Boca Raton Police Department Employee Scheduling System PDF

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operating Procedure 22.03 EMPLOYEE SCHEDULING SYSTEM (VCS) Revised: May 27, 2021 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this standard operating procedure is to establish guidelines and procedures for the administration of the employee scheduling system. II. DE...

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operating Procedure 22.03 EMPLOYEE SCHEDULING SYSTEM (VCS) Revised: May 27, 2021 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this standard operating procedure is to establish guidelines and procedures for the administration of the employee scheduling system. II. DEFINITIONS: Dashboard: A profile within VCS that displays information such as the Daily Schedule, Requested and Approved Time Off, Call Signs, and/or the Daily Roster. A Dashboard corresponds to a platoon or section within the Department. Electronic Leave Request: A leave request submitted electronically via the VCS Web Portal. Electronic Overtime Request: An overtime request submitted electronically via the VCS Web Portal. This refers to both requests for Overtime and Compensation (Comp) Time. Electronic Request: Refers to both Electronic Leave Requests and Electronic Overtime Requests. Employee Scheduling System: Electronic scheduling, time, and attendance software that manages the scheduling of designated Department employees, also referred to as VCS. Exchange of Time: Two employees who, in accordance with The Agreement between the City of Boca Raton and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35, makes a commitment to fulfill the duties of exchanged shifts. III. PROCEDURE: A. ACCESS: 1. Employees shall access the employee scheduling system via the VCS Web Portal at: http://login.vcssoftware.com. 2. The designated Site Code for the Department is “brpdfl”. 3. Employees shall utilize their employee City ID number in combination with their designated password to access VCS. 4. Employees shall not log in as another user, with the exception of system administrators as needed and only for the purpose of providing technical assistance. Effective: September 29, 2020 Revised: May 27, 2021 Employee Scheduling System SOP No. 22.03 Page 1 of 7 5. Access roles for each user account will be set according to the employee’s position and/or responsibility within the Department by a system administrator. Should an employee require elevated user rights, a system administrator shall be notified. B. ELECTRONIC REQUEST PROCEDURES: 1. Prior to submitting an Electronic Leave Request, employees should review their Dashboard (based on assignment) to verify staffing on the date leave is being sought. 2. To request leave, employees shall submit an Electronic Leave Request via the VCS Web Portal. 3. To submit overtime, employees shall submit an Electronic Overtime Request via the VCS Web Portal. 4. After an electronic request has been submitted, a confirmation e-mail is sent to the employee. 5. Supervisors may submit an electronic request on behalf of an employee. 6. Employees will receive a warning in VCS when an Electronic Overtime Request for comp time would exceed the allowed 120-hour maximum. Employees shall not override the warning and must submit the Electronic Overtime Request as overtime, rather than comp time. C. ELECTRONIC REQUEST STATUSES: 1. After an employee submits an electronic request, it may show as: a. Requested: The electronic request is awaiting first-level supervisor review and is not approved. b. Approved w/Stip (Approved with Stipulation): The electronic request has been approved at the first level and is awaiting full approval. c. Approved: The electronic request has been finalized and shall be considered approved. d. D. Denied: The electronic request has been denied. APPROVAL OF ELECTRONIC REQUESTS: 1. Electronic requests have two levels of approval. Typically, the first-line supervisor initiates the first approval by designating the leave status as “Approved with Stipulation”. The second-line supervisor typically finalizes the approval by designating the leave status as “Approved”. 2. No employee shall approve his/her own electronic request. Effective: September 29, 2020 Revised: May 27, 2021 Employee Scheduling System SOP No. 22.03 Page 2 of 7 3. An electronic request shall not be considered approved until the “Approved” status has been set. 4. When the status of an electronic request has been changed, a confirmation email is sent to the employee. 5. Supervisors shall not delete electronic requests; the Deny status shall be used. The only exception is if an Electronic Leave Request has previously been denied, and an employee must resubmit an Electronic Leave Request for the same date. (VCS will not allow a user to submit an Electronic Leave Request for a shift which he/she has previously been denied leave for.) E. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION: 1. When circumstances exist that require supporting documentation to be submitted along with the electronic request, the employee shall note the existence of the supporting documentation in the “Comments” section of the electronic request. a. Court Appearances: When submitting a request for overtime write “Subpoena Submitted” in the comments section of the Electronic Overtime Request. b. Military Leave: When submitting a request for time off pursuant to military orders, write “Military Orders Submitted” in the comments section of the Electronic Leave Request. 2. After submitting an electronic request that requires supporting documentation, the submitting employee shall print out a copy of the confirmation he/she received via email and attach the supporting documentation to it. 3. The submitting employee shall give the printed confirmation with the supporting documentation attached to his/her supervisor. 4. Prior to a supervisor approving an electronic request that requires it, he/she shall have reviewed the supporting documentation. 5. Once an electronic request has been “Approved”, the supporting documentation shall be forwarded by the approving supervisor to the Department’s timekeeper. F. EXCHANGE OF TIME: 1. Employees shall request to exchange time through his/her supervisor, who will enter the request via the “Request a Switch” link in VCS. 2. All exchanges of time shall be submitted/entered as a “Switch”, NOT “Reciprocate” or “Substitution”. 3. Exchanges of time shall be approved by a lieutenant (or acting watch commander with appropriate VCS security privileges) or someone of higher rank in accordance with Effective: September 29, 2020 Revised: May 27, 2021 Employee Scheduling System SOP No. 22.03 Page 3 of 7 The Agreement between the City of Boca Raton and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35. 4. For more information on exchanging and approving time exchanges, see Appendix A Entering an Exchange of Time Request and Appendix B Approving an Exchange of Time Request. G. SICK LEAVE: 1. Any employee who is unable to report for scheduled duty shall personally notify his/her supervisor or the on-duty watch commander stating the reason and the expected date and time of return. See Departmental Standards Directive 22.100 Compensation, Benefits and Conditions of Work. a. An employee who only submits an Electronic Leave Request in VCS for Sick Leave does not satisfy the personal notification requirement. 2. Upon being notified that an employee is unable to report for scheduled duty, the supervisor shall enter the employee’s sick time into VCS by submitting an Electronic Leave Request. a. In the “Comments” section of the Electronic Leave Request, the supervisor shall enter the name of the supervisor who received the notification as well as the date and time the notification was made. 3. In the event an employee scheduled to work an Exchange of Time calls out sick, an Electronic Leave Request shall be entered by the supervisor, utilizing the date the employee was scheduled to work prior to the Exchange of Time. a. For example: Employee “A” is normally scheduled to work October 1st, and exchanges time with Employee “B”, who is normally scheduled to work October 3rd. Employee “B” calls out sick on October 1st. The supervisor would enter an Electronic Leave Request for Employee “B”, with sick time being entered on October 3rd. b. In the “Comments” section of the Electronic Leave Request, in addition to notating the name of the supervisor who received the notification and the date and time the notification was made, the supervisor shall also indicate the actual date the sick leave took place. (In the above example, that would be October 1st.) 4. As applicable, a personal notification by the receiving supervisor should also be made to the supervisor(s) of oncoming shifts. Effective: September 29, 2020 Revised: May 27, 2021 Employee Scheduling System SOP No. 22.03 Page 4 of 7 I. ELECTRONIC REQUEST REVISIONS: 1. Once an electronic request has been approved, it may only be revised by a supervisor with user access rights at the current approved level. a. As an example, a sergeant may not revise an electronic request that has already been approved by a Lieutenant. 2. If an electronic request has already been entered by the timekeeper or exported into the Department’s payroll software, the timekeeper shall be notified by the revising supervisor of all revisions made in VCS. a. It shall be the responsibility of the revising supervisor to determine if the electronic request has already been entered by the timekeeper or exported into the Department’s payroll software. J. EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITY: 1. It shall be the employee’s responsibility to: a. Verify the accuracy and completeness of all information entered into an electronic request prior to submitting it. This includes, if applicable, entering a case number into the Comments section of an Electronic Overtime Request. b. Submit Electronic Overtime Requests immediately at the conclusion of any overtime worked unless a delay is approved by a supervisor. c. Verify that sufficient hours exist in his/her time bank balances prior to submitting an Electronic Leave Request (as applicable). d. Keep track of any Regular Days Off (RDO) he/she accrued and ensure an Electronic Leave Request is submitted only once per RDO earned. RDOs shall be used in the pay period they were earned. e. Notify a supervisor if an RDO is scheduled, and the employee did not actually accrue the time. (E.g., a training date was cancelled). f. Track his/her respective Electronic Overtime Requests in VCS. If an initial or final confirmation email is not received, and/or if the overtime status in VCS remains unchanged, employees shall follow-up with his/her supervisor to ensure that overtime or comp time is fully approved in a timely manner. g. Track his/her respective Electronic Leave Requests in VCS. If an initial or final confirmation email is not received, and/or if the leave status in VCS remains unchanged, employees shall follow-up with his/her supervisor to ensure that leave is fully approved prior to the date the leave is to begin. h. Track his/her respective Exchange of Time request in VCS. If a request is not reflected on the daily schedule, employees shall follow-up with his/her Effective: September 29, 2020 Revised: May 27, 2021 Employee Scheduling System SOP No. 22.03 Page 5 of 7 supervisor to ensure that an Exchange of Time is approved prior to the date of the first exchanged shift. K. SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITY: 1. It shall be the supervisor’s responsibility to: a. Review and take appropriate action upon electronic requests for his/her respective employees at least once per shift and change the status of each request as needed. b. Prior to approving an Electronic Leave Request, supervisors shall review staffing on the date requested to ensure minimum staffing levels are maintained. c. Designate another supervisor to review electronic requests for his/her respective employees if they are on leave for an extended period of time. d. Ensure employee’s schedules, work times, and other job assignments are accurately depicted in VCS. e. Set and update zone and/or call sign assignments within VCS prior to the start of a shift. f. When notified, complete an Electronic Leave Request for an employee who is unable to report for work due to sickness. g. Ensure an Electronic Leave Request has been submitted for an employee not reporting for his/her normally scheduled shift. This includes when an employee is scheduled for school and training. h. Communicate with the Timekeeper when approved Electronic Requests are revised in VCS to ensure continuity between all applicable systems. i. Ensure an Exchange of Time is entered and/or approved in accordance with The Agreement between the City of Boca Raton and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35. j. Verify with both employees involved that they are making a commitment to an Exchange of Time and intend to fulfill the duties of the exchanged shift prior to approving any switch request. k. The approving supervisor should send an email verification to both employees involved in the Exchange of Time as well as both employees’ lieutenants. Effective: September 29, 2020 Revised: May 27, 2021 Employee Scheduling System SOP No. 22.03 Page 6 of 7 M. WEEKLY REVIEW: 1. Bureau commanders shall review approved electronic requests weekly for employees under their command. Approved: Michele Miuccio Chief of Police Effective: September 29, 2020 Revised: May 27, 2021 Date: Employee Scheduling System SOP No. 22.03 Page 7 of 7