Hybrid working policy

Published: 17 November 2023
Freedom of information class: How we manage our resources

Flexible working arrangements can benefit everyone and at RoS we recognise that it makes good business sense to provide a range of flexible working opportunities for colleagues.


We believe flexible working brings various benefits including a positive impact on productivity, customer service, increased motivation, and an improved work life balance.

Our flexible working statement

At RoS, we value and respect difference and are committed to building an inclusive culture by creating an environment where you can balance a successful career with your commitments and interests outside of work. We believe that you will do your best at work if you have a healthy work life balance. Some roles lend themselves to flexible options more than others, so if this is important to you, please raise this with your line manager who can discuss flexible working arrangements of mutual benefit. Hybrid working aims to provide flexibility and choice to colleagues about where you work most effectively depending on the activity being undertaken, and supports us performing at our best.

1. Hybrid Working Policy

1.1 We feel it is important as an organisation to have an agile, adaptable, and flexible workforce with a culture that doesn’t focus on when and where you work, but rather values contribution and commitment and recognises individuals and teams where objectives and goals are met and exceeded. RoS is committed to offering hybrid working as part of its broader flexible working offering.

1.2 We aim to offer flexibility wherever possible to enable colleagues to be their most effective, while maintaining a healthy work life balance. Hybrid working means that all colleagues who can perform their roles outside the office can work some of the time remotely. The amount of time you can spend outside the office will depend on the role you perform and how it impacts your team and others. Some roles are office-based out of necessity, others will be able to spend the majority of their time working remotely, only coming into the office for specific activities.

All RoS colleagues are contracted to one of our offices. Expenses and time can be claimed for travel between offices, if you are asked to attend a location other than the one you are contracted to. Expenses and travel time are not covered if you choose to work from a different location than you are contracted to.  Please refer to existing travel and subsistence policy.

Remote working will usually be completed at home, but may also take place in other UK locations, so long as you are able to perform your role safely, and guaranteeing the confidentiality and integrity of RoS business. We don’t offer overseas working. You can find further information in our Clear Desk and Screen Procedure and in our Hybrid Working Guidance.

1.3 We believe there will be a collective benefit, and a positive impact on our service delivery, from all colleagues spending some time in the office. However, colleagues whose roles are not office-based will have the opportunity to work most of the time from home, if there is no adverse impact on their team or others who rely upon them.

It may be necessary for colleagues to attend the office to complete specific tasks or activities, if we have concerns about their ability to be productive at home, or if we/they believe their wellbeing is suffering because of remote working, but most colleagues will be able to work some of the time from home on a continuing basis.

Colleagues will be expected to attend the office following a reasonable management request. The line manager will endeavour to give as much notice as possible but a minimum of 48 hours is deemed to be reasonable.

1.4 Any colleague may choose to work full-time from the office. Our offices are available for many purposes including collaboration, team days, meetings, focused work, or wellbeing.

2. Hybrid Working Principles

  • Work is what you do, not where you go
  • We focus on outcomes to bring out the best in our colleagues and enable maximum value
  • We're committed to the wellbeing of our colleagues
  • Our teams are unique - hybrid isn't a 'one size fits all' approach
  • Teams are empowered to make the right choices about how they operate together to best deliver the services they are responsible for
  • We learn through experimentation
  • We all take responsibility for working flexibly to deliver excellent services to our customers

Read the Supporting Guidance for more information.

3. Approval and review

This policy will be reviewed and approved by the Policy and Practice Group annually, unless earlier review is appropriate.

Author Human Resources & Organisation Development (HROD), Employee Relations (ER)
Reviewed by Head of People and Change
Cleared by Director of People
Approved by Policy and Practice Group (PPG)
Approval date 16 May 2023
Policy version 2.0
Review Responsibility PPG
Review date 16 May 2024
Suitable for publication Y
Contactemployeerelations@ros.gov.uk