5-860: 10 Hour Work Day

Purpose

To provide direction for the request of a ten-hour work day schedule.

Authority

• Section 2.78.124 of the County Personnel Ordinance.

Scope

Below is a guide that generally summarized Sacramento County policy regarding ten-hour day/forty-hour work weeks. Any questions should be directed to the Department of Personnel Management.

Policy

Departments requesting approval of a 10/40 project should submit a written request and target date for implementation to the Director of Personnel Management The County Executive, or his representative will recommend to the Board of Supervisors approval of 10/40 work week schedules which are deemed appropriate.  No 10/40 will be schedules without the approval of the Board of Supervisors. The normal county work schedule is eight hours a day, five days per week. Any change from this normal schedule must be justified by the requesting department.

1. This request should specifically address itself to:
   1. Where the 10/40 project will be implemented;
   2. Who will be involved; i.e., division or section, number of employees, classification of each employee, etc.
   3. Why? 
   4. The main factor here is that the approval of this plan would result in a tangible benefit to the County. At least one of the​ following would qualify as a “tangible benefit":
      1. An increase in services;
      2. A decrease in staff while maintaining at least the current level of services; or
      3. A staffing shift which would better meet the hours of peak work load.
   5. An estimation of the effect of this plan on employee morale.
   6. A statement as to whether affected employees have been informed and consulted.
   7. An evaluation of the impact the implementation a 10/40 will have on the ability of:
      1. Five-day week/eight-hour day employees to orally communicate with employees on a 10/40 schedule;
      2. Four/ten employees to orally communicate with other employees on a 10/40 schedule; and
      3. Clients, and the public in general, to orally communicate with 10/40 employees—and vice versa.

Once submitted, the County Executive, or his representative, will evaluate the request and make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.  If the request is approved, the program may be operated for a trial period, after which an evaluation by the department head should be given to the County Executive, or his representative, for review.  If the trial project is a success, the County Executive, or his representative, will recommend to the Board of Supervisors the program continue to operate on a permanent basis.

The County Executive, or his representative, is responsible for negotiating the provisions of each 10/40 project with the employee organization.  The basic county policy as to ten-hour days/forty-hour weeks is set forth in Section 2.78.124 of the Sacramento County Personnel Ordinance.

All county offices must remain open to the public at least from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (holidays excepted).  One of the problems government faces is that it is servicing a public that works 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  To better serve the public, it may be desirable that the doors remain open in excess of 5p.m. and prior to 8 a.m.  The longer hours also may be an opportunity to get needed work done and better serve the public during the hours of 8 to 5.

In considering 10/40 projects, one significant factor is the impact of the 10/40 schedule work week on business contracts.  This needs to be carefully considered.  In addition, if your department must rely on the services of, or provide services to some other government agency or some other department, definite efforts to coordinate services and fill mutual needs should be explored.  Is the nature of the work such that the absence of a particular individual on normal work days would be a handicap?  Are there others who need to conduct business with the 10/40 staff during the regular five-day work week?  Will the absence of particular individuals one day a week be an inconvenience to others, such as clients, vendors, contractors, other departments or offices, or the public?  Does the 10/40 staff involved have specific assignments or caseloads, so that the absence of particular employees would inconvenience persons who have to consult regarding the assignment or caseload?  Is the work such that the 10/40 staff would frequently be subject to being called in on the normal day off?

​Since it is necessary to provide service at least five days a week, your employees should be scheduled to satisfactorily cover the five-day period.  In doing so you should not cut your staff so thin that if a person is out ill there will be no one available to adequately perform necessary services.  You should address lunch hours and break times to make sure they will be covered.

When scheduling days off, several alternatives should be examined.  That is, most employees will want their days off either Friday or Monday in order to have a three-day weekend.  With this in mind, it may be necessary, in order to have proper staffing during the week and proper coverage in case of illness, that some employees be given their day off during the middle of the week.

Make sure that there will always be adequate supervision.  Careful consideration should be given to the proper supervision and training necessary for new employees.

The final decision of whether or not your department implements the 10/40 work week for all or some of your employees is a management decision based upon the needs and services of your department.  However, the matter should be discussed with the employees involved.  It would be advisable to let them know at the outset of the discussion that the feasibility of the 10/40 work week is just being studied and that you do not want them to be under the impression that it will definitely be implemented.  For most employees, implementation of a 10/40 schedule requires approval of the recognized employee organization which represents the employees.

The following are general areas which should be discussed with the employees:

• How will the 10/40 work week affect them personally?  (Research indicates that one of the problems with the 10/40 work week is the employee's initial adjustment to have an extra day off and what to do with it.)  Have they thought about what they will do with their leisure time?  How will they handle child care?  What about transportation? 
• How will the 10/40 work week affect them in their job assignments?  (The individual employee is probably the best one to identify the problems that he will face and is also the nest one to find the solutions.)  Will they become too tired to be effective near the end of the day?  Will they still be able to coordinate all of their individual assignments with other employees?  Will it affect their job assignment when another employee in the department is out for his extra day off?  Will they be able to use the time before and after the normal 8 to 5 work day more productively or less productively?​