🔕 AFK FAQs
🏖️ How do public holidays work at IFT?
Given the diversity of cultures and locations among the core contributors at IFT, we don't have org-wide days off. We encourage you to book off your home or local public holidays or the ones close to your heart or beliefs.
😷 What happens if I'm out sick?
As a general guideline, short-term unavailability due to sickness that doesn't affect your capacity to meet your commitments are treated as regular time off and doesn't need further action than recording it in BambooHR.
If you’re going to be unavailable for a prolonged period of time, you need to coordinate with the project lead and your People Partner in order to review and adjust your service agreement accordingly.
㊙️ How does the confidentiality work around unavailabilities?
You can record your unavailability without explanation.
If you tell your People Partner about a health or personal issue, that information will be shared only within the People Ops group and to the extent required, Carl and Jarrad. Please let your People Partner know of any specific discussion that should be kept off the record (i.e., only between you and the People Partner you're talking with).
Your People Partner won't tell other core contributors the specifics of your situation. We will be happy to help you communicate your unavailability period if you need help doing that (mentioning that you are offline unwell, giving no further details).
🐣 Are you or your partner / spouse expecting a new baby?
Introduction
First of all, congratulations! 🎊 We're happy about the new addition(s) to your family! We understand the importance of family during this exciting time in your lives, and we believe all parents should have the necessary time to care for their newborn or newly adopted child. As such, this may result in a period of time when you will be unavailable to provide your services. In this regard, IFT has developed the following arrangement:
Eligibility
All core contributors who have passed their trial period and are performing well are eligible to participate in this arrangement. If a core contributor is still in their trial period, they will not be eligible to participate in this arrangement.
Furthermore, the core contributor’s service agreement must still be in effect prior to and for the duration of their unavailability.
Duration
Core contributors who become new parents, either through birth or adoption, are able to make use of the following periods of unavailability and this arrangement:
- Primary caregiver - A period of up to sixteen (16) weeks
- Secondary caregiver - A period of up to three (3) weeks
The primary caregiver is typically the person who takes on the main responsibility for looking after a child. This role is often most commonly associated with the mother. The primary caregiver is typically the one who spends the most time with the child, providing daily care, nurturing, and meeting their needs. They will have given up work to carry out their duties.
The secondary caregiver is the person who takes on a supporting role in caregiving responsibilities. The secondary caregiver provides assistance and support to the primary caregiver, sharing the responsibilities of caring for the child.
Standby compensation
While traditional parental leave policies are not available to independent contractors, nonetheless, we wish to ensure that core contributors are able to immediately resume the provision of their services following this period of unavailability at full capacity and without delay.
We recognise, however, that the core contributor will incur certain costs and expenses during their unavailability to maintain a certain level of readiness and wish to compensate them to remain on standby. In this regard, we will pay the core contributor a monthly ‘standby’ payment for the period of eligible unavailability.
We will make such payments in accordance with section 8 of this Contributor Guide. As indicated above, our payment of standby compensation is subject to the core contributor’s services agreement being in effect during their unavailability. If such agreement terminates during their unavailability, we are not obliged to make any standby compensation payments to the core contributor.
Flexible work arrangements
We understand that a core contributor resuming their services to IFT after this period of unavailability given their parental duties can be challenging. Therefore, we also have flexible arrangements available to new parents who intend to resume providing their services.
This may include a reduced schedule or a staggered return. In addition, the core contributor may further extend their period of unavailability as follows:
- Primary caregiver - a period of up to eight (8) weeks
- Secondary caregiver - up to three (3) weeks
For this extended period of unavailability, we will not provide any additional standby compensation.
How do I make use of this arrangement?
As soon as you're comfortable sharing the news, please ping your People Partner to chat about your plans. It'd be great if you could give as much notice as you can.
We’ll further discuss the above arrangement with you, your period of unavailability and also share with you some additional paperwork to formalise this arrangement.
Conclusion
At IFT, we are committed to supporting our core contributors who become new parents. We believe that creating this arrangement is essential to promoting work-life balance and creating a supportive environment for contributors to thrive as well as the confidence that they can resume the provision of their services to IFT with the necessary readiness and capacity.
📒 What happens to any SNT distributions?
We'll review each request on a case by case basis to see if we pause or forgo your SNT distributions when you take a prolonged downtime period.
For a short time period, you will still be eligible for your quarterly SNT distributions.
🧰 Do I still have access to tools and accounts during my unavailability?
In general, we will keep your access to Google and other centralised accounts open during your downtime.