A hybrid working policy sets out the rules for splitting time between the office and remote work — and it needs to cover leave management explicitly. Without clear rules, hybrid working creates confusion about who needs to be in the office when, how leave interacts with office day requirements, and whether remote days can be swapped.
Key Takeaways
- A hybrid policy should define minimum office days, how they are scheduled, and whether they apply during leave.
- Leave and hybrid days must be linked — clarify whether leave counts as an office day or a remote day.
- Include fair access rules to ensure hybrid working is available equitably across the team.
- Address equipment, expenses, and health and safety for home workspaces.
- Set a review period — hybrid policies evolve quickly, and annual reviews keep them relevant.
What a Hybrid Policy Must Cover
Minimum office attendance. Specify how many days per week or month must be spent in the office. Common patterns include 2-3 fixed days, flexible days chosen by the team, or a monthly minimum. Be clear about what counts — for example, a half-day in the office for a meeting may or may not count toward the minimum.
Scheduling office days. State who decides which days are office days. Some policies require specific days (e.g., Tuesday-Thursday as core office days). Others let teams coordinate their own schedules. The policy should include a process for agreeing and communicating office days.
How annual leave affects office day requirements. This is often overlooked. If an employee is on annual leave for three days in a week, does the remaining two days still need to be in the office? Best practice is: if you are in the office on fewer days than the minimum due to leave, the office requirement for that week is reduced proportionally. For example, if the policy requires 3 office days per week and you take 2 days of leave, you only need to be in the office for 1 of the remaining 3 days.
Home working arrangements. Specify what constitutes an acceptable home workspace, who provides equipment, and how expenses are handled. Include health and safety responsibilities for the home office — the employer retains duty of care.
Fair access. Ensure hybrid working is not allocated unfairly. A policy should prevent situations where some team members are always in the office while others work remotely. This can be achieved through rotas, team agreements, or manager oversight.
Template Policy Structure
A complete hybrid working policy should include:
- Purpose and scope — who the policy applies to and why it exists
- Definitions — what counts as office work, remote work, and hybrid
- Minimum attendance requirements — days per week or month
- Scheduling process — how office days are agreed and communicated
- Leave and hybrid rules — how annual leave, sick leave, and other leave types interact with office day requirements
- Equipment and expenses — what the employer provides and what the employee must arrange
- Health and safety — home office assessments and responsibilities
- Data security — handling confidential information outside the office
- Flexible working requests — how to request variations to the standard pattern
- Review and governance — when the policy will be reviewed and who owns it
Managing Leave in a Hybrid Policy
The interaction between hybrid working and leave requires specific rules:
- Annual leave during a hybrid week — reduce the office day requirement proportionally
- Sick leave on an office day — does not need to be made up as a remote day later
- Public holidays in a hybrid week — treat as you would a non-working day for office count purposes
- Carer’s leave or emergency leave — should not count against office day requirements
- Planning leave around core office days — avoid situations where teams are never together because key members are always on leave on office days
A simple rule works best: leave days are neither office nor remote — they are leave. They are removed from the calculation for that week, and the remaining days are counted against the office minimum.