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PolicyDesk Workplace policy

Policy Draft · USD 49

Remote and hybrid working policy

Applies to all permanent employees. Sets out where people may work, what the company provides, and how requests are decided.

Prepared for: Halvard Studio · 34 employees, two offices
Issued: 1 October 2026
Settlement: $POLICY · USDC on Base

This policy was written from the decisions your leadership team made on 17 September, not from a template. Where a decision had not been made, clause 8 says so rather than filling the gap. Three clauses are flagged for your employment lawyer before issue.

Document control

Document number: POL-HR-07
Version: 1.0
Effective: 1 November 2026
Owner: Head of People
Approved by: Managing Director
Next review: 1 November 2027
Classification: Internal, issued to all staff

Scope

Purpose and scope

This policy sets out the company's approach to working away from a company office. It applies to all permanent employees from the effective date above. It does not create a contractual right to work remotely and does not vary any term of employment.

Applies to	Does not apply to
Permanent employees, all departments	Contractors and agency workers, who work to their own agreement
Regular hybrid arrangements	Occasional home working for a delivery or an appointment, see clause 4.4
Temporary full remote periods up to 4 weeks	Working from another country, which is clause 7 and needs approval
Employees on probation, with manager agreement	Anyone under a live performance process, see clause 5.3

Definitions

Term	Means, in this policy
Office day	A day worked from Bermondsey or Leeds for at least five hours of the core window
Remote day	A working day at the employee's registered home address
Core window	10:00 to 16:00 local UK time, when employees are expected to be contactable
Registered address	The single address recorded with People, used for insurance and equipment delivery
Anchor day	A team wide office day set by the team lead, currently Tuesday for Studio and Wednesday for Client Services

The rule

The standard arrangement

2 daysMinimum office days per week

1 anchorOf those, set by the team

10:00 to 16:00Core contactable window

4 weeksLongest remote block without approval

Employees work a minimum of two office days each week, one of which is their team's anchor day. The remaining days may be worked remotely. Part time employees work pro rata, rounded up, with a minimum of one office day in any week worked.

Duties

Responsibilities

Who	Is responsible for
Employee	Keeping the registered address current, being contactable in the core window, having a safe place to work, and keeping company data secure
Manager	Setting the anchor day, approving pattern changes, and raising any arrangement that is not working within one month rather than at review
Head of People	Owning this policy, handling exceptions under clause 6, and keeping the record of approved patterns
IT	Supplying and maintaining equipment, and removing access when an arrangement or employment ends

4.4 Occasional home working

A single day at home for a delivery, an appointment or a family need is not a pattern change and needs no approval beyond telling the team. It does not count toward the two office days and is not recorded centrally.

Procedure

Requesting or changing a pattern

5.1
Discuss with your manager first
A conversation before a form. Most changes are agreed here and simply recorded.
5.2
Submit the pattern change form
Days requested, reason, and the effect on your team's anchor day and on client cover.
5.3
Manager responds within 10 working days
Approved, approved with changes, or declined with a written reason. A request is not declined because of a live performance process alone, but the manager must consult People first.
5.4
People records the pattern
Recorded centrally so that insurance, equipment and payroll records match.
5.5
Review after three months
For any new pattern, a short check that it is working for the person, the team and clients.

Exceptions

Exceptions and escalation

Situation	Handled how	Decided by
Health condition or disability affecting attendance	Treated as a reasonable adjustment, not an exception to this policy	Head of People, with advice
Caring responsibilities	Individual arrangement, recorded, reviewed every six months	Manager and People
Role that cannot be done remotely	Stated in the role description at hire, not applied later	Head of People
Employee moves beyond commuting distance	Not automatically approved. Treated as a change to the role	Managing Director
Disagreement with a declined request	Raise with Head of People within 10 working days	Head of People

Health and disability sit in the first row deliberately. Treating an adjustment as an exception to a policy is how companies get this wrong.

Overseas

Working from outside the UK

Working from another country is not covered by the standard arrangement. It raises tax, social security, immigration and insurance questions that depend on the country and the length of stay, and it can create obligations for the company as well as the employee.

Requests must be made at least 6 weeks in advance
Maximum 10 working days in any 12 month period without specific advice
Approved by the Managing Director, not by the line manager
The company will take external advice before approving anything longer
Approval for one country and period does not carry to another

Before issue

Legal review flags and open decisions

Three clauses need confirmation by your employment lawyer, and two decisions have not been made. The document should not be issued to staff until all five are closed.

Clause	Item	Status
5.3	How this policy interacts with the statutory flexible working route, including timescales and grounds for refusal	Legal review
7	Overseas working threshold, and whether any country is excluded outright	Legal review
6, row 1	Wording on reasonable adjustments, so the policy does not narrow a duty	Legal review
3	Whether the two day minimum is contractual or a reasonable management instruction	Decision needed
4	Whether the company contributes to home working costs, and how much	Decision needed