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L&S Flexible Work Policy
2025 Update: Conversion to Workday
Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) for fiscal year 2026 (July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026) will need to be completed in Workday. In general 12-month employees should use the dates of 7/1/25-6/30/26 and 9-month employees should use 8/18/25 - 5/17/26 (academic year). FWA replaces Remote Work Agreements (RWA).
2024 Update: Remote work agreements must now be completed on / within a fiscal year basis (for example 7/1/24 - 6/30/25). All requests for remote work should be reviewed carefully and must be approved by the supervisor/department chair or director and the Dean's office.
In August 2024, campus added a Headquarter City Designation requirement to the Remote Work Agreement. Employees who are assigned to work elsewhere by the department need to complete a remote work agreement to designate the headquarters. This is intended to formalize the process for an employee to be eligible for expense reimbursement. This would apply to an employee who is assigned to work from home or an alternate work location by the department, on a full-time basis as a condition of employment. As such, an Assigned fully remote worker may be permitted reimbursement for travel from the remote work location to the position's assigned work location if approved by the supervisor and if the remote location is more than eight-five (85) miles from the position's assigned work location campus business location).
Is a Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) Needed?
Who is required to complete a FWA?
- Employee categories required under policy: Academic Staff (AS), Limited (LI), Faculty* (FA), University Staff (US), Temporary Employees (TE), Employees in Training (ET) Student Assistants* (SA), Student Hourly (SH)
- Employee categories not required under policy: Non-paid appointments do not require an FWA.
*Note: Faculty and graduate assistants working remotely within Wisconsin do not require flexible work approval.
Workplace Flexibility:
The College of Letters & Sciences supports the use of appropriate flexible and remote work options for employees. To minimize confusion and align with university policy, understanding formal definition of the term “workplace flexibility” is important. Workplace flexibility refers to work that is performed at an off-campus worksite on a sporadic basis and that does not follow a regular, repeated schedule. A flexible work arrangement is not required for employees practicing workplace flexibility in consultation with their supervisor. Examples of workplace flexibility, provided supervisor approval is obtained, include:
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- working remotely for the remainder of the day after a doctor’s appointment for physical exam or a dental cleaning
- working from home while waiting for a furnace repair service professional
- an employee working remotely during severe weather (see UW–Madison Inclement Weather Policy)
- an employee working remotely for a month or less, within the United States
If you have any questions about flexible work, please contact your respective Associate Director / Manager.
- FA - Ben Weisse
- AS, LI, US, TE, STS - Sue Hook or Cheryl Bowes
- SA, SH, ET - Brenda Powles
Request for Flexible Work: Outside Wisconsin / International
College policy: Memo Regarding Remote Work and Resources in the College of Letters & Science (update 7/14/2022)
An employee is not authorized to begin flexible work outside Wisconsin (including internationally) until pre-approved by the Dean’s Office*, and a Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) has been finalized. The employee should not start a FWA request in Workday until pre-approval is received.
*New STS/student assistants are authorized to begin work after the Dean’s pre-approval is received and should complete the FWA after the start of the new appointment.
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Working from a different location than campus while traveling for a business reason (for example, attending a conference) will likely follow the L&S Travel Policy found here: E-reimbursement/Travel
Embargoed Countries:
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Flexible work from countries which are “embargoed” by the U.S. is prohibited. A list of these countries is provided here: Export Control https://research.wisc.edu/integrity-and-other-requirements/export-control/, see “E:1/E:2 countries".
HOW TO REQUEST FLEXIBLE WORK OUTSIDE WISCONSIN OR INTERNATIONALLY
STEP 1: Department/ART secures Dean’s Office pre-approval. The operational needs of the department must be carefully considered in this review. The approval process can take anywhere from two to six weeks to complete.
The department/ART sends a completed Flexible Work Request spreadsheet to humanresources@ls.wisc.edu,cc Associate Director/Manager. For new employees (or a current employee starting in a new appointment which will begin on the first day of the new appointment), this step should be completed prior to the employee’s start date if possible. Department/ART staff are responsible for completing the spreadsheet, not the employee who is requesting the remote work.
- Remote Work Request - For Employee Classes: AS (STS), FA, LI, US, TE
- Remote Work Request - For SA, SH, ET
STEP 2: Department/ART is notified of Dean’s Office approval/non-approval by email.
STEP 3: Department/ART instructs the employee to start an FWA in Workday noting which specific Position to connect the request to.
Approvals: FWAs are routed to the manager/supervisor as first step approver, then L&S HR as final approver.
Links to Employee and Manager guides are included below.
Important step: Various campus offices will also need to review the FWA, but this is no longer an automated process in Workday. Instead email contact needs to happen for all international work with the Office of Export Control (exportcontrol@grad.wisc.edu); grant funded employees (funds 133, 142, 143, or 144) need RSP review (rspinfo@rsp.wisc.edu) in the event international work is not allowed by the grant/fund. Department/ART should coordinate these steps with Marcy Doelp, HR Generalist.. The FWA has final approval only if all parties have approved it and concerns raised by campus offices have been resolved.
STEP 4: Once all approvals are received, the employee receives notification in Workday that the FWA has been finalized.
Additional note to Departments/ARTs: Foreign Nationals seeking to work remotely from an international location must provide the Office of Human Resources Payroll Office with documentation to ensure they are appropriately taxed when working outside the U.S., and to ensure that they receive the correct tax reporting documents at year end. Please encourage the employee to complete these steps as soon as possible after the start of the appointment. Refer them to the Foreign Source Income website for more information or to OHR Payroll with questions.
Foreign Nationals should also contact International Faculty and Staff Services (IFSS) about working remotely.
Request for Remote Work: Within Wisconsin
College policy: Memo Regarding Remote Work and Resources in the College of Letters & Science (update 7/14/2022)
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Note: Per campus policy, Faculty and student assistants working remotely within Wisconsin do not remote work approval or an FWA.
HOW TO REQUEST FLEXIBLE WORK WITHIN WISCONSIN
All employees (except Faculty and graduate assistants) working 100% remote must have dean’s office approval prior to completing a remote work agreement.
- Remote Work Request - For Employee Classes: AS (STS), LI, US, TE
- Remote Work Request - For SH, ET
All employees requesting an in-state hybrid work schedule need to submit a flexible work arrangement (FWA) in Workday as soon as possible after the start date of the appointment or before flexible work has commenced*
Once all approvals are received, employee receives an email that FWA has been finalized.
If you have any questions about this policy, please contact your respective Associate Director / Manager.
- FA - Ben Weisse
- AS, LI, US, TE, STS - Sue Hook or Cheryl Bowes
- SA, SH, ET - Brenda Powles
Additional Resources:
- Campus Remote Work Website
- Request a Flexible Work Arrangement in Workday - Employee
- Flexible Work Arrangement Questionnaire: Employee checklist (PDF)
- Reviewing Flexible Work Arrangements in Workday - Manager
Last updated 10/21/25