Trade Union Facilities - UCU · Web viewRights to trade union facilities and time off come from hundreds of years of collective struggle. Each of the rights currently enjoyed have

Trade Union Facilities


Contents

Introduction.................................................................................................3

1. A framework for understanding our rights.................................................4The Law......................................................................................................................4ACAS code of practice...............................................................................................5Local Agreements......................................................................................................5Local Practice.............................................................................................................6

2. Facilities and Time Off Agreements...........................................................7Checklist for Facilities Agreements...........................................................................8The allocation of facility time within the branch....................................................10

3. What can we do if we don’t have a facilities agreement, or we are not happy with the one we have?...................................................................13Start with the Branch..............................................................................................13Be Prepared.............................................................................................................15

Gather Evidence..................................................................................................15Develop Your Priorities........................................................................................16Have ‘one that you prepared earlier’.................................................................16

Timing Your Approach.............................................................................................16Arguments for Formal Facilities Arrangements......................................................17Possible Management Objections...........................................................................18

Management has the right to manage so we don’t envisage needing much union involvement..............................................................................................18We already have a staff forum or We want to establish a staff forum instead.18Facilities are too costly.......................................................................................18Linking management control to granting facilities............................................19

Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)...........................................19

4. Time off..................................................................................................20How much time?......................................................................................................20Core trade union duties time versus other duties..................................................21Allocation of time....................................................................................................22Practical issues with time off...................................................................................23

The distinction between activities and duties....................................................23Reasonable notice...............................................................................................23Staff Cover...........................................................................................................23Management problems with recruitment and profile raising............................24Difficulties with local managers..........................................................................24

Employment Tribunals............................................................................................25

5. What other facilities should we have?.....................................................26Accommodation and other facilities.......................................................................26Consulting with members.......................................................................................26Right to information................................................................................................26

Appendix A Good practice and suggested clauses.......................................28Encouragement of trade union membership by the college.................................28Definition of an accredited rep for the purposes of access to facilities time........28Facilities for annual election of representatives....................................................29Criteria for granting paid and unpaid time off including remission from teaching duties.......................................................................................................................29Distribution of facilities time and notification to management.............................29Distribution of facilities time between teaching and non teaching time...............29

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Set allowance of time off not to include representing members or meeting management...........................................................................................................30Extra time granted if not unreasonable.................................................................30Office and other facilities provided.........................................................................30Additional Clauses not in AoC agreement..............................................................30

Travel costs.........................................................................................................30Access to induction process................................................................................31Class closure branch meetings...........................................................................31Additional facilities for Reps...............................................................................31

Appendix B What does the law say about our facilities time?.......................32Time Off for Trade Union Work...............................................................................32

Paid Time for Trade Union Duties.......................................................................32Trade Union Activities.........................................................................................33What is Reasonable Time Off..............................................................................34Requesting Time Off............................................................................................34When Can Time Off be Refused?........................................................................35

Training....................................................................................................................35Right to accompany................................................................................................36Health and Safety....................................................................................................36

Facilities...............................................................................................................37Paid time off........................................................................................................37Training................................................................................................................38Tribunals..............................................................................................................39

Union Learning Representatives.............................................................................39The Training Condition........................................................................................39Time off for ULRs.................................................................................................40Time Off for Members to Access ULRs................................................................40

Appendix C Resources and References........................................................41Websites..................................................................................................................41Publications.............................................................................................................41

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IntroductionMembers are NATFHE’s most important resource. Our ability to win advances depends on our ability to organise in the workplace.

Branch activists must be empowered to provide information to members, educate, develop solidarity and mobilise where necessary. To do this they need time, resources and training. Good trade union facilities arrangements are a must in every branch.

There is no substitute for strong workplace organisation when fighting for gains in the workplace. The law often provides as many restrictions to our activities as it does rights. Those rights provided are often vague and almost always minimal, only improved upon by negotiation from a strong bargaining position. Enforcing the legal minimums requires some level of workplace organisation while achieving good facilities arrangements and safeguarding them requires even more.

A particular difficulty in obtaining better facilities agreements is the very interdependence of facilities agreements, organisation and bargaining strength. We want good facilities agreements to increase our capacity to organise so that our bargaining strength is improved. However our ability to negotiate better facilities agreements ultimately depends on the bargaining strength that better organisation would provide.

This dynamic demands a long-term approach to facilities arrangements. There is no simple formula. Every opportunity to increase NATFHE facilities should be pursued and every attack on them should be vigorously opposed.

Ultimately our ability to defend and extend facilities in the face of hostile managements will depend on the support we have from our members. It is important that members understand that facilities agreements are crucial to achieving justice on the issues central to them. We need to use every opportunity to demonstrate to branch members the important link between trade union facilities and NATFHE’s ability to defend and extend their rights and secure justice.

Most importantly we need to make these arguments when facilities arrangements are not under attack so that when they do come into question we have immediate and unfaltering support. This is particularly important as management will often appeal directly to members on the basis that facilities time is a ‘union perk’.

For these reasons we must also take great care in the way we use our own facility time. It is important that the way in which facilities and time off are allocated is transparent. We should never appear to be avoiding the issue of how, or to whom, time off is allocated. The branch should be involved in the allocation of the time off each year, so that if management attempts to erode it the branch understands that this is an attack on them. Those who have time off should be careful to use it, not only in ways that are appropriate, but also in ways that do not invite the appearance of misuse.

This guide is intended to provide practical help for branch officers and representatives to improve their facilities and time off provisions. Strong organisation is the key to good facilities arrangements. Achieving better arrangements at any given time will involve a range of activities and tactics. An understanding of the legal position will assist in

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negotiations and provide a fall back position should it be necessary. Appendix B outlines in more detail the legal position should you wish to refer to it.

1. A framework for understanding our rightsRights to trade union facilities and time off come from hundreds of years of collective struggle. Each of the rights currently enjoyed have been fought for and defended by either the whole union movement or NATFHE at national, regional or local level.

In common with many other employment rights, agreements on time off to undertake trade union duties are fragile. Workers and unions need to defend them. Legal rights change with acts of parliament and government guidelines disappear (often with the stroke of a pen). Local agreements can be eroded by hostile employers, or fall into disuse where local branches become inactive. The rights themselves exist, and will only continue to exist, if we use them and protect them.

The four main sources of rights to time off for trade union duties are: law; ACAS code of practice; local agreements; local practice.

In most colleges and universities the majority of your rights will come from negotiated local agreements. These agreements should be your first port of call when you have a query about your facilities arrangements. How good these agreements are will depend largely on how well organised your branch is, or was when the agreement was made.

Most of this guide focuses on practical ways to improve your facilities agreements through negotiation. However, in order to understand where these agreements fit into the broader industrial relations framework you will need to know a bit about the other potential sources of your rights in these areas.

The LawA number of pieces of legislation make broad provisions for basic rights to time off for the following trade union duties and activities:

conduct of union duties; conduct of union activities; accompanying individuals to grievance and disciplinary hearings; health and safety; training; union learning representatives.

The legislation sets out basic minimums covering most workers in most workplaces. Where your employer fails to provide you with the legal basics you may be able to take a case to an industrial tribunal to enforce your rights. It is important that you speak to your regional office if you are considering taking such action.

The legislation is not very detailed, but Section 199 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 92) provides for the Advisory, Conciliation

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and Arbitration Service (ACAS) to issue practical guidance on time off and training in its Code of Practice for Time off for Trade Union Duties and Activities.

ACAS code of practiceThis provides guidance in addition to legislation as to how time off for union duties, activities and training should be implemented, for example:

how much time can be taken; what time off can be taken for; what is sufficient training; when time off is paid or unpaid; how members can access time off.

The ACAS code of practice is not law. An employer who does not follow the code has not automatically broken the law. However the code is admissible as evidence in tribunal hearings and consequently is very persuasive.

Furthermore, the code of practice does not completely clarify all issues regarding time off. A lay activist looking for precise answers in the code will be quickly frustrated. For example the code refers to section 168 (3) of the TULR(C)A 92 which states that “the amount and frequency of time off … are to be those that are reasonable in all the circumstances.” Exactly what constitutes ‘reasonable’ is generally left for local negotiations and will depend on issues such as the size of the organisation, the number of members involved and the scope and complexity of the range of duties.

In recognition of this, Section 5 of the ACAS code of practice notes the positive advantages of employers and trade unions establishing workplace agreements that ‘reflect their own situation’. It outlines the minimum that an agreement should include:

the amount of time off permitted; the occasions on which time off can be taken; payment for time off; the range of union duties and activities within the scope of the

agreement.

Local AgreementsA local agreement is the most important and detailed source of rights to time off and other facilities. It is agreed by all parties and states in writing, exactly who, how and when time off is to be taken. Local agreements clear up ambiguities or uncertainties that the legislation and ACAS code may leave open. Agreements can’t provide for less than the law and most provide for more than the legal minimum.

Local agreements deal with local circumstances and most include more detailed procedures. They are the best way to avoid confusion and disputes because they ensure that everybody knows exactly what is expected and how to access time off in advance of any problems.

NATFHE highly recommends that every branch has an agreement. If you do not have an agreement on facilities and time off please speak to your regional office.

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Local PracticeWhere agreed local arrangements are not written into formal agreements it is called local practice. Local practice may be either written or unwritten. Local practices agreed in writing can often be found in letters, policy and procedure, memos, minutes of meetings with management, or emails. They have the same weight as an agreement but can usually be changed more easily than a written agreement.

Some local arrangements are not written down anywhere. They are simply known by everybody as ‘the way it’s always been done’. These arrangements imply that they have been agreed. This is the easiest form of agreement for management to change.

NATFHE recommends that local practice be written into formal agreements to provide you with safeguards. However if you are considering this please contact your regional office before you proceed.

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2. Facilities and Time Off AgreementsBoth the relevant law and the ACAS code of practice leave many questions open about arrangements for facilities time at local level and the ACAS code of practice notes the positive advantages of a formal agreement.

NATFHE strongly recommends the establishment of a formal agreement in all workplaces to clear any ambiguities, develop procedures for implementation and to expand rights beyond the limited ones under the law.

Some branches do not see the need for a facilities agreement or believe that their agreement is adequate. Before making this assumption it is useful to go through the checklist below. Don’t be surprised if you find gaps. The changing nature of education, constant restructuring, changes to staff and staffing practices and the age of some agreements make updating your agreement an ongoing job.

If you do not already have copies of your facilities agreements or documentation of your facilities arrangements you should try to get them as soon as possible. Your regional office should be able to provide you with copies of any formal agreements or documentation of your facilities arrangements.

You may also find previous arrangements in: clauses in other agreements, particularly your recognition

agreements, union learning agreements or health and safety agreements;

minutes of joint consultative meetings; policy and procedures; written correspondence with management on the issue; previous representatives or branch officers may have knowledge

of other sources of information or local practice.

The way in which your recognition agreement and facilities agreement work together is particularly important. In the strictest sense a number of your legal rights rely upon recognition. Such dependant rights include:

paid time off for union duties; paid time off for training; right to appoint health and safety representatives to inspect and

negotiation on health and safety issues; right to disclosure of information from your employer for

negotiation purposes.

Recognition agreements usually provide broad references to facilities and negotiating mechanisms. Some may outline these in detail but many will refer to further formal agreements for the detail. It is important that your recognition agreement contain these references as they are powerful arguments for establishing formal facilities agreements at a later date and the strength of their wording may set the boundaries in which negotiations can take place.

If you don’t have an agreement or you think you need to make improvements to your agreement see Section 3 below. You should also contact your regional office before you approach management.

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Checklist for Facilities Agreements Do you have an agreement covering paid time off and trade union facilities? Does your branch rely on custom and practice for any part of your facilities

arrangements? Are all sections of the workforce able to get time off? Do members get time off to participate in activities such as meetings? Is reference made to part-timers and those with family responsibilities? Are

provisions in place to allow them to access facilities and time so that they are not disadvantaged or obstructed from taking up a rep role?

Do you get paid release for trade union activities? Are the numbers of reps and amount of paid time off adequate to effectively

represent members? Do you have adequate remission from teaching to cover the work required? Do you have access to facilities such as notice boards, internal mail and

pigeon holes, telephone, computer, email, office space, locked filing cabinet and free photocopying?

Do staffing levels allow reps to take time off? Are adequate cover arrangements in place and are they spelled out in the

agreement? Does the agreement allow the reps to provide adequate support to the

branch given the number of members, spread of workplaces and travelling time?

Can full time officials participate in negotiations? Do they have to get prior permission from management?

Does the agreement include time off for preparing cases for members? Is the right to information for collective bargaining purposes in the

agreement? Does the agreement spell out what kind of information will be provided by

the employer and how quickly it will be provided? Is there a clear statement about pay for time off, including part-timers and

casual employees? Can the agreement be reviewed by mutual consent in order to update and

improve it? Does the agreement allow for time off for training in all areas relevant to the

carrying out of rep duties? Are arrangements made to allow full access to disabled members? Does the agreement allow for paid time and remission for committee

meetings? Is there provision for remission for NATFHE duties at regional and national

level - for participating in meetings of official NATFHE policy making bodies or

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conferences? Is there access to induction days? Is there access to information on new starters and the ability to speak to

each of them? Do you get information about staff leavers? Are there provisions for accrediting union reps? Do you need management’s

agreement to accredit a new rep? Are there limits to the total number of reps? If not, are they automatically entitled to paid time off?

Is there time off for meeting with full-time officials or reps of other unions on site?

Is there time off for appearance at outside bodies on behalf of members – such as employment tribunals?

Are there clear procedures for obtaining time off? Is there a clear dispute resolution procedure to deal with problems that may

arise in future?

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The allocation of facility time within the branchOne of the most common weaknesses in branches, especially those with apparently good agreements, is inadequately shared facilities. Narrowly allocating facilities, and in particular time off, amongst representatives (and members) potentially weakens the branch in a number of important ways.

Burnt out representatives

Where the branch allocates facilities time to only one or two individuals to organise, service and recruit, those individuals are rarely able to give any of these areas enough time. They can become worn out and often feel that they are not able to meet the genuine needs of members. Neither representatives nor members gain from this situation. Having as many representatives as possible access facilities time lessens the burden on representatives and decreases the likelihood of them becoming burnt out or isolated.

Inactive branches

Branches that leave all the negotiations and individual representation to a very small number of activists will experience problems when key branch officers leave the post or retire (and become vulnerable to complete collapse). Developing a large (active) branch committee where facility time is shared among a number of activists enables the branch to respond to changing circumstances.

Difficulties recruiting activists and representatives

It is difficult to recruit people to vacant positions when people believe the job requires large time commitments and is relatively unsupported by other members. Younger members of the union may not be willing to take on such a burden at the start of their career. The best way to ensure posts are filled quickly is to involve as many people in the branch as possible and share the facilities among them.

Vulnerability to erosion of facilities

A major reason for loss and erosion of facilities is lack of use. Branches that do not use their entitlements often find that management ‘reclaim’ them. When current entitlements have been under utilised it becomes difficult to justify to management why it should agree to re-instate them, or extend entitlements in other areas. Ensuring that facilities are shared amongst as many people as possible decreases the chances of them being under utilised and eroded.

Lessened ability to defend facilities

Sharing the facilities among a wide range of people also increases your ability to extend them, or defend them if they come under attack. The more people who have access to facilities, the more who will vigorously defend them. Members are more likely to defend facilities if they personally know and trust somebody who has access to them.

Better service to members

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Service to members is likely to be better if facilities are spread thoughout the institution. A representative who is defending a member in their own department will better understand the issues, local management and local procedures. Local representatives also take less time to understand issues and communicate and meet with members and local management. This maximises not only use of precious facilities time but increases the chance of success.

More access to members

Having representatives backed up with facilities, across as many departments as possible, increases the visibility and accessibility of NATFHE. It provides members direct and ongoing access to NATFHE representatives for advice and information. It makes them feel part of the union and is good for organising and recruitment.

Good for participation and democracy

Having active and resourced representatives in every department increases the branch’s ability to consult as quickly and widely as possible. Participation and consultation encourage involvement in NATFHE and ensure that your decisions are representative of the workforce.

Increases your bargaining power in negotiations

Members are more committed to decisions that they have had a part in making. Where the union has representatives in every department within the institution the union is able to truly reflect the views of the staff. The ability to demonstrate to management that your position is representative of members’ views, and deeply felt, increases your bargaining power and improves the results of negotiations.

Protection for representatives

Management sometimes attempt to portray lone reps as trouble-makers or isolated individuals who are not representative of the wider membership. In this situation it can be tempting for management to think that the ‘problems’ the union raises might disappear if the rep changed.

The active involvement of a wide range of representatives makes it clear that the views brought to management are those of the membership and not individuals. Furthermore, it demonstrates that changing any single rep will not stop the union from bringing forward issues.

The best protection for reps in the face of hostile management is to convince them that despite the trouble it will cause, ‘picking off’ reps will not further their aims. Only the active support of other reps can achieve this.

Easier to fund and cover time off

The trend towards decentralised management and local or departmental budgeting can mean that the allocation of large amounts of facilities time to single reps can place a disproportionate burden on local budgets or local staff if they have to cover for the rep. In practice, even if additional central funding is provided, it can be difficult to get permission from local managers or to get cover for large amounts of time off. Having representatives across a range of departments avoids pressure being put on reps to not use all the allocated time.

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Furthermore, it is often easier to get ad hoc increases in facilities time for one-off issues from a local manager if the current time allocated is not perceived as a burden to operational requirements. The cumulative effect of many reps receiving small informal increases to their facilities time will always be larger than that of a single rep.

If you feel your branch is vulnerable because of the way facilities are distributed you will need to raise it at a branch or executive meeting. If you would like to discuss this further your regional office will be happy to help.

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3. What can we do if we don’t have a facilities agreement, or we are not happy with the one we have?Getting hold of other sources of information about facilities arrangements can be useful to get an idea of what your branch might need. NATFHE recommends that you look through the following before you approach management:

facilities and recognition agreements of other NATFHE branches in your region or area;

facilities and recognition agreements of other unions at your workplace;

examples of clauses in Appendix 2 below; for FE the Association of Colleges (AoC) nationally recommended

recognition and facilities agreement (see note below); for HE contact your regional office or the Universities Department

for advice and assistance.

Your regional office will be able to help you with this and the internet is becoming an increasingly useful source of information. Also see the resource section in Appendix 3.

AoC: The AoC nationally recommended agreement - Joint Agreement on Local Recognition and Procedural Agreements in Further Education Colleges - is regarded as a minimum by NATFHE. It is based on the ACAS code of practice and is recommended by the AoC to its affiliates. For these reasons it can be useful in situations where management is resistant to providing facilities arrangements or formal agreements. It provides a good starting point but is lacking in some details especially in facilities - so should only be used as a final position if you are unable to reach agreement on more comprehensive arrangements.

The interplay between facilities arrangements, recognition agreements and negotiation machinery is important. For example the right to negotiate on proposed changes to your contract of employment, or to be consulted on proposed changes to work practices, is much less effective in practice if it is not accompanied by provisions for facilities and paid time off to consult with members over these issues. The obvious link between the two can be used as an opportunity to insert references to facilities, and facilities agreements, into recognition agreements.

There is no one-size-fits-all model for a facilities agreement. Only you and your branch in conjunction with your regional office can determine what will best suit your branch needs.

Start with the BranchRegardless of how good your arguments are or management attitude to your requests, you will always get better facilities if your branch is well organised and supportive. Before approaching management it is crucial that you get the branch behind your claim. It is important that branch members feel that facilities time is not a ‘union perk’ but a valuable resource, critical to protecting and extending their interests.

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In the lead up to any claim on the employer, take every opportunity to show members the benefits to them from any facilities you already have. Conversely use every opportunity to expose and explain the difficulties you face representing them, and their interests, due to the lack of facilities. If you can show members the injustice of not having the necessary arrangements to support genuine causes they are much more likely to support the claim.

Never hide or avoid discussing facilities, especially paid time off. Members will already know what is available or what you are trying to get; avoiding the issue will make it appear as if you have something to hide or a personal agenda. Use opportunities such as branch, committee and departmental meetings, newsletters and emails to promote the arguments in favour of increasing facilities time.

There are many arguments for facilities time and you may need to repeat them often before you feel you have the necessary support. It is often useful to hold a branch committee/executive meeting to develop the arguments most relevant to your workplace.

Here are a few of the most important arguments for your members: members cannot get fair and just representation at disciplinary

hearings unless reps have adequate time and facilities to prepare cases;

members cannot be fully consulted on important issues such as changes to their terms and conditions unless reps have time and facilities to consult;

members will not get the best deal in negotiations unless reps have time to prepare for negotiations and meet with NATFHE officials;

members will not be fully informed of latest developments if reps can not report back via meetings, email or newsletters;

members cannot participate in democratic processes, and decisions will not be democratic, unless they are given time and facilities to vote;

members’ views on important issues, such as education policy and funding, will not be heard at regional and national levels unless time and facilities are provided for lay members to participate in NATFHE forum at these levels.

Where possible use issues of current importance to your members to highlight how better facilities arrangements will resolve, or more speedily resolve, their problems in the workplace. Try to use situations where members are unhappy to focus their anger on poor facilities. Members who complain that they never see a rep, don’t get consulted often enough or are unhappy about the outcome of negotiations can be reminded that forcing management to improve facilities arrangements will help their situation.

Remember that some members might identify with management’s position or be worried about the perception that they are asking for too much. Although these should not be your principle arguments it is often useful to remind your members of the reasons why facilities arrangements are good for your employer. Some of these arguments are listed in the next section.

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Getting as many other people as possible to argue the case will increase the perception that facilities time effects everybody not just the ‘union people’. The visible support of members who have been protected by NATFHE in the past, or who are not normally vocal about ‘union’ issues will increase support from members and add pressure to management.

When you feel you have enough support it is essential that the branch is fully involved in formulating the claim. Representatives who are scared that their branch might not fully understand the issues are often surprised at the support they get when the branch gets involved. Branch involvement in making the claim fosters ownership of the content and will cement support for it. Don’t worry too much if you feel the claim is too ambitious. If the branch feels ownership of the claim a failure to achieve it will not be seen as a failure on your behalf so much as unreasonableness on behalf of the employer.

Always have the final claim formally endorsed by a vote at a full branch meeting. This then gives credibility to your arguments to management that members want a facilities agreement. This can deter management from attempting to undermine you by trying to portray the claim to other staff as a personal agenda of the representatives. Equally important is the effect that formal adoption has in convincing management that the members believe the claim is fair and just. If management genuinely believes that staff want better facilities and will be angered if it is refused, management will find it much more difficult to say no.

Be PreparedWhen you approach management you will need convincing arguments in favour of a facilities agreement and a clear idea of the type of facilities arrangements that you want.

Gather EvidenceYour arguments will be much harder to refute if you have concrete evidence to support them. It is useful to start documenting these examples in the 3-6 months prior to approaching management. These could include examples where:

NATFHE work aided by facilities time resolved a difficult issue for management;

lack of facilities time meant that the issue dragged on and became more difficult for management;

the employer has generated the need for facilities arrangements, such as proposed changes to contracts requiring consultation;

meetings not attended or inadequately prepared for due to lack of facilities time;

documents, particularly management documents, not read or responded to due to lack of facilities time (particularly in cases where you were unable to agree to proposals as there was no time to consider);

individual cases delayed, or poorly dealt with, due to the inadequate facilities time hindering preparation;

genuine consultation with members has not occurred due to paid time being unavailable to representatives to promote or prepare

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for meetings, poor attendance by members because of lack of promotion of the meeting, paid time to attend or remission from classes (particularly cases where this has caused discontent amongst members as a consequence);

time or resources were wasted holding members meetings where NATFHE committee/ executive meetings would have sufficed, had they been allowed for in facilities arrangements.

Try to document the exact amount of time taken, as evidence in support of what you believe is an appropriate amount of facilities and remission time. This is essential when documenting cases where management has benefited from facilities time or cases where its action has generated union work.

Develop Your PrioritiesWhether starting from scratch or improving on your current facilities arrangements you will probably have a range of objectives. Prior to meeting with management it is important that you consider which of your objectives are most important to you, what you are willing to compromise on and what you are not. If at all possible this should be developed in conjunction with the full branch and the details thrashed out by your committee or executive.

Have ‘one that you prepared earlier’It will be useful for you to have developed a range of clauses that meet your objectives in advance of meeting management. They need not be written from scratch. You could use a mix of clauses lifted from elsewhere, partially adapted and some written specifically for your agreement.

For tactical reasons you may, or may not, wish to circulate some, or all, of these clauses to management in advance. However they can be useful to have up your sleeve in negotiations for a range of reasons.

Occasionally management may be reluctant to agree to broad principles for fear of what that would commit them to in practice. Having clauses ready at the negotiating table can calm these fears and allow agreement to be reached more quickly.

Sometimes management is reluctantly forced to concede to your arguments during negotiations. In these situations you need to detail commitments they are giving as quickly and precisely as possible. Leaving the detail until the next meeting gives management time to rethink arguments or re-interpret broader assurances you thought you had obtained. Drafting clauses on the spot can be difficult and is easy for either party to frustrate.

Finally drafting the clause yourself gives you control over the tone. Management usually gains from ambiguity in these matters. Drafting them yourself also allows you to make them precise where they need to be and vaguer where it is in your interests. Each time management requests small changes to wording it is an opportunity for you to extract something from them.

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Timing Your ApproachIf you believe management may not be sympathetic to negotiating a facilities agreement it may be a useful tactic to discreetly insert a reference to negotiating separate facilities arrangements into your recognition agreement. You can then come back at a later date to expand upon the arrangements with a formal facilities agreement.

The opportunity to insert references to facilities into a recognition agreement is made easier if management has approached the union seeking agreement to make other changes either to your recognition agreement or terms and conditions. It is particularly useful if the changes that management is requesting require you to consult with members as this provides an irrefutable example of the need to have facilities arrangements in place. If you are aware that management may be struggling with an issue it may be worthwhile putting off your approach to them about facilities until they come to you with another issue.

Before making a formal approach you may be able to have an ‘informal chat’ with a sympathetic manager or a manager who is a NATFHE member, to gauge management’s likely response. It may be possible for the manager to raise it at a management meeting to gauge the response or even as a suggestion for a management proposal to the union.

If no obvious opportunity presents itself then it is best to use the usual method at your workplace for raising issues with management. This may mean writing to them, putting it on the agenda for regular meetings or simply requesting a meeting to discuss it.

Arguments for Formal Facilities ArrangementsApart from the benefits to the branch listed above there are numerous benefits to management from having clear well thought out facilities arrangements. It is useful to make these arguments to management at the opening of discussions or even in correspondence in advance of the discussions. They may include:

avoiding unnecessary conflict between local managers and representatives by setting out a clear framework for time off in advance of potential problems;

providing a consistent and mutually understood approach to processes (including facilities arrangements) involved in resolving future individual and collective issues;

fostering good industrial relations practice based on trust and clearly understood procedures;

saves time and resources by dealing collectively with issues instead of a series of individual complaints;

saving time and resources by allowing NATFHE reps to give advice to members before issues become problems;

minimises the potential for serious industrial disputes.

Don’t be afraid of highlighting the benefits to management, or presenting clauses that other institutions have agreed to, in support of your arguments. Stress the positives gained from improving the situation in the manner that you are proposing as well as the problems with the current situation.

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The ACAS code of practice notes the positive advantages of having a facilities agreement. You may also have a recognition, or other, agreement that refers to the negotiation of a facilities agreement. If so use these to support your arguments.

Management will find it harder to disagree with principles than specifics. For this reason it is often useful to gain agreement on principles from management before using these to guide your discussion on the specifics. If management refuses to agree to the principles you have a much stronger case to take back to members or ACAS.

Possible Management ObjectionsThe reality of negotiating facilities arrangements is that management’s real objections will often revolve around two issues - disinterest in increasing the staff’s capacity to collectively have a say in what tend to be management affairs and cost. Given management’s ability to find money for initiatives it is committed to, the latter reason is often simply a smoke screen for the former. The only real way to circumvent these factors is to be well prepared, have the active support of your branch and forcefully put the types of arguments listed above.

Nonetheless you may come across a number of specific objections. It is important to try to identify possible objections in advance so you can have arguments ready to counter them. This is best done at your branch committee with the negotiators and maybe your regional official present. Below are some examples you may wish to consider.

Management has the right to manage so we don’t envisage needing much union involvementThe right to manage is not an absolute one. Many things must be negotiated with employees; for example, management cannot unilaterally change an employment contract. Involving unions and having clear procedures agreed in advance will resolve these issues in a speedier and more constructive way. Having a collective contract will mean just one set of negotiations not one for each employee.

We already have a staff forum or We want to establish a staff forum instead The exact approach you take to a staff forum depends on how organised the branch is and the attitude of the workforce. If management suggests a staff forum or works committee contact your Regional Office to discuss a strategy to deal with it. Broadly, however, the following advice applies.

If you have a large majority of membership in the workplace you can usually reject outright the staff forum as being irrelevant. The union represents the majority of staff and can fulfil all the functions of a staff forum.

If you have a slim majority, or a large minority, it is much harder to reject outright a staff forum as management will often argue that it wants to ‘listen to all staff’ not just those in the union. Often the staff forum will already exist and staff will know from experience that it does not achieve much for them. If you have a small and poorly organised membership it can be hard to argue against a staff forum.

Whether or not you work with the forum or boycott it is a matter of local tactics. However it is important in all cases to highlight the limitation of a staff forum to both

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members and staff. In either case it will not be able to negotiate terms and conditions of employment as that is a contractual matter. Management often tries to limit the types of issues that can be raised and usually retains final discretion in all matters ie it is a consultative body and not a negotiating one.

Facilities are too costlyThe arguments listed in the section above outline the positive advantages of having a facilities agreement that make it worth the cost. Also, the law requires management to provide facilities and time off to recognised trade unions (see Appendix B) – so the cost will be incurred anyway. Having a facilities agreement makes the arrangements clearer, avoids confusion and ultimately will be more efficient and save money.

Finally, if you have majority membership never be afraid to assert that you speak for the majority of the staff; and that it is their request to have a facilities agreement. You might even ask management how it thinks staff will perceive it if you report back to the majority of staff that management is not interested in listening to their views?

Linking management control to granting facilitiesOccasionally management will try to attach conditions or control to the granting of facilities. Allowing paid meetings if a management representative can attend, providing free photocopying only if the communication is joint with management or trying to veto anti-management bulletins being posted on the notice board are common examples.

While there may be times when we want management to address union meetings (such as to announce redundancies) or we may wish to issue a joint communication (such as when agreement has been reached) these should never be written into facilities agreements.

Independent free trade unions have a right to be just that – independent and free. Would management agree to a union veto on bulletins to students, or not to communicate with the board of governors about staffing issues without it being a joint union communication?

Facilities are needed so that staff may communicate freely with each other and make decisions that reflect their wishes. Management involvement or presence may stop some people from speaking their mind and will consequently stifle the possibility of a free and open debate. This can cause resentment and is certainly not in management’s interests.

Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)Where negotiations reach an impasse it may be useful to involve ACAS. ACAS can provide advice to both employers and unions about the state of the law and interpretations of the ACAS code of practice. This may be useful if an employer is failing to acknowledge its legal obligations or trying to interpret its obligations in an overly restrictive way.

However ACAS has a duty to be impartial and is certainly not an advocate for unions. Where you have a dispute about facilities in an area that are in excess of the legal minimums ACAS can only conciliate between you and your employer in an attempt to

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facilitate an agreement. While an impartial outsider can cool tempers, moderate excess and introduce constructive procedures to guide negotiations, ACAS has no powers to compel either of the parties to do anything.

Nonetheless in some cases ACAS can help bring the parties closer together. If you think it might be helpful to involve ACAS you should contact your regional office for advice.

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4. Time offOne of the most contentious issues in facilities agreements is the amount of time off for representatives. For NATFHE members this is closely linked to the issue of paid release from teaching contact hours known as remission from teaching, or simply remission.

When negotiating facilities time management may try to limit the paid time to non-teaching hours or leave the interpretation open. These arrangements rarely free real time for union duties as non-contact time is usually occupied with unavoidable work associated with teaching or administering courses. The effects of not specifying remission time for the rep include:

work intensification leading to poorer teaching; neglect of administrative or preparation work that can lead to

disciplinary issues; excessive unpaid overtime, often at home, to make up the work; neglect of union duties.

It is also important that in any agreement time off teaching has a corresponding reduction in non-teaching time based on the same ratio of teaching to non-teaching time as the contract of employment.

How much time?There is no standard amount of time off or method for calculating the appropriate amount. A number of factors need to be taken into consideration. The two most important factors in determining the amount of remission time will be the membership profile and the duties attached to the time off.

Where extra time is given for health and safety or union learning reps carrying out individual representation, training, one-off events and meeting with management, many institutions use a core ratio of one hour of remission a week per 20 members. However there will be institutions where this will underestimate the time needed, or indeed granted. In other institutions management may question this amount - but it equates to only three minutes remission time a member per week. When put in these terms it is not excessive.

In smaller institutions you will need more as some fixed duties are required of branch reps regardless of the size of the branch. Five hours remission is usually regarded as the minimum amount for a small branch.

Consideration also needs to be given to the composition and distribution of the membership. Part-time members and those at far-flung campuses are harder to access. Institutions with these membership profiles will require more facilities and remission time.

Sometimes the amount of remission time is specifically expressed as a ratio in the agreement and consequently the actual amount will vary from year to year. This has the advantage of automatically increasing your remission time if your membership rises, avoiding the arduous process of renegotiating the agreement. The disadvantages are that you will automatically lose hours if your membership falls and it requires you

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to annually inform management of your membership numbers, usually well in advance of the start of the academic year.

Some branches, particularly those in HE, will not wish to disclose membership numbers to management. The alternative is to set a fixed amount of hours. Fixing the number of hours is administratively much simpler but requires formal renegotiation should your membership increase. Smaller branches in smaller workplaces and larger branches with declining membership often find they get a better deal from setting a fixed number of hours or a combination of fixed hours and hours per members.

When making the case for a fixed number of hours you will need to consider a number of factors, including:

workload; number of reps; amount and mix of individual representation; dispersion of members across campuses.

When considering how to frame time off in your agreement it will be useful for you to re-read the section The allocation of facility time within the branch 10.

Core trade union duties time versus other dutiesCare needs to be taken to avoid remission time being used to deal with pressing one-off issues at the expense of important ongoing duties such as communicating with members, distributing information and general organising duties.

Health and safety representatives and union learning representatives have rights under separate legislation for other trade union duties (see Appendix B). They attract separate time off and should always be the subject of separate facilities agreements, or at least separate clauses in your facilities agreement.

Your agreement should identify a range of other activities for which paid time off in addition to the core time will be granted. These should include:

representation of members (including preparation time) in disciplinary and grievance hearings;

trade union training.

These duties will fluctuate over time and can’t be adequately provided for in advance. You have a statutory right to paid time off for each of these duties and they should never be included in the core hours.

In addition to these there are a number of duties for which the use of core hours should be avoided where possible. They include:

meetings with management at which you are required (regardless of whether management or NATFHE requested the meeting) and preparation time for this;

addressing inductions and new starters.

These duties also vary over time and are impossible to cater for adequately in advance. Meetings with management should attract extra paid time due to their importance in resolving issues for management and the amount of time that they often require.

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Individuals can’t exercise their right to freely choose to join, or not to join, a trade union unless they have all the information upon which to make that decision. Meeting with new starters at inductions, or individually where required, is necessary if management truly believes that joining a union should be a matter of freedom of choice. Providing paid time is the only way to ensure freedom of choice is preserved.

If it is impossible to avoid using core hours for these purposes it should be used as a basis for increasing core hours.

You may also wish to have specific references to paid time off for: branch committee meetings; full members meetings.

Many of the better agreements allow for one full members meeting (with class closure) per term to allow members to be fully informed and involved in decision making. You should at least aim for one meeting a year to maximise attendance at the AGM and branch officer elections. You should also attempt to extract paid time for members meetings from management when they want to consult NATFHE over change.

Gaining remission time for branch committee meetings is also very important. A functioning branch committee with representatives from each department is essential for consultation of members and providing direction to negotiators. It can avoid the expense to management of full members meetings and can speed up the resolution of potentially difficult issues. Many branch committee members will not have access to core remission time and it can be difficult to get the members of the committee together without time off. If you are forced to use core remission time for committee meetings the time can be used up very quickly as the actual time of for the meeting is multiplied by the number of people attending.

Wherever possible specific allowance should be made for additional remission for those representatives who have regional or national duties e.g. National Executive Council (NEC) members or regional secretaries. For a fuller discussion of the legal position see appendix B.

Allocation of timeOnce total time off has been resolved it is important that your agreement deals with how this time is allocated to reps. The section The allocation of facilities time within the branch 10 provides essential background on this issue and highlights the importance of involving as many people as possible. However a number of other points need to be made.

Management should never be involved in the allocation of time off and the right of the branch to allocate its own time off should be stressed in the agreement. Agreements should never allocate time off to individuals or positions or limit the number of reps who can access time off. It is the unfettered right of the branch to do this.

Agreements should never restrict who can receive time off, or remission, on the basis of employment type. Part-time, fractional and fixed term contract members should all have the right to access facilities and time off.

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Workers on less than full-time permanent contracts can feel vulnerable and consequently be reluctant to become involved for fear that accessing facilities time may be counted against them. It is important that the agreement dispels this perception by specifically stating that these rights are available to them. Some agreements encourage these groups of workers to access them. Other agreements go as far as explicitly acknowledging an acceptable consequence of this may be that part time workers who access remission time have their teaching contact reduced to nil.

The agreement should also set up procedures for notifying management of those reps who are accessing time off and remission time.

Practical issues with time off

The distinction between activities and dutiesThe distinction between union duties which attract paid time off and union activities that attract unpaid time off can be difficult. It is a distinction that management often uses to restrict union activity by claiming that paid time off can not be used for purposes that management deem to be activities rather than duties.

The distinction is outlined in detail in appendix B. It is worth noting that the definition of trade union duties is quite wide. If you are challenged on these grounds it is usually worth researching the issue (see appendix B) and responding to management. If you need help doing this contact your regional office.

If you are unable to win the argument it is worth reading the section on Management problems with recruitment and profile raising below as it is essentially the same issue.

Reasonable notice One of the easiest ways for management to block an otherwise reasonable request is if you do not give enough notice. There is no set notice period but when considering how much time is reasonable all the circumstances need to be taken into account. The best way to minimise problems in this area is to not delay giving notice to your employer once you know you will need time off.

An alternative is to write specific notice periods into your agreement where appropriate. The danger of this approach is that it makes it easier for management to refuse time off if you fail to give the appropriate notice. You need to be satisfied that the notice period allows you enough time. This approach should never be taken without including a clause that allows for management to grant time off with shorter notice periods under exceptional circumstances.

You also need to be mindful of the need to notify your institution of the people taking remission and how many hours they will need. Where this changes from year to year you will need to give notice sufficiently prior to the beginning of academic year to allow management to arrange the timetable.

Staff CoverProblems with staff cover are often used to refuse time off. Management cannot consistently use this excuse as it has a duty to ensure that in general adequate cover

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is provided for time off for union duties. However this does not always happen and can be a difficult issue if your absence creates higher workloads for other workers.

Remission for core hours is a budgeting issue and should be dealt with centrally by senior management before timetables are set. Problems at this level should be dealt with through the dispute resolution procedure.

Obtaining ad hoc cover from local managers can be more difficult (see below) and giving as much notice as possible is important. It is also an issue that can be addressed in your agreements. Sometimes more permanent arrangements need to be made in anticipation of future ad hoc incidents. This is especially the case for reps with responsibility for individual representation work or negotiating collective disputes, as they tend to be the main areas where unplanned demands occur. Money can be set aside for temporary cover, other staff may rotate the cover or it may be acknowledged that classes will need to be cancelled on occasion. None of these remedies is ideal given the impact on students but must be explored if lecturers are not to be deprived of their rights as workers.

Possibly the best way to deal with this issue is to spread the remission time and branch duties amongst as many people as possible (See section The allocation of time within the branch, Chapter 2 10). This allows total union work to be adequately covered whilst minimising the amount of time off any one rep need take. Where necessary it allows individual representation to be allocated to reps with the most time available or least pressing need for cover. It also minimises local management hostility and maximises total branch time taken off when ad hoc requests are less frequent and for less time than if one rep was to be dealing with it all.

Management problems with recruitment and profile raisingHostile management will often pressure reps to curb the use of paid time off to exclude recruiting and general profile raising duties such as meeting members. This is essentially an argument about the difference between union duties and activities (refer to appendix B for a fuller discussion) and should be resisted if it arises while negotiating your facilities agreement. You may wish to make explicit reference to these duties in your agreement. If it is a problem with a local manager it should be raised with senior management using the agreed dispute resolution procedure in your agreement.

Where it is not possible to resist, these duties should be undertaken within other more acceptable duties. Examples of this include using the consultation process to systematically speak to each member, and non-members, about issues of importance. Another example may be attending a number of departmental staff meetings to discuss issues with members instead of holding full members meeting. This will provide the opportunity to see members who may not attend full meetings and speak to non-members about joining the union.

Difficulties with local managersLocal managers will often use their discretion to determine what is reasonable time off and reasonable notice. This works well where you can build a good relationship with your local manager. Sometimes however relations will deteriorate. Local management will simply be more hostile to unions than senior management or pressure from above

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forces local management to become more strict. Some of the specific reasons for refusals have been dealt with above.

Where you have good reason to believe that a local manager may be hostile you may want to document your request for time off, and the reasons for the request, in writing, by email or if verbally through a diary note.

Where a local manager refuses reasonable requests it can be useful to quote the clauses from your facilities agreement, minutes of meetings or the ACAS code of practice, which you believe give you the right to take time off. It can also be useful to request senior management to publish a memo to all managers outlining the arrangements in your facilities agreement, or simply stating management’s commitment to providing facilities. These memos can be copied to reps and are a useful way of reminding difficult local managers of your rights to time off.

It may also be useful to request the refusal and the reasons for the refusal to be put in writing. Local managers will be wary of documenting unreasonable or unsubstantial reasons for use of discretionary power and may back down. If they put the reasons in writing you are in a better position to make an assessment, gain advice from your regional office and if necessary use the dispute resolution procedure.

If the refusals occur over a period of time you could use the dispute resolution procedure in your facilities agreement or at least raise the issue in general, or in the specific, with senior management.

Employment TribunalsIf an employer fails to adhere to the legal minimums for time off and trade union facilities it may be possible to take a case to an employment tribunal (see appendix B for detail on legal minimums). Before this is possible you will need to have exhausted the internal dispute resolution procedure.

If you think you may have a case for an employment tribunal speak immediately to your regional office.

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5. What other facilities should we have?Time off is not the only facility that you need to do NATFHE work. The ACAS code of practice suggests that employers consider making facilities available to officials, enabling them to perform their duties efficiently and communicate effectively with members, branch officers and full time officials.

Accommodation and other facilitiesThe ACAS code of practice suggests the following facilities could be provided:

accommodation for meetings; access to a telephone and other office equipment; use of notice boards, which could include other forms of electronic

communications such as email and intranet/internet; use of dedicated office space.

This list should be regarded as an absolute minimum. NATFHE recommends that every branch has a formal agreement that provides guaranteed access to specific facilities such as:

access to a computer with appropriate software; free photocopying; access to all staff pigeon holes; use of internal post; a lockable filing cabinet; web access.

Consulting with membersFacilities also include arrangements that make it easier and more efficient to consult with your members and potential members. These arrangements should ideally be written into your facilities or recognition agreements to guarantee your rights to them or, at least, arranged through more informal means. They should include:

agreement to paid time off for members meetings at least once a term and ideally with classes closed;

paid time to attend branch committee meetings; access to staffing lists, both current staff and new starters; time slot to address new staff at inductions; ability to provide NATFHE information to new starters; a general clause stating that management encourage staff to be

a member of a union; reference to the rights of staff to the join the union in the staff

handbook.

Right to informationWhen negotiating, knowledge is power. Often management will expect you to accept facts that they present to you, or the claim that there are no alternatives to their proposed course of action. In order to make realistic assessments as to the merits of these assertions you need to have all the information.

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Representatives in recognised workplaces have rights to information for the purposes of collective bargaining (Section 188 Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992). The ACAS Code of Practice, Disclosure of Information to Trade Unions for Collective Bargaining Purposes (1977) gives guidance on what information employers should disclose to union representatives for collective bargaining purposes. This includes detailed information on:

pay and benefits; conditions of service (including policies and appraisal systems); staffing issues (including detailed break downs of staffing levels,

planned changes in work methods and investment plans); performance of the company; financial matters.

Your legal right to information can be far reaching. For these reasons it is recommended that your right to information from the employer be inserted in your facilities and recognition agreements.

While these lists provide a general overview of those facilities you may wish to pursue they are not exhaustive. Ultimately you should pursue those facilities which you feel you need to consult and represent your members most effectively. If you feel your facilities arrangements are inadequate see Section 3 above and contact your regional office to discuss a plan for improving them.

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Appendix AGood practice and suggested clausesFacility agreements are negotiated documents. In many cases the final outcome reflects a situation that is acceptable to the branch because it progresses its interests and not because it is ideal. Most facilities agreements could be improved and even the best will need to be updated to meet new circumstances. Consequently NATFHE has consciously refrained from trying to provide best practice examples or recommended clauses.

The examples below follow the format of the facilities clauses in the AoC national recommended framework agreement. This is not because the AoC agreement is representative of best practice from the union’s perspective (the majority of branches have achieved better than the AoC agreement in various areas) but because it is widely used as a starting point for negotiations.

While this agreement relates to NATFHE branches in further education, the same principles will apply within higher education branches.

These suggested clauses are simply workable examples taken from existing agreements that have been agreed by real NATFHE branches.

Encouragement of trade union membership by the college AoC Clause 6.1

The college recognises that representative trade unions are an effective means of achieving constructive industrial relations and will therefore make new employees aware of the recognised trade unions within the induction process. The college will encourage new employees to join the appropriate trade union within their letter of appointment. The college will also make new employees aware of the names and internal telephone numbers of the elected branch officers of the recognised trade unions in the staff handbook issued to new employees.

Definition of an accredited rep for the purposes of access to facilities time

AoC Clause 6.2

An accredited representative of a union is an employee who is:1. A member of the union’s national executive of other national committee, a

representative appointed by the national executive to serve on a national body or a delegate to a national conference for the period of the conference.

2. A regional representative whose duties are for the union and its members in the region in which such a representative is employed.

3. A representative whose duties are at institutional level and/or at branch/site level.

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4. A representative may have responsibilities at more than one level. The unions undertake to ensure that their accredited representatives understand the extent of their authority and responsibility.

NB Depending on whether this agreement is intended to cover facilities for health and safety and union learning reps it may also contain the extra points 5 and 6.

5. A representative at institutional or branch level who is a union learning rep.

6. A representative at institutional or branch level who is a health and safety rep.

Facilities for annual election of representatives AoC Clause 6.3

Management will offer facilities within normal working hours for the election of representatives. Courses will be closed for one hour to allow union members maximum participation in these elections. Names of elected representatives will be given to (the principal) as soon as possible after the election.

Criteria for granting paid and unpaid time off including remission from teaching duties

AoC 6.4

Representatives will be given reasonable time off in accordance with the provision of The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULCRA) SECTIONS 168-170, The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAW) and the ACAS code of practice entitled ‘Time off for Trade Union Duties and Activities.’ Time off with pay will be dependent on whether the activities engaged in are trade union duties or activities. Teacher unions will be allocated remission from teaching duties on the basis of one hour per week per 20 members (or part of).

NB See also clause 6.4 (c) for qualifications to this clause.

Distribution of facilities time and notification to management

AoC Clause 6.4 (a)

It will be for each union to distribute its allocation among its officers and site representatives. The distribution must be notified to the college by 31 July.

Distribution of facilities time between teaching and non teaching time

AoC Clause 6.4 (b)

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In the case of a lecturing staff representative, the proportion of hours taken from teaching and non-teaching time shall reflect the proportion between the hours assigned to teaching and non-teaching duties in the current standard contract of employment for the relevant group.

Set allowance of time off not to include representing members or meeting management

AoC Clause 6.4 (c)

The allocations granted will not include time: spent by a representative in accompanying or representing a

member in a formal hearing or meeting called by management during normal working hours at which the employee has a right, or is advised by management, to be accompanied or,

spent attending meetings/proceedings called by management during teaching hours, whether or not in response to the unions request.

Extra time granted if not unreasonableAoC Clause 6.4 (d)

Union requests for time off in excess of the agreed remission allowance will not be unreasonably refused by management where such occasion is conducive to the efficient prosecution of the college’s business.

Office and other facilities providedAoC Clause 10.6

All parties to this agreement acknowledge that the ACAS Code recommends that Trade Union representatives will be provided dedicated office space for their use which is adequate for consultation and small meetings and which affords secure accommodation for files and administrative work.

Accordingly the college will provide such a facility without charge that includes: separate lockable cabinets; a computer suitable for word processing; access to a hands free telephone for confidential calls; access to private meeting rooms; reasonable use of photocopiers; stationery; external telephone calls and fax’s; e-mail and internet access.

The college will provide free of charge a notice board on each of its sites for use by the recognised unions and suitable facilities for branch meetings when required.

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Additional Clauses not in AoC agreement

Travel costsReasonable travel and subsistence expenses for travel between sites of the college will be paid to accredited representatives at the agreed rates for meetings arising out of their employer/employee relations function.

Access to induction processThe college will undertake to provide within staff induction programmes a session for the appropriate Union representatives to explain to new employees the role of the union.

Class closure branch meetingsIn order to assist the unions in arriving at democratic decisions in which all of its members can have full opportunity to take part, the unions may convene meetings during normal working time, without loss of salary to either officers or members. Class closure will be allowed for members of teaching unions. Such meetings shall be no more frequent than six per year in normal circumstances. Other meetings may be convened outside normal working hours.

Additional facilities for RepsFacilities for accredited representatives of the unions include:

provision for carrying out union responsibilities in the college and for leave of absence to perform functions as accredited representatives;

provisions by the management to the appropriate representatives of a list of the names of newly appointed employees and communication direct with them;

provision annually by the management to the appropriate representatives of a list of the employees of the college;

provision of the use of accommodation on college premises for union meetings;

provision of the use of the college communication and distribution systems for the purposes of official union communication with members.

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Appendix BWhat does the law say about our facilities time?

Time Off for Trade Union WorkThe TULR(C)A 92 gives the right to reasonable amounts of paid time off to officials:

appointed in accordance with the rules; of an independent trade union; that is recognised by the employer.

As NATFHE is an independent trade union, branch officers will have the right to reasonable amounts of paid time off if they comply with NATFHE’s rules and their branch is recognised by their employer. You must also notify your employer that you have been appointed as a branch officer. NATFHE recommends that you notify your employer in writing.

The right to paid time off extends to two situations: to carry out your trade union duties; to take part in appropriate training.

The TULR(C)A 92 also establishes the right to unpaid time off for all union members to take part in union activities. The distinction between union activities and union duties is a very important one as it may determine whether or not you get paid for certain items of union business.

Paid Time for Trade Union Duties The TULR(C)A 92 states that trade union duties are those duties that are concerned with collective bargaining in areas for which the union is recognised. The ACAS Code of Practice, at paragraph 11 elaborates on this further, stating

“Subject to the recognition or other agreement, trade union officials should be allowed to take reasonable time off for duties concerned with negotiations or, where their employer has agreed, for duties concerned with other functions related to or connected with:

terms and conditions of employment, or the physical conditions in which workers are required to work;

engagement or non-engagement, or termination or suspension of employment or the duties of employment, of one or more workers;

allocation of work or the duties of employment as between workers or groups of workers;

matters of discipline; trade union membership or non-membership; facilities for officials of trade unions; machinery for negotiations or consultation and other procedures.”

Paragraph 11 of the code also provides extensive lists of examples in each category.

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Paragraph 12 of the code goes on to say that reasonable time off may be sought, for example, to:

prepare for negotiations; inform members of progress; explain outcomes to members; prepare for meetings with the employer about matters for which

the trade union has only representational rights.

The Case law goes further and the Employment Appeals Tribunal has found that in a variety of cases that trade union side meetings are also allowable where they relate to bargaining on recognised matters. This means that representatives are able to request paid time off for:

meetings prior to negotiations; national and regional meetings to consider pay and other matters

including proposals for industrial action; meetings of other representatives in the same union or other

unions to discuss strategy.

You are entitled to be paid only for the hours that you would have worked. If you attend a union meeting that extends beyond the normal time you would have finished work, you are not entitled to be paid for time after your normal finishing time. However staff that work part- time will be entitled to be paid if staff that work full-time would be entitled to be paid. For further information on this please contact you regional office.

Trade Union ActivitiesThe TULR(C)A 92 states that an employee who is a member of an independent trade union working in a job covered by the employers recognition of the union, may have reasonable time off during working hours to take part in any trade union activity. Section 170 of the act defines trade union activities as:

any activity of the union, and any activity in relation to which the employee is acting as a

representative of the union.

The only activities excluded from this right to time off are activities that consist of industrial action. This means that there is no right to time off to either organise or participate in industrial action.

There is no requirement that this time off be paid. However the ACAS code sets out reasons why employers might provide paid time for union activities and encourages local agreements to be made that deal with these arrangements. Most NATFHE branches have agreements that provide for payment for at least some trade union activities.

The ACAS code of practice lists the types of activities that would come with in these rights as including:

attending workplace meetings to discuss and vote on outcomes of negotiations;

meeting full time officials to discuss relevant workplace issues; voting in union elections.

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Where a member is a representative of the union, union activities can also include taking part in:

branch, area or regional meetings; meetings of official policy making bodies such as the executive

committee or annual conference; meetings with full time officials to discuss issues of relevance to

the workplace.

What is Reasonable Time OffThe TULR(C)A 92 states that the amount and frequency of paid time off for union duties, and unpaid time off for union activities, must be reasonable in all the circumstances.

The ACAS code of practice encourages local agreements to clarify in advance what is considered reasonable. The code lists examples of the type of circumstances that should be taken into consideration when making local arrangements. It suggests employers will need to take account of the business’s operational requirement and lists the following as examples:

the size of the organisation and number of workers; the production process; the need to maintain a service to the public; the need for safety and security at all times.

Conversely section 36 of the code states “employers in turn should have in mind the difficulties for trade union officials and members in ensuring effective representation and communication with, for example:

shift workers; part-time workers; home workers; those employed at dispersed locations; workers with particular domestic commitments.”

The amount of time off that may be taken is not specifically laid down as this depends on a variety of factors like the size of the workplace, the issues being dealt with and the situation in the workplace generally.

While the employer must consider each application for time off on its merits, the employer may also consider the reasonableness of the request in relation to the amount of time already taken.

Requesting Time OffOften the way in which requests are made for time off will impact on whether or not the employer grants the time. Both ACAS and NATFHE strongly recommend that agreements be made that put in place procedures for requesting time.

As a minimum it is important that management is informed in writing as soon as possible of the appointments or resignations of any officers and any details of specific roles or duties that an officer may have other than as a general representative.

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The ACAS code of practice also says that you should give management as much notice as possible and that your employer should be given the details of:

the purpose of the time off; the intended location; the timing and duration of the time off required.

If the request is for training you will also need to:

give at least a few weeks notice of nominations for training courses;

if asked provide a copy of the syllabus or course content (see below for more information on time of for training).

Generally you should try to arrange with your employer time off that is mutually convenient. In many cases this part of the process will be an informal one. You are likely to have more success if you are able to take into consideration ways in which you can minimise disruption to teaching, especially where you are organising workplace meetings that will involve larger numbers of people.

When Can Time Off be Refused?There are three situations where a tribunal will find that your employer can refuse to pay for time off. These are:

where insufficient notice has been given; where the request is not reasonable; where the request does not fall with in the definition of duties or

activities for which the right to time off exists.

In the last case an important example is where a meeting is an unofficial union meeting i.e. one that has not been authorised by the union, such as an informal meeting with others prior to an authorised union meeting.

Whilst employers are entitled to consider operational needs they cannot continually refuse otherwise reasonable requests on the grounds of staff shortages. Tribunals have stated that except in the case of unforeseen emergencies employers should provide enough staffing to allow for representatives to take paid time off.

TrainingSection 168 of the TULR(C)A 92 provides that officials of an independent trade union recognised by their employer be permitted reasonable time off during working hours to undergo training relevant to the carrying out of their trade union duties (for a discussion of ‘trade union duties’ and ‘officials of independent trade unions’ please see above).

While the training should be in aspects of employment relations relevant to the duties of an official there is no one recommended syllabus as officers duties will vary according to:

the collective bargaining arrangements at the place of work; the structure of the union; the role of the official.

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What is relevant to the duties has in some cases been defined fairly broadly. The key criteria appear to be the approximation of the subject to the bargaining agenda. Thus in tribunal cases it has been deemed that a basic multinational finance course was relevant where the representative worked for a multinational and international finance could effect local pay bargaining.

However, training must be approved by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) or NATFHE.

The ACAS code of practice recommends that time off for basic skills training of representatives should be allowed as soon as possible after the initial appointment. However the Code does not limit the number of training courses that it is reasonable to attend and recommends further training, for example, where:

the official has special responsibilities; there are proposed changes to the structure or topics of

negotiation or where organisational change is being negotiated; where legal changes could effect workplace industrial relations

and existing agreements.

Furthermore, management cannot continually use staff shortages as a reason not to grant time off for training. Management may also try to limit the number of people attending a particular course. Whether this is reasonable depends on the usual range of circumstances. However if it is a one-off course, the argument for more than one person attending will be strengthened.

When asking for paid time off for training you will need to give the following in addition to the usual details listed above:

at least a few weeks notice of nominations for training courses; if asked, a copy of the syllabus or course content.

NATFHE recommends that time off agreements contain clauses dealing with training.

Right to accompanyThe Employment Relations Act 1999 (ERA 99) allows any employee who has been asked to attend a disciplinary or grievance hearing to be accompanied by a single companion. This person may be a full-time officer, a certified lay officer or another employee. So long as a trade union official is certified by their union as being capable of acting as a worker’s companion they have the right to paid time off to attend any such hearings.

The right to accompany has been designed primarily to deal with situations arising in workplaces that are not recognised. The rights of the person accompanying are very restrictive and, for example, do not provide a right to represent the person.

Where NATFHE is recognised the recognition agreement, subsequent procedural agreements or standard practice will override the basic rights to accompany and when negotiated should be substantially expanded, for example to include the right to representation on any issue. Where possible time off for representing members should be in addition to time off for union duties and in more serious cases include the possibility of remission from teaching hours.

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Health and SafetyHealth and safety reps have the strongest rights of all trade union reps and for this reason it is important that their rights are used to the best advantage.

The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 (SRSCR) give: recognised trade unions the legal right to appoint safety reps; appointed safety reps a wide range of legal powers.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA), employers also have a duty to train all employees, including safety reps, in basic job safety. This is separate from safety reps’ rights to union training.

For a fuller discussion of the powers of safety reps please contact your regional office.

FacilitiesDuring formal inspections, employers are required to furnish “facilities and assistance” to safety reps. However, these details are not specified in the SRSCR or the ACAS code of practice. The TUC believes that the facilities recommended by the ACAS Code of Practice on Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities should be made available. These are detailed above, but broadly speaking include:

accommodation: use of room for reporting back to and consulting members;

equipment: a room and desk at the workplace with lockable filing cabinet, computer, internet access, internal and external phones, photocopying, noticeboard etc;

the names of new workers; provision of copies of all the relevant acts, regulations, ACAS

codes of practice and guidance and copies of all legal or technical standards relevant to the workplace including information on plant, equipment and substances used in the workplace.

For NATFHE representatives the provision of information may, if relevant to stress or workload issues, also include schedules for allocating workload and related documents.

Paid time off Under the SRSCR safety reps have the right to necessary paid time off to carry out their duties. These duties include:

health and safety training; investigating complaints from employees; negotiating with employers; carrying out workplace inspections; reading employers’ health and safety documents, manufacturers

data sheets etc; meeting with health and safety inspectors and environmental

health officers; attending safety committee meetings; consulting with members (see below).

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Safety reps have the right to inspect the workplace every three months at least to investigate potential hazards, dangerous occurrences, investigate safety concerns raised by members and to obtain health and safety information from the employer.

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Safety reps are entitled to time off for consultation with members or employers on: any ‘measure which may substantially affect’ the health and

safety of employees represented by the safety rep; arrangements for appointing or nominating competent persons to

provide health and safety assistance to the employer; arrangements for appointing persons to oversee emergency

procedures; any health and safety information provided to employees

represented by the safety representative; the planning and organising of health and safety training; the health and safety effects of new technologies.

The ‘measures which may substantially affect’ members’ health and safety include: staffing levels; hours of work; breaks and shift patterns; working practices and arrangements with contractors; changes to work organisation; work methods; equipment; chemicals used.

What is considered ‘necessary’ time is a matter for negotiation. NATFHE recommends that agreements are reached in advance to help deal with these issues. It is strongly recommended that no limit be placed on the amount of time deemed ‘necessary’.

TrainingThe Health and Safety Commissions (HSC) code of practice on time off advises that safety reps should be permitted to take time off with pay to attend basic health and safety courses, approved by the TUC or the union appointing them, as soon as possible after their appointment. Training should also be undertaken when the need arises, such as:

if a new hazard is introduced to the workplace; if new legislation is introduced; refresher training.

The exact amount of training is not specified. However the basic training should teach new safety reps about their functions under the SRSCR and help them understand their role and that of the safety committee. It should also instruct them about trade union policies and practices regarding:

legal requirements regarding health and safety at work, with particular reference to the groups they represent;

nature and extent of workplace hazards and measures available to eliminate or minimise them;

the health and safety policy of their employer and the arrangements for fulfilling that policy.

The HSC code says that the union should inform management when it wants a safety rep to receive relevant training. If asked the union should provide a copy of the course syllabus. The union should give at least a few weeks notice of the names of the reps

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attending. The number of reps attending should be reasonable, taking into account the availability of relevant courses and work requirements.

Tribunals Employees who feel that their rights have not been afforded to them, may take a case to tribunal. You will need to speak to your regional office for more information on this before taking a case to tribunal.

Union Learning RepresentativesEmployees who are members of an independent trade union recognised by the employer can take reasonable time off (see above) to undertake the duties of a union learning representative (ULR) provided that:

the union has given the employer notice in writing that the employee is a learning representative;

the training condition is met.

The Training ConditionThe training condition requires that the learning representative be sufficiently trained to carry out the duties of a learning representative:

either at the time when their trade union gives notice to the employer in writing that they are a learning representative; or

with in six months of that date.

In the latter case NATFHE is required to give your employer notice in writing that you will undertake the training and also to inform them after you have completed the training. The letter informing the employer should state that the training is sufficient to undertake the role and the ACAS code suggests that it is good practice to include details of the training, and any previous training, NATFHE has taken into account. The six-month qualifying period may be extended by mutual agreement to take account of any unforeseen circumstances such as prolonged absence from work due to health, pregnancy, bereavement etc.

To satisfy the requirement that the training is sufficient to enable a representative to carry out the role the employee must satisfy NATFHE that the training enables the representative to operate competently in at least one or more of the following areas:

analysing learning or training needs; providing information and advice about learning or training

matters; arranging and supporting learning and training; promoting the value of learning and training.

For further examples in each of the above four headings please consult your regional office or the ACAS Code of Practice for Trade Union Duties and Activities (February 2003).

Successful completion of a ULR training course approved by the TUC or NATFHE is regarded as having received sufficient training.

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In other cases previous experience and expertise gained in areas such as teaching, training, counselling, providing careers advice, extensive on the job training or shadowing an experienced ULR may be taken into consideration.

The ACAS code also encourages the consideration of further training for ULR’s, in addition to the initial training, to develop skills and competencies.

Time off for ULRsOnce notice has been given and the training condition is met the functions for which time off as a ULR is allowed are:

analysing learning or training needs; providing information and advice about learning or training

matters; arranging learning or training; promoting the value of learning or training; consulting the employer about carrying out such activities; preparation to carry out any of the above activities; undergoing relevant training.

NATFHE encourages the negotiation of agreements to facilitate these arrangements.

Time Off for Members to Access ULRsMembers have a legal right to reasonable unpaid time off to access ULRs’ services. NATFHE encourages agreements that provide for paid time off to access ULRs.

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Appendix CResources and ReferencesYour first port of call for advice and information should always be your regional office. You may also wish to speak to other reps in your branch or region. The following list of references should also help you keep yourself informed.

WebsitesNATFHE Website

www.natfhe.org.uk

FE page: www.natfhe.org.uk/fueddoor.shtml

HE page: www.natfhe.org.uk/hieddoor.shtml

Health and safety page: www.natfhe.org.uk/help/help0006.html

TUC Website

www.tuc.org.uk

ACAS Website

www.acas.org.uk

Health and Safety Executive Enquiries

www.hse.gov.ukor: HSE Infoline: 08701 545 500

PublicationsACAS code of practice 3: time off for trade union dutiesAvailable in booklet form from your local ACAS office or from: www.acas.org.uk/publications/pdf/CP03.pdf

AoC National Recommended Agreement(Joint agreement on local recognition and procedural agreements in further education colleges)www.natfhe.org.uk/down/feagrloc.doc

Rights to time off for Union Representatives (TUC Briefing)www.tuc.org.uk/learning/tuc-5267-f0.cfm

Safety representatives and safety committees (The Brown Book)Available from HSC Books, tel 01787 881 165 www.hsebooks.co.uk

Time off for Union Learning Representatives: Duties and Activities (TUC Briefing)www.tuc.org.uk/learning/tuc-5336-f0.cfm

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Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1992.htm

Time off for trade union duties – an LRD guideLabour Research Department publications are available for a fee by calling 020 7928 3649 or through the LRD website www.lrd.org.uk. A substantial trade union discount is given if you mention that you are purchasing on behalf of a NATFHE branch.

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NATFHE - The University & College Lecturers’ Union - is the largest trade union and professional association for lecturers, trainers, researchers and managers working in further and higher education throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We hope you find this publication useful; if you would like to know more about our commitment to winning a better deal for education and the people who work in it, contact us at the address below or visit our website at www.natfhe.org.uk.

Published by NATFHE The University & College Lecturers’ Union 27 Britannia Street London WC1X 9JPTel 020 7837 3636 Fax 020 7837 4403 Email [email protected]

© NATFHE June 2003

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Trade Union Facilities - UCU · Web viewRights to trade union facilities and time off come from hundreds of years of collective struggle. Each of the rights currently enjoyed have