Supervisors and employees should thoroughly review the UW-Madison Remote Work Policy prior to beginning the evaluation and approval process for remote work agreements.

Note: All approvals are for a year maximum and run on a fiscal year, July 1 – June 30. All employees must submit a new request prior to the end of the fiscal year.

Decision-Making Factors

A.    Job responsibilities 

(e.g. jobs that require physical presence for effective performance are not suitable for remote work)

• How will this job successfully perform the necessary responsibilities, including supporting the team, partner and programs functionality and relationships, with the proposed RWA?
• Limits on Amount of Remote Work: Remote work should, in most cases, be limited to no more than 40% of an employee’s hours.  
  • This reflects the nature of the vast majority of our positions’ internal and/or external relationships. Requests for a higher percentage require a more thorough assessment against the criteria outlined in the campus policy as well as the criteria enumerated in this article. 
• Availability During "Core" Business Hours: Employees – regardless of whether they are working remotely or in-person - must be generally available during “core” business hours (9 am – 3 pm, MF) unless their position requires a significant amount of noncore hours for teaching or other Extension activities.
  • Note: Core hours do not reflect all hours worked; rather they reflect the hours within which most internal collaboration should be focused.
  • Note: Employees who work non-standard hours/days due to teaching or other job duties will in some circumstances only be available for a subset of the core hours.
• Impact on Key Partners and Customers: The impact of remote work on key partners and customers should be negligible or positive. Many Extension positions are located in facilities of priority partners. In addition, presence is a high priority for some of our core customers. Employees with remote work agreements should take the responsibility for setting up the tools needed to engage virtually with partners and other colleagues when needed.

B. The effective functioning of the overall unit

(e.g., trainees may need in-person assistance; flow of information may be shared more quickly among those physically present; etc.);

• County Team & Program Impact: Each applicable subset of Extension (e.g., county team, program) should outline how they will function effectively and efficiently with some/all members of team having some portion of their work remote.
• Attending Meetings in Person: Employees are required to physically attend meetings and other functions when requested by their supervisor, remote schedule notwithstanding. 
• Managing Staff Remotely: In the instance of a supervisor requesting remote work, they should outline in their remote work agreement how they will successfully manage their staff while working remotely.

C. Potential cost savings to the university, S/C/D, and department;

• Cost Savings for County & Extension Partners: Consideration will also be given to cost savings for the applicable county or another Extension partner.

D. The needs and preferences of the employee;

E. Employee performance;

F. Equipment needs, workspace design considerations, office space, and scheduling issues; and

• Note: The employee is responsible for providing all equipment needed to work remotely, except for a laptop computer. If an employee works the majority of the time at home, they may be able to take monitors and docking stations home (this does not mean purchasing a second set).

G. Adverse impact between employees with similar job responsibilities i the work unit (prevent inequities).

Additional factors that S/C/Ds wish to consider should be discussed with divisional HR.

• One additional clarification with respect to the application of this policy in Extension is that the policy applies to all employees. Given the unique relationship between Extension and our county partners, it is important that we assess all positions against the criteria.

Approval of 100% Remote Work Agreements

Employees can request 100% remote work agreements contingent upon the following factors:

• Suitable space is not available, and/or the decision to approve the remote work agreement allows the organization to best achieve its mission.
• The position must be located within the geographic service area of the position (e.g., within the region of the position’s focus).
• A headquarter location must be assigned and must be an Extension location within the geographic service area of the position. (This may be different that the home office).
• A home office location must be agreeable to any funding partners (e.g., county, agency, etc.).
• The arrangement represents an overall cost savings or is cost neutral for Extension when all costs are considered (e.g., travel, space rental, technology, etc.). This is something that is the supervisor’s responsibility to assess.
  • An individual may be required to report to the closest available office location when consistent with UW-Madison and division policy and when there is a business rationale to do so.
• All 100% RWAs require the Deans approval. 
• Travel reimbursement, per guidance from UW-Madison Business Services, would be from the assigned headquarter location. The Division of Extension Office of Financial Services will use the remote work agreement as the authorization for reimbursement.

Implementation of 100% Remote Work Agreements:

• The employee’s supervisor and DLT representative must approve the arrangement (as with any remote work agreement).
• The Dean will need to approve all 100% remote work agreement requests. The DLT representative will obtain this approval from the Dean before approving the arrangement. 
• Extension will provide employees that have a full-time home office arrangement the following equipment: laptop, docking station: monitor(s), keyboard, and associated technology peripherals. Furniture and suitable internet access will be the responsibility of the employee.
• Travel reimbursement, per guidance from UW-Madison Business Services, would be from their home address once the remote work agreement is approved. The Division of Extension Office of Financial Services will use the remote work agreement as the authorization for reimbursement.
• Individuals with a 100% remote work agreement will be assigned an office location at the nearest Extension Office, as home addresses cannot be listed in HRS as a designated office location. However, the employee, due to space constraints, would not work from that office unless required when there is a business rationale. 
• Individuals will submit a 100% remote work agreement using that Extension Office as their business address and their home address as the remote office location.
• A new request will need to be submitted annually, as is the case with other remote work agreements.

The employee checklist can be used for the completion and approval of the remote work agreement submission. The employee and supervisor can use this checklist to track relevant information.

Download & Review the Employee Checklist for Completing a Remote Work Agreement

The supervisor and employee should discuss the following items:

• Employee remote work location
• Work hours/schedule
• Frequency of remote work (e.g., three days on-site, two days remote)
• Presence in virtual and on-site meetings
• Work and performance expectations
• Metrics of monitoring work performance
• Remote work environment
  • Remote work environments should simulate office-like conditions where an individual can ensure productivity levels similar to working on campus. Employees working in a remote environment should be free from regular distractions to their work responsibilities.  An employee must ensure that their remote workspace has the privacy, physical and technical security, appropriate equipment, software, and internet access to adequately perform their work responsibilities.
• Equipment needs
• Unit/department plan for remote work
• Employee and supervisor responsibilities outlined in UW–Madison Remote Work Policy

Note: The employee and supervisor will receive e-mail notifications at each step of the process when an action is taken. 

Taking the information decided during the supervisor/employee discussion, the employee will initiate the remote work agreement approval process. Remote work agreements will be approved by an employee’s supervisor, Dean's Leadership Team Member, the Dean's Office (for any requests over 40%), and Extension Human Resources. The employee and supervisor will receive e-mail notifications at each step of the process when an action is taken. 

• Employees will create and submit a Remote Work Agreement in MyUW  under Personal Information > Update My Personal Information > Remote Work Agreement.
  • User guide: step-by-step instructions on how to complete and submit the agreement are found in Employee Access to Remote Work Agreement.
• The employee should use the unlabeled comment box at the end of the document to write a justification for the request, speaking to the decision-making factors in Remote Work - Criteria & Conditions - Extension Decision Making Factors.
• The request will be routed to the employee's supervisor for the initial recommendation.
• The supervisor will take one of three actions:
  • Recommend approval of the request;
  • "Push back" the form for modification or further explanation by the employee to ensure it aligns with Extension Decision Making Factors for Remote Work.
  • or deny the request if it is unaligned with Extension Decision Making Factors for Remote Work.
• The supervisor should address in their comment box how remote work will be managed at the team/program level to ensure maintenance or enhancement of unit effectiveness.
  • The supervisor will need to identify a headquarter location when approving the request; the location needs to be an Extension location in Wisconsin.
• If recommended for approval, either initially or after modification, it will go to the employee’s DLT representative for review and approval. If the request is for more than 40% remote work, the DLT representative will consult with the Dean for review and approval; 
• We review remote work agreements on a fiscal year cycle (July 1st to June 30). Please ensure that the end of the remote work agreement is the end of the current fiscal year or sooner.
• Human Resources is the final reviewer/approver of all requests within the Division.

Once a remote work agreement has been implemented, it is important to ensure the arrangements stay on track. This includes:

• Regular check points (e.g., bi-weekly employee/supervisor one-on-one meetings)
• Performance evaluation meetings (e.g., mid-point conversation, summary evaluation)
• Remote work agreements should be reviewed and updated at a minimum annually.
• Remote work agreements must designate the employee’s onsite and remote work locations effective throughout the remote work period. Any changes in remote work location during a remote work agreement require the approval of a new remote work agreement.
• Remote work agreements can be updated or canceled as warranted due to changes in factors such as evolving work responsibilities, availability of equipment, and business needs. Some updates may require the approval of a new remote work agreement.