The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) issued a special circular urging all ministries and federal bodies to implement "Back to School” policy, launched by the Federal Government, on the recommendation of the National Program for Happiness & Quality of Life, in coordination with the Authority.
In this regard, Aisha Al-Suwaidi, Executive Director of Human Resources Policy Sector at the Authority, called on ministries and federal entities to help parents working in the Federal Government with their responsibility at the beginning of the new school year, by enabling them to accompany their children to schools on the first school day. The implementation is in line with the general policy of the Federal Government as well as HR legislation and procedures adopted, without affecting the normal workflow and provision of services.
"Back to School” policy is about allowing parents working for the Federal Government time to take their children to and from schools, whether through arriving late to work in the morning, or leaving early on the first day of school, for a maximum period of 3 hours.
The policy also stipulates that employees who have children enrolled in nurseries or kindergartens should be allowed to perform flexible work for one week from the beginning of the school year to accompany their children for a maximum of 3 hours per day.
The Executive Director of HR Policy said: “This flexibility is allowed in accordance with the regulations in each federal entity, in order to boost levels of job satisfaction, happiness and work -life balance among employees.
"The policy comes as part of the wise leadership’s orientation to make things easier for parents and students, enhance family cohesion by taking into account the social dimensions of employees to achieve stability and strengthen the role of the family as nucleus of society."
Hamad Bu Amim, Director of Policies and Legal Affairs Department explained that employees are given the right to come late to work and leave early on the first day of school to accompany their children to and from school, provided that the period of absence in either case does not exceed three hours combined or divided into two morning and evening periods. He added that employees who have children enrolled in nurseries or kindergartens should be allowed to perform flexible work for one week from the beginning of the school year to accompany their children for a maximum of 3 hours per day.
He stressed the importance of the policy in supporting the Federal Government employees and increasing their happiness and satisfaction through attending to their children at school, calling on HR departments in ministries and federal entities to implement it carefully so that employees should benefit from the flexibility allowed.
The National Program for Happiness and Quality of Life recommended that this new policy be added to government policies in cooperation with the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, to help parents and to take into consideration the requirements of the new school year. He hoped that this will have a positive impact on the children at the beginning of the academic year..
The policy benefits more than 28,000 parents working in the Federal Government, with more than 90,000 children and daughters in schools, and more than 4,000 children under the age of five.