment practice and if necessary, revise it in order to ensure continuing compliance, relevance and
effectiveness.

Operative reserves the right to vary or amend this Policy without advanced notice or consultation to employees. This
Policy is non-contractual and does not form part of terms and conditions of employment.

Issue Record

Version/Issue Date Issuer Comments

1.0 / 1.0 01/04/2022 Catherine Page First Edition

1.0 / 1.1 22/02/2023 Catherine Page Reissue in line with our new office attendance policy

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5 THE BENEFITS OF A HYBRID WORKING MODEL

✓ 2 office days a week ensures sufficient cross collaboration time, and a framework to create regular face to face

interactive time with Operative colleagues

✓ In-person presence and working together aids Employee Engagement and a sense of Belonging, Unity and

Team Spirit

✓ Being physically with our colleagues promotes a Positive Culture and helps build our People Brand and deeper

relationships based on our Core Values [Best Self, Trust, Growth & Retention, One Globally Unified Team]

✓ Regular office days promote well researched “water cooler/grab a coffee” conversations that provide

opportunities for colleagues to exchange stories, experiences and innovative ideas, both personal and

professional, building tighter social cohesion and important connections

✓ In an office environment there are regular, impromptu opportunities to connect with departmental and cross-

departmental managers, HR teams and Site Managers

✓ Maintains a home working element and the flexibility that affords with family/home time and/or structuring

work days

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6 DEFINITIONS

Telecommuting Workers
Are defined as employees/contractors that live within the geographic^ area of Operative’s nearest office/workplace
solution. Telecommuting workers are/were identified as office/workplace solution workers at the time of hire and
are/were hired with a contractual agreement that they will work at home but with office/workplace solution presence
required per the guidelines and policy contained herein.

^ geographic area is locally defined as below:

1. New York, USA [< 1 hr commute one way]


2. Sao Paulo, Brazil [< 1.5 hr commute one way]
3. London, UK*
4. Amsterdam, Holland [all employees are classified as Telecommuting]
5. Craiova, Romania [< 1.5 hr commute one way]
6. Petah Tikvah, Israel [all Israel residing employees are classified as Telecommuting]
7. Jerusalem, Israel [all Israel residing employees are classified as Telecommuting]
8. Bangalore, India [all Bangalore residing employees are classified as Telecommuting]
9. Pune, India [all Pune residing employees are classified as Telecommuting]
10. Sydney, Australia [all Sydney residing employees are classified as Telecommuting]

* N/A [Workspace Solution]

Near Remote / Far Remote Workers [Romania, New York and Brazil employees only]
Are defined as employees/contractors that live outside the geographic^ area of our sites in Craiova, Manhattan and Sao
Paulo.

Fully Remote Workers


Are defined as employees/contractors that live a considerable distance from Operative’s nearest office/workplace
solution. Remote workers are/were identified as remote workers at the time of hire and are/were hired with a
contractual agreement that they will work at home with no office/workplace solution presence required.

7 TELECOMMUTING WORKERS
The Company operates a hybrid 2 day office/3 day home working model for Telecommuting Workers.

Outside any local capacity constraints, the 2 day office attendance is a minimum requirement, and employees are
encouraged to attend more frequently as desired or necessary.

All sites benefit from the very latest IT collaboration technology, so split off/onsite meetings are fully productive, and
inclusive of all participants [using interactive off/onsite whiteboards, dynamic participant features etc].

8 NEAR REMOTE / FAR REMOTE WORKERS

[Romania, New York and Brazil employees only]

Please defer to your local site General Manager and Senior HR for further details

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9 MEETINGS, SOCIAL OFFICE EVENTS AND SUBSISTENCE
Every office provides drinks and non-perishable snacks, along with kitchen facilities for your comfort and convenience.

With regard to meetings and social events, our guiding principles are as follows:

✓ “normal/functional/local team” shorter meetings are self-serve subsistence

✓ “strategic/management/offsite” longer meetings follow T&E Policy subsistence [“Employee Entertainment”]

✓ “Happy Hours” and other HR organised social events provide drinks and snacks

As directional examples:

• A regular, tactical, weekly R&D management meeting that runs for 2-4 hours would be self-serve [employees
would make their own provisions for lunch if it ran through that period]

• A one off, strategic, senior management meeting that runs all day would have lunch ordered in [and be
expensed by the most senior attendee].

10 BUSINESS TRAVEL
Operative is committed to reducing our carbon footprint and positively impacting the environment. As such, connected
with our office technology investment, we endeavour to minimise all internal business travel unless it is deemed
essential or highly beneficial to be physically onsite vs virtual.

Examples of in-person meetings that may require domestic and/or international travel [that would be considered for
approval] include, but are not limited to:

• Executive/Senior Leadership
• Product Strategy/Development
• Sales/Account Management
• Senior Professional Services

Billable and non-billable client travel requests should be submitted through Concur in the usual way.

11 CHANGE IN HOME LOCATION


We assume that the home address of employees remains in the geographical area communicated at the time of hire or
reissue of this Policy on 22nd February 2023.

If an employee is considering a significant move [that would change their current telecommuting/remote worker
status], prior approval must be obtained from the Departmental Manager, Local and Global HR.

Operative reserves the right to assess company corporate/tax liability, state/country registration and employee
compensation and benefits as a result of any move, and such assessments will be discussed with the employee at the
time of request.

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12 WORKING AT HOME ETIQUETTE AND CODE OF CONDUCT
Operatives are still at work, whether at home or in the office!

• Prepare for “work as normal” – dress appropriately


• Ensure you are “in the room” – turn your camera on as a default
• Consider using Operative’s generic Zoom background setting if you prefer it
• Respect meeting times, consider muting your microphone if you have background noise, remember employees
have a home life and the delivery person, kids or pets may turn up, we are human!
• Remember where people are based – respect extreme time zones wherever possible and practical
• Keep your Outlook calendar up to date so people know when you are available to schedule meetings
• Stay connected and available, let your manager and relevant co-workers know if you need to step away outside
of usual breaks
• Remember to make that work/home shift when you begin and end your workday, it’s easy to let a normal office
day merge into the early or late hours, which is unsustainable long term
• Don’t forget the coffee machine/water cooler chat, it’s easy to dive straight into a meeting but small talk is
important! It is a good practice to set up short recurring meetings with colleagues to stay in touch.

13 HEALTH AND SAFETY


You should take all reasonable steps to ensure you have an adequate workstation, workspace set up, internet
connection and utilities necessary to perform your work effectively.

Employees should conduct a check of home working surroundings:

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14 OFFICE ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT AND MEETING ROOM SCHEDULING

For office attendance management please defer to your local site General Manager and Senior HR. In most cases we
use Access Control. Please ensure you swipe in and out every day you attend the office, and remember not to tail gate.
This is to ensure we comply with any maximum office capacity regulations locally, and can track who is in the office
when for health/safety/fire considerations.

We do not use the BambooHR function [as we did in 2022].

For Meeting Room scheduling, we use Office 365.


For any queries, please approach your local HR Head or IT representative in the first instance.

15 EMPLOYEE SAFETY

The COVID Pandemic of 2020 is behind us. We obviously continue to vigilantly monitor the situation, and if there are
any changes/causes for concern we will dynamically assess and pivot as we have done to date.

16 HOME INTERNET
Operative does not generally reimburse for home internet, as it is widely accepted that it is commonplace for individuals
to privately purchase effective and adequate broadband packages.

There will be specific roles and/or departments where reasonable domestic internet bandwidth and connection is not
adequate and does not meet Operative’s requirement to be able to work effectively. Such instances include Developers
in certain remits, where a huge amount of code is constantly uploaded. In such instances, a full and comprehensive
summary of requirements and associated annual USD cost should be sent to the relevant Department Head and local
Senior HR for review. If applicable, this will then be sent to Global HR and the CFO for approval to reimburse the
incremental cost above general home internet.

If there are any local legalities or previous custom and practice in this regard, such policies and practices continue unless
directed otherwise and will be communicated at a local level by management and/or Senior HR and Finance.

17 HARDWARE AND COMPANY EQUIPMENT


Employees are issued a laptop, mouse, external keyboard, docking station, and an external monitor.

Should any major purchase be required for a specific reason [such as a printer and associated supplies for finance, HR,
Legal, etc], a Purchase Order should be raised after collaboration with your Dept Head and local Senior HR. This will
route to Global HR and the CFO for final assessment and approval. These items must be sourced by Operative IT directly
once approved.

A record of any approved major purchases and associated serial numbers will be entered into in the Assets Tab in
BambooHR by the global HR Team and these must be returned to Operative at the end of any employment. Operative
will arrange for any return shipping required.

18 HOME OFFICE SUPPLIES

Operative does not generally reimburse for home office supplies, [such as furniture, stationery, mouse pads, utilities],
as we expect the relatively small cost of such to be offset against an overall saving in historical daily commute costs with
our new 2 day/week hybrid working model.

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19 IT/SECURITY
Any Company owned equipment should be adequately protected and safeguarded as is reasonably practical and shall
be reasonably repaired by Operative [assessed on a case-by-case basis].

If equipment is outdated or no longer functioning properly, employees should notify IT through Salesforce on OKTA.

Any cost of repairs due to intentional damage shall be covered by the employee. A record of each item and associated
serial number is held and managed by IT.

20 DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY


Operative networks, systems and domains (together, “Operative Systems”) are owned by Operative and intended for
use by employees solely for business purposes only, and not for personal use.

Accordingly, Operative reserves the right to monitor employees’ access and connection to the Operative Systems
(including Office365) as it deems necessary for business operations and purposes.

21 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I acknowledge that I have received and read a copy of Operative’s Telecommuting and Remote Working Policy and
understand that it is my responsibility to be familiar with and abide by its terms. I understand that the information in
this Policy is intended to help Operative’s employees work together effectively on assigned job responsibilities. This
policy is not promissory and does not set terms or conditions of employment or create an employment contract.

Name ________________________

Signature ________________________

Date ________________________

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