Table of Contents

Introduction

• Purpose and Scope
• Definition of Terms
• Approval
• Criteria for Eligibility

Telecommuting Policy

• Work Outside Home Office
• Telecommuting Work Agreement
• Continued Applicability of Employment Terms
• Designated Work Area

Guidelines and Procedures

• General Guidelines for Telecommute Work Arrangement
• Record of Hours
• Compliance with Productivity Requirements, Policies and Procedures
• No Obligation to Provide Additional Remuneration
• Visibility and Development Opportunities
• Communication
• Security
• Access to Policies and Procedures
• Health and Safety
• Risk Assessments
• Photograph of the Designated Work Area
• Annual Reviews
• Changes to the Designated Home Office
• Ergonomics
• Seated Workstation Setup Guide
• Layout of a Workstation
• First Aid
• Reporting of Incidents
• Auditing

Documentation and Checklists

• Equipment
• Insurance
• Termination and Extension of Agreements
• Documentation (Philippines only)
• Annex A - Telecommuting Checklist – Applicant
• Annex B - Telecommuting Checklist – Employee
• Documentation (All other sites)
• Working from Home Checklist
• Working from Home Agreement
• References
• Document Information

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this procedure is to detail the company requirements for employees who are expressly authorised to perform work on a Telecommuting Set-up, such as, but not limited to Work-From-Home, as part of their role during work time. Probe is committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment for all employees and this extends to employees who are on approved Telecommuting Work Set-Up.

Probe recognises that promoting flexible working arrangements can have mutual benefits. Allowing employees to work remotely provides working arrangements for employees which assist in balancing the demands of work and family/personal life whilst also enabling the employee to continue to contribute to the needs of the business and our clients.

This Policy covers all employees who, at the sole discretion of the Company, are eligible and qualified to perform work on a telecommuting work arrangement, either on a permanent, hybrid or occasional basis.

This policy applies to all entities and affiliates of Probe Group in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines. Specifically, this policy applies to employees of:

1. Probe Group Philippines Inc.
2. Probe Contact Philippines Inc.
3. Probe CX Philippines Inc.
4. Microsourcing Philippines Inc.
5. Beepo Inc.

Definition of Terms

1. Telecommuting/Telecommuting Work Arrangement refers to a work arrangement that allows an employee to work from an alternative workplace with the use telecommunication and/or computer technologies as approved by the employee’s Manager.
2. Home office refers to an employee’s registered secure workplace where work has to be performed under telecommuting work arrangement which has been approved by the employee’s Manager.
3. Hybrid Telecommuting Set-up refers to an employment accommodation where an employee is required to work from home and in-center/on Probe or client premises, subject to schedule and/or rotation basis.
4. Telecommuting Employee refers to an employee who, at the sole discretion of the Company, has been identified and approved to perform work in his/her home office, either on a permanent, hybrid or occasional basis.

Approval

Employees not hired and approved to be on a permanent remote work set-up are not permitted to be on Telecommute Work Arrangement without the express prior written approval from their Manager. Requests to telecommute will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Criteria for Eligibility

Under all circumstances, the Company has the sole right and discretion to determine eligibility and qualification for Telecommuting Work Arrangement following below criteria:

1. The role/function has been identified and approved to be eligible/qualified for telecommuting work arrangement. For Microsourcing and Beepo employees, approval shall be from the Vice President of People and Culture, CE Head (for active empoyees) and VP of Sales and Business Development (for new hires).
2. Identified employees can demonstrate availability of required technology and security requirements to perform work on telecommuting work arrangement such as acceptable and stable internet connection. The Information Technology team shall determine the sufficiency of technology and information security requirements and shall make the necessary recommendation to Head of Operations, Business Development, Client Implementation and/or Client Experience, as the case may be. To this end, WFH Checklist must be prepared by the responsible Client Implementation (for new clients) and Client Experience Team/Operations Team (for existing clients). Such WFH Checklist may vary based on technical and administrative needs to departments/campaign/line of business or projects.
3. Identified employee can demonstrate availability of a private, secure and safe home office where work can be performed. A home office should be a private work area free from noise and should have no access to third-parties during telecommuting employee’s work hours. The identified home office should also be within reasonable proximity from the telecommuting employee’s Probe office for purposes of business continuity. For new hires, Talent Acquisition shall be responsible in ensuring compliance with WFH requirements while Client Experience/Operations shall ensure compliance for existing employees.
4. For existing employees, they should not be under any performance management plan and/or has no active corrective action.
5. To successfully work from home, an employee should:
   1. be self-disciplined and self-motivated;
   2. be able to work effectively without close supervision;
   3. be able to plan their work, meet agreed deadlines and have high levels of output whilst working independently;
   4. have high levels of organisational knowledge;
   5. be in a role where relevant meetings can be attended via telephone or other remote means;
   6. be an effective communicator.
6. Identified employee has agreed to this Policy.

Taking into account business, health, safety and security considerations, the Company reserves the right to provide additional eligibility/qualifications for requests for telecommuting work arrangement.

Employees and managers should be aware of these limitations when making/assessing a request to telecommute and be aware the Manager is required to take these factors into account when assessing requests to telecommute and should only approve applications in which both the role and the employee's work style are suited to telecommuting work. Managers are required to comply with anti-discrimination and workplace laws in considering and responding to requests to work from home on a temporary or permanent basis.

Work Outside Home Office

As a general rule, work outside the designated Home Office is prohibited. Any work performed outside the designated Home Office (outside State/Country, café, libraries, second/alternative homes etc.) must be subject to prior written approval by the employee’s Manager and subject to compliance with the WFH Checklist.

Any request to telecommute outside the State and/or country of employment, and not within the premises of any Probe sites/locations, shall be assessed and approved by a Senior Manager in writing.

Telecommuting Work Agreement

Approval to perform Telecommute Work should be confirmed in a Telecommuting Work Agreement available from the People and Culture Team.

Continued Applicability of Employment Terms

All terms and conditions of employment that apply whilst working on Probe premises are applicable to Telecommuting Work Set-up including, but not limited to, confidentiality obligations and ownership of intellectual property created whilst on telecommuting work.

Expectations that apply at Probe continue to apply when an employee performing telecommuting work, which includes, i.e.,same quality of work, deadlines should continue to be achieved and employees are required to report to their manager regardless of where the work is performed.

Designated Work Area

As a pre-condition to a being able to work from home on a regular basis and in order to ensure the ‘workplace’ is clearly defined, employees working from home are required to nominate a designated work area in their home which will be the area where they will perform their role during work time.

This area must be suitable and fit for purpose (e.g. a study). Prior to commencing a telecommuting work set-up, employees must notify Probe of the location of their designated work. This should be noted in the Work from Home Agreement. It is the employee’s responsibility to notify Probe of any change in the location of the designated work area.

For clarification, the designated work area is a 1-metre radius around the actual workstation where the computer is positioned.

The designated work area must be a quiet area where telephone discussion can be held without disruption or noise interference.

General Guidelines for Telecommute Work Arrangement

Record of Hours

All telecommuting employees must continue to use Probe’s and their account/campaign/client specific official timekeeping tool/s.

Compliance with Productivity Requirements, Policies and Procedures

Managers of employees under telecommuting work arrangement shall ensure proper monitoring of productivity to telecommuting employees. Managers can require, when available, employees to log in through official Company and/or client communication tools. Managers may also require all telecommuting employees to also submit a complete End of Day Report at the end of your shift, specifying the tasks completed within the shift. Probe reserves the right to install productivity monitoring, and other information and data security software and when needed, telecommuting employees must comply with the return to onsite to effect installation.

While on telecommuting work arrangement, employees are expected to meet all Company and/or campaign/client performance requirements such as KPI scorecards. Failure to meet the required performance targets may result in corrective action and/or a Performance Improvement Plan. At the discretion of the Company, the telecommuting work arrangement may be discontinued if an employee is not meeting his/her/their performance targets.

Telecommuting employees are expected to keep all communication lines open and must be available to answer and respond to all emails, calls and chat in a timely manner. All employees must declare their designated home office and undertake to only perform work in the declared home office.

Any change in home office or work location shall require approval from the employee’s Manager. Telecommuting employees shall be responsible in keeping their contact details, including complete residential address, in the Company’s HR systems (e.g. Workday, Microsotatus etc.).

Considering that the availability of a reliable internet connection is a condition to be eligible for telecommuting work arrangement, telecommuting employees are expected to maintain a reliable internet connection. Depending on business requirements, a requesting and/or identified employee may be required to increase their internet speed before approval of telecommuting work arrangement or during the telecommuting work arrangement. Costs attendant to the application, connection and/or maintenance of a reliable internet connection shall be at the cost of the requesting/telecommuting employee.

Any incidents of system or internet downtime during official working hours will be considered as absence or lost hours. If prior notice of unavailability of internet connection, employee must follow the set Business Continuity Plan which may include, among others, the need to temporarily report in-center.

Only company-issued desktop or laptop can be used during telecommuting work arrangement. All desktops and laptops used for telecommuting work meet the required specifications for the Company/client-installed tools/software.

While on telecommuting work arrangement, all telecommuting employees must ensure compliance with the Company’s Code of Ethics and Conduct, Information Security, Data Privacy and Confidentiality policies, procedures and covenants. Any suspected, possible and/or actual breach in the Company’s security and/or data privacy must be reported immediately.

Telecommuting employees shall not access or process the Company’s/client’s tools/software using unlicensed or illegal software.

Telecommuting employees must ensure that when telecommuting, they have complete tools and other resources (i.e. software and applications) to complete their tasks/deliverables.

All telecommuting employees shall ensure compliance with all Company policies and regulations including, but not limited to, Code of Conduct, Attendance and Punctuality Guidelines, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy and Occupational Safety and Health. Failure to comply with applicable Company policies may result in the issuance of corrective action and potential disciplinary action in accordance with Probe policies.

All employees on Full or Hybrid Work Telecommute set-up may be required to report in-center to effect official company processes such as, but not limited to, face-to-face coaching/mentoring sessions, personal information updating, checking equipment, investigating technical issues, physical and medical examination and random drug testing (for Philippine based employees), occupational health and safety-related activities and corrective action processes. Travel expenses owing to this requirement shall be at the telecommuting employee’s own account.

No Obligation to Provide Additional Remuneration

Unless specifically granted or specified in an industrial instrument, no additional allowance and/or benefits shall accrue to telecommuting employees solely on account of telecommuting work arrangement.

If requested by the manager, a record of hours of work at the home-based designated work area during the employee’s normal working hours must be maintained by the employee in an agreed format with their manager and will be monitored at the manager’s discretion.

Visibility and Development Opportunities

Managers and other employees should not assume that the productivity, loyalty, or commitment to the job of an employee that is not physically present in the office at the same time as the manager is affected. Furthermore, Managers and other employees should not assume an employee is not interested in development opportunities just because they are in a telecommuting work arrangement.

Managers must recognize an employee’s performance should be measured not by the time a person is in the office, rather by productivity and work output. In some cases, ad hoc or regular telecommuting work arrangements enable employees to bring greater commitment and productivity to their role and the business.

Employees working under a telecommuting work arrangement should have the same opportunities for career development and training as on-site based employees. This also extends to the one-on-one process and performance reviews conducted for employees attending a Probe office. All employees must recognise a telecommuting work arrangement is made between the Manager and relevant employee. It is not appropriate for other Managers or employees to negatively comment on any such arrangement, whether amongst themselves or directly to the employee. Any concerns or issues with the arrangement must be discussed directly with the Manager who authorised the arrangement.

Communication

A manager should put in place an arrangement that ensures an employee working off site remains connected to the workplace. That is, to ensure that all employees remain engaged in the team and shared tasks. Equally, employees need to consider the operational needs of the business and clients and must actively remain in contact. Whilst on telecommuting work arrangement with authorisation from their manager, an employee needs to be contactable and available to communicate with Probe (using agreed communication methods). When authorising a temporary or ongoing telecommuting work arrangement managers should consider communication methods that may be required for the particular role (and any relevant internal or external stakeholders).

Security

Employees are required to comply with all policies and procedures whilst on telecommuting work arrangement including, but not limited to, information security and privacy policies and procedures which apply regardless of whether Probe equipment is being used on-site or whilst telecommuting.

Security of information accessible by employees working remotely should be applied in the same manner as Probe’s office based employees. Employees are required to:

• ensure all files and databases containing confidential and proprietary information are password protected with strong passwords;
• ensure the designated work area is secure/locked when unattended;
• not share logins, passwords, documentation or user identification with anyone;
• store sensitive and confidential information appropriately (including in locked filing cabinets);
• not leave confidential information laying around in clear view of others;
• not allow family and friends access to Probe laptops or computers, or access to Internet via Probe desktops delivered by Citrix;
• not take any photograph, screenshot or video of any systems, tools, database, screen and/or computers unless and
• destroy paper information securely using a cross cut paper shredder when no longer needed or retention period has elapsed.

Access to Policies and Procedures

All Policies and procedures applicable to Probe employees are made available through Probe’s identified knowledge resources.

It is for employees to make themselves familiar with these policies and procedures as they provide greater detail of applicable requirements, for example, work health and safety and processes to ensure everyone’s safety whilst at work.

Health and Safety

It is acknowledged that both employees and Probe have obligations under Work Health and Safety legislation. All work health and safety policies and procedures which apply at the employee’s usual place of work, shall as far as practicable, apply in carrying out work at the designated work area. Employees are required to cooperate with Probe in all measures to ensure the designated work area conforms and continues to conform to acceptable work health and safety standards.

Telecommuting employees must, prior to the approval of telecommuting work arrangement and/or during telecommuting work, ensure that they have a suitable private home office with applicable ergonomic work fixtures such as table and office chair. It is the responsibility of the telecommuting employee to ensure that their home office is in compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health standards including, but not limited to, use of ergonomic chairs, tables and proper ventilation.

Risk Assessments

Under legislation in all states and territories where Probe has locations, hazards within a work environment must be identified, the risk of these hazards must then be assessed. This process is generally documented in a Risk Assessment, which is undertaken on the workstation and designated work area.

Where an employee regularly works from home, the employee must complete a comprehensive risk assessment of the workstation and designated work area. The Working from Home Checklist is available for this purpose and documents the process for review of the designated work area. Full training will be provided on how to complete a risk assessment if required.

This checklist must be completed and given to the WHS Manager and/or Client Experience Team nominated by the employee’s manager who will determine whether it is of an appropriate standard and if so allow access to the Probe IT systems.

If the risk assessment is not of an appropriate standard the employee will be required to complete the assessment again, making changes as required, and at the employee’s expense, unless the equipment is part of the employees’ contractual agreement.

Photograph of the designated work area

In order to ensure the designated work area is fit for purpose, employees must produce a digital photo of the designated work area. This photo must be submitted to the employee’s manager prior to commencement of working from home and be provided as part of the Working from Home Checklist. This may also be requested from time to time as a requirement for continued telecommuting work arrangement. Employee expressly consents to the collection, processing and storage of such photograph of Home Office/work area by Probe for the purpose of compliance with this Policy.

Annual reviews

Each approved Working from Home Checklist must be reviewed. All new assessments are to be documented on the Working from Home Checklist.

Changes to the Designated Home Office

Change of designated Home Office must be approved by the concerned Manager, subject to compliance with WFH Checklist.

Changes or additions may include, but are not limited to:

• the designated work area itself – either location or address,
• the chair,
• the desk, or
• the equipment used.

Ergonomics

All employees who are authorised to work from home are required to undergo training in ergonomic principles before commencing work from home. As part of this training each employee will receive documentation outlining the correct process for setting up a workstation. Employees must adhere to these guidelines.

Further and more detailed information is available in the Ergonomic section of the “Safety and Environment Procedures and Guidelines”, which is made available in Probe’s Knowledge resources.

Seated Workstation Setup Guide

The following diagram gives the visual representation of how a seated workstation is to be ergonomically setup.

Layout of a Workstation

Frequently used items should be stored within close proximity to the user to simply avoid overreaching and strain for repetitive tasks.

The following diagram is an example of recognising and using the various sectors of a desk.

The Optimum Reach Sector is for those frequently used items such as keyboard and mouse, while the Maximum Reach Sector is for less frequently used items such as a telephone or working document. The Outer Reach Sector is for those items that are infrequently used such as folders, books, or records.

First Aid

All employees working from home on a regular basis with approval from Probe should have a first aid kit within their homes. These can provide initial treatment for injuries that may be sustained around the home and can possibly prevent a minor injury becoming serious.

Reporting of Incidents

All incidents/accidents that occur within the designated work area and within the scheduled working hours whilst the employee is working must be reported. This must be reported in the same manner as a normal Probe work related incident. Refer to the Incident Reporting procedure on the applicable Knowledge Resources or on Workplace under the. Homebase Knowledge Library under the quick links tab.

Incidents/accidents such as these must be reported as soon as possible if not immediately as legislative ramifications are possible should this not occur.

If in doubt an incident/accident should always be reported, or contact made with a WHS Manager/CE Manager.

Auditing

To meet the requirements of Probe’s WHS Management System, and to ensure all workplaces comply with relevant state legislation, audits will be undertaken on no less than an annual basis. Employees who permanently or regularly telecommute will be required to submit to an audit by Probe’s WHS Manager/CE Manager. Sample auditing will apply to employees who telecommute on a random basis.

The only area to be audited is the designated work area listed and the risk assessment of the area and workstation. Managers will be responsible for liaising with the WHS Manager/CE Manager to schedule audits. Employees should be provided with no less than 48 hours prior notice before an audit unless the employee agrees otherwise.

It must be a condition of the Telecommuting Work Agreement that the employee agrees to allow Probe or Probe’s nominated representatives access to the employee’s designated Home Office.

Equipment

Employees are responsible for any home office set up costs (including, but not limited to, furniture, equipment, utilities, insurance and stationery costs) excluding any IT equipment and communication facilities that Probe may agree to provide as outlined in the Work from Home Agreement. Before entering into a Work from Home Agreement employees may wish to seek independent taxation advice regarding claiming home office expenses in their tax return.

In order to be able to adequately undertake all or part of their role from home an employee must, as a minimum, have the following items of equipment;

• personal computer and internet access;
• telephone;
• workstation, desk or table to place the computer on; and
• comfortable chair, it is strongly recommended this chair be fully adjustable in height and lumbar support and be a swivel chair on castors.

All equipment provided to employees shall remain the property of Probe. Employees will be responsible for the equipment for such time as they are in their possession and must treat them with care. If cleaning is required, equipment should be cleaned with alcohol wipes only.

A list of any equipment or assets to be provided by Probe to the employee will be recorded in the Work from Home Agreement. Probe equipment should be used for work purposes only. Employees should notify their Manager if any problems or difficulties arise with any Probe provided equipment and should not seek to arrange servicing or repairs themselves. Probe supplied equipment remains the property of Probe and must be returned upon termination of the working from home arrangement.

To minimise security risks, employees must utilise facilities provided or approved by Probe to access Probe’s network.

Insurance

All Australia Probe employees who permanently or regularly work from home are required to have and maintain the following insurance coverage, in respect of the designated work area, for such period as they work from home:

• Public liability insurance to a limit of at least $10million; and
• Adequate house and contents insurance with a reputable insurer

Where requested, the employee will be required to provide Probe with a certificate of currency evidencing the insurance and the details of the terms and conditions of the policy of insurance.

Termination and Extension of Agreements

In the event that any of the telecommuting work arrangement conditions is not met within the period provided, or in the event of prolonged causes which shall render an employee to perform his/her work on a work from home set up (flooding, earthquake, fire, connectivity issues for more than three (3) days, etc.), the Company reserves the right to terminate the telecommuting work arrangement and require the employee to report in-center. If the employee refuses, without justifiable ground, such may be considered as:

1. insubordination which may warrant the issuance of correction action for Philippine based employees; or
2. Failure to comply with a lawful and reasonable direction for all other employees may warrant disciplinary action which may include termination of employment.

Employees who were initially assigned to perform permanent work from home may be required to report back in center or hybrid work, as the case may be, if the project to which they were assigned to requires termination of permanent work from home set-up due to sound business considerations.

The effectivity of telecommuting work arrangement shall be reviewed on a regular basis. The Company reserves the right to discontinue such telecommuting work arrangements at its sole discretion, taking into account business, health, safety, regulatory, operational and commercial needs.

Any further applications to renew a work from home agreement will be assessed on their merits and will be subject to the needs of the business and clients. Probe is unable to provide any guarantee that a work from home agreement will be renewed or extended.

Managers are required to comply with anti-discrimination and workplace laws in considering extending and terminating any agreements and should consult with their local People Team Representative prior to terminating any work from home agreement.

Documentation (Philippines only)

Annex A - Telecommuting Checklist – Applicant

Annex B - Telecommuting Checklist – Employee

Annex C - Telecommuting Agreement

Annex D - Change of home office request form

Annex E - Amendment of Telecommuting Agreement

Annex F - Provisional Telecommuting Agreement

Annex G - Notice of Revocation of the Telecommuting Agreement

Documentation (All other sites)

Working from Home Checklist

Working from Home Agreement

References

Philippines Telecommuting Act and its IRR

Flexible Work Practices (FWP) Procedure

Work Health and Safety Policy

Safety and Environment Procedures and Guidelines

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

Anti-Discrimination, Anti-Harassment and Anti-Bullying Policy