Flexible working incorporates any formal/contractual working arrangements where the number of hours you work or the time or place that you work varies from the standard practice.

If you require a permanent change to your working hours/arrangements, you will need to apply for a Flexible Working Arrangement to be considered. If granted this will become a ‘hard constraint’ during the scheduling process.

Staff can apply for formal Flexible Working Arrangements at any time. Each February, P&OD will collate existing FWAs on record to communicate to Faculty Scheduling teams. It is therefore advisable to apply for one at the end of the calendar year/before a new calendar year starts if required.

For full details of Flexible Working and to apply for a Flexible Working Arrangement, please click here.

Yes. Flexible Working Arrangements that are contractual are legally binding. The days and times that a staff member is not available are built into the timetable as an immovable/hard constraint.

No. If you are registered with DASS, they will provide the effect of any reasonable adjustments required for timetabling to the relevant Faculty Scheduling team.

Yes. If you are not available to teach between Monday and Friday, from 0900 – 1800 you will need to log your working arrangement with P&OD in order for them to share your availability with the Faculty Scheduling teams.

The P&OD partner for each Faculty has a responsibility to inform Faculty Scheduling teams of new or amended Flexible Working Arrangements. If new staff with Flexible Working Arrangements arrive after scheduling has commenced or finished, the Faculty Scheduling team will reschedule the relevant activities. The new Flexible Working Arrangement will then be factored into the P&OD submission to the Faculty Scheduling team for the next timetabling cycle.

If you require a permanent change to your working hours/arrangements, you will need to apply for a Flexible Working Arrangement to be considered. If granted this will become a ‘hard constraint’ during the scheduling process. Staff can apply for formal Flexible Working Arrangements at any time. Each year, P&OD will collate existing FWAs in February. It is therefore advisable to apply for one at the end of the calendar year, if required.

Teaching Availability Arrangement applications may not all be granted. Those that are approved are considered to be ‘soft constraints’ in the timetable and may not be fully honoured. They are valid for one academic year and will not be rolled from one year to the next.

The TAA process provides a mechanism for staff to request not to be timetabled to teach on certain days and/or times. Whereas a FWA is an arrangement relating to all aspects of work, a TAA is specific to the scheduling of teaching (e.g. you may be available to undertake research or other work-related activities, but not to teach).

Unlike a FWA – which is legally binding on both employer and employee - a TAA does not change any aspect of your contract of employment; instead, it is a request for some factor to be taken into account where it is practicable.    

Under the current Teaching Availability Arrangement mechanism, academic staff can apply for TAAs. If a GTA is assigned to deliver an activity that they are not available to facilitate, in the first instance an alternative GTA will be sought. If there is only one GTA that can facilitate a particular activity and they are not available, the School will submit a timetable change request.

TAA applications for the 2024/25 academic year must be submitted by Friday 15th March 2024. 

The TAA application and approval process will take place once a year. 

Each Faculty will annually remind staff to submit their TAA requests for the next academic year. Your Faculty Scheduling team will publish the deadlines for the submission of the applications. TAA requests must be made by completing the form below:  

Teaching Availability Arrangement (TAA) Application 2024 - 25

You can apply for a Teaching Availability Arrangement if you already have a Flexible Working Arrangement. 

No. You will need to provide a reason for your request and the days/times you wish to be made unavailable to teach.

The recommended way to do this is by submitting a Teaching Availability Arrangement application because your request will need to be assessed on an individual, case-by-case basis. In line with the TAA approvals process, the Dean of your Faculty or their Delegate will decide whether to grant a TAA for this reason or not.

If the TAA is granted it will be factored into the scheduling process, and if practicable, every effort will be made to protect this time; but this cannot be guaranteed for certain. 

No. The scheduling process attempts to make sure everyone involved in teaching has at least one day without scheduled activities. While this cannot be guaranteed for everyone for every week, it is true for the vast majority of colleagues for the vast majority of the time.  

Registered DASS arrangements for reasonable adjustments are not the same as Teaching Availability Arrangements. If you are registered with DASS, they will provide the effect of the reasonable adjustments required for timetabling to the relevant Faculty Scheduling team.

If you need to make a change to your availability to teach after the TAA deadline has closed you will need to request a change to the timetable. You should contact your Faculty Scheduling team to notify them of the new information. If this occurs after the timetable is published to students they may request that you submit a formal timetable change request.

All submissions will be assessed by a faculty panel convened by the Dean. It is recommended that the panel comprise of Heads of School, the Faculty Teaching & Learning Officer (Scheduling & Projects), and P&OD Partners.

Teaching Availability Arrangement applications may not all be granted. Those that are approved are considered to be ‘soft constraints’ in the timetable and may not be fully honoured. They are valid for one academic year and will not be rolled from one year to the next.

Each Faculty will manage the convening of the panel to assess the TAA applications. When the TAA applications open, your Faculty Scheduling team will liaise with Schools and PGR Services colleagues to establish the timeline for the assessment of the applications and associated communications. The Dean or their nominated academic delegate will inform colleagues of the outcomes of the applications.

Teaching Availability Arrangement applications may not all be granted and are valid for one academic year only.

The Dean or their nominated delegate will inform you.

No, as it is an informal request there is no appeal route.

You can apply for a Teaching Availability Arrangement to request that you be made unavailable for a particular day/time, though it is not guaranteed to be honoured during scheduling if approved.

If you are accepted on to conferences after the deadline for the Teaching Availability Arrangement applications and wish to change the timetable, you would need to raise a formal timetable change request via your School or the Faculty Scheduling team.

You can find contact details for People & OD Partners and Heads of People & OD here.

If you have a query over the availability of a technical staff member, please refer to the following colleagues:

FSE: Martin Coram (martin.coram@manchester.ac.uk)

HUMS: Jonathan Lillie (jonathan.lillie@manchester.ac.uk)

FBMH: Hayley Monk (hayley.monk@manchester.ac.uk)