Facilities for Representatives of Recognised Unions

Facilities for Representatives of Recognised Unions in Schools

Introduction

1.Governing Bodies must recognise those trade unions recognised by the Children, Education & Families Directorate of the County Council but are not precluded from recognising others for representation in respect of the staff working at the school.

2.The relevant unions at present recognised by Oxfordshire County Council, which are covered by the facilities set out here, are as follows:

Association of Teachers and Lecturers

National Association of Head Teachers

National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers

National Union of Teachers

VOICE

Association of School and College Leaders

UNISON

Other unions on National Joint negotiating bodies are recognised by the County Council but not currently granted facilities because of their membership level. Governors are strongly advised to seek guidance from the County Council’s Head of Human Resources if they wish to recognise other unions.

3.Governing Bodies will be responsible for sanctioning time off requested by employees for trade union duties, including duties in respect of union members in other schools, and it is recommended that they adopt the following procedures which have been drawn up in consultation with the recognised Trade Unions.

4.The Governing Body will be responsible for any required consultations on proposed redundancies and termination of fixed term and temporary contracts for those individuals contracted to work solely at the establishment in question (but see separate policy on Redundancy and Redeployment).

5.Governing Bodies will also be responsible for disclosing information to trade unions for the purpose of collective bargaining.

Teacher Organisations

County Council Responsibilities

6.The County Council will grant the following facilities to local officers of recognised organisations:

the provision of lists of teachers employed by the County Council
the distribution of termly bulletins by the schools mailing system; in addition further items may be distributed if no extra expense is incurred by the County Council as a result
deduction of subscriptions from salary in accordance with legislation
the provision of documents relating to salary, conditions of service etc.

7. A central budget provides for cover and for the release of teacher union officers on the basis set out below to allow them to carry out county-wide union responsibilities. A fixed rate per day will be used to reimburse claims for cover for staff absent on agreed union duties.

(a)(i)An annual statement of membership of teachers employed in OCC maintained schools, either on contract or supply, as at 31 December each year must be sent by each organisation to the Children, Education & Families Directorate by 31 January each year. Union members employed in Academy Schools can only be included in the total where the Academy has agreed to pay the Council for the cost of the days generated by their union membership. A total number of working days’ absence with pay is then calculated and allocated to each recognised teachers’ organisation (not COTO, see (iii) below) on the basis of 1/10 of a day for each member of that organisation employed as a teacher in Oxfordshire County Council schools, plus a minimum of 10 days per organisation.

(ii)Each organisation can then allocate the days to its officials as appropriate and must inform the Children, Education & Families Directorate of any specific allocation by 1 May each year.

(iii)In addition, up to ten days’ cover is provided for the Council of Oxfordshire Teacher Organisations to allocate to their officers as they determine

(iv) The method of providing the appropriate supply cover may be agreed locally with the governing body or Headteacher. Where an individual Union representative is absent on a regular basis throughout a school year for example, it would be appropriate for the school to appoint additional teaching staff on a contractual rather than supply basis and for the appropriate percentage of salary paid at main scale/UPS only (dependent on any grant allocation) to be coded to the central budget rather than claim for supply cover.

(v)These arrangements cover all the normal union duties of those with county-wide responsibilities, including casework officers, union learning representatives, participation in training courses for union representatives, attendance at meetings of the Council of Oxfordshire Teachers’ Organisations, participation in all union duties, rather than activities, as set out in the appended ACAS guidance which will include all regular meetings with officers, etc. However, the arrangements will not include agreed attendance at additional unforeseen one-off important meetings called by the County Council or the Directorate for Children, Education & Families where additional time is approved in advance or where attendance is claimed separately, e.g. Schools Forum meetings.

(vi)Claims on the central budget will only be agreed where replacement cover costs are actually incurred by the school.

(vii)Time off granted under these provisions must not be used for attendance at normal union/organisation meetings.

(viii)A payment equivalent to the Teaching Staff Insurance Scheme’s daily rate for main scale teachers may be paid to teachers not employed on days when union work is carried out. It is expected that teacher union representatives will usually be teachers employed by the Council. However, retired/unemployed teachers, who are not employed by OCC will receive this rate where it would otherwise mean employed teachers having to be released from school duties.

(b)Ateacher employed by OCC in a teaching capacity who is a member of the National Executive or other National Committee of the organisation is allowed to attend meetings of their Committees and legitimate claims for cover for up to one day per week as necessary will be agreed. This provision does not apply for teachers not employed as teachers by OCC.

(c)If a teacher is appointed as National President of his/her organisation the question of leave of absence will be considered outside these provisions on a case by case basis.

(d)Existing arrangements which fall outside of these provisions which are in place at the time of this revised agreement will be honoured for the duration of their current period of election only and will cease at the end of the period.

(e)Attendance at Union Conferences. Where Conferences fall during term-time due to the Oxfordshire local change of term dates to the 6 term year, supply cover costs to cover employee attendance of union representatives at Conference will be agreed in advance as appropriate for each occasion.

Governors’ Responsibilities

8.Facilities should be granted to accredited school representatives to enable them to carry out their duties within the school in accordance with the ACAS Code of Practice (see Appendix). These are at the discretion of the governing body but it is recommended that they should include the following:

-reasonable time to carry out their duties

-notice board space

-use of telephone (payment to be made for outgoing calls)

-accommodation for meetings

-use of photocopiers and other equipment, on the basis of repayment, provided this does not interfere with the work of the school

-reasonable time off to attend training courses

School Support Staff Employees’ Organisations

County Council Responsibilities

9.The County Council will grant the following facilities to local officers of recognised organisations:

-the provision of lists of support staff employed by the Children, Education & Families Directorate of the County Council

-the distribution of termly bulletins by the schools mailing system; in addition further items may be distributed if no extra expense is incurred by the County Council as a result

-deduction of subscriptions from salary in accordance with legislation

-the provision of documents relating to salary, conditions of service etc.

10.The Children, Education & Families Directorate will pay for temporary cover where required for time off for UNISON representatives to undertake the following duties where such cover is available and used:

-meetings of the County Council and Employee Joint Committee and other official meetings with County Council members and/or Officers

-representing or accompanying UNISON members employed in any school at appeal hearings including Employment Tribunals

-attending provincial or national joint bodies as elected employee representatives

-the monthly meetings of the Branch’s Stewards’ Committee on the basis that they will take place alternately at either 11 a.m. or after 4 p.m. unless special arrangements are made

-attendance at the Union’s annual conference for school staff elected as delegates for the Branch (within the Branch’s entitlement): their names to be forwarded to the Director for Children, Education & Families as far in advance of the conference as practicable

-training for accredited officials by agreement with the Director for Children, Education & Families : at least 3 weeks’ notice of nominations for training will normally be given. Approval will normally be granted unless operational requirements prevent it

- learning representative duties

Governors’ Responsibilities

11.Facilities should be granted to accredited union representatives to enable them to carry out their duties within the school in accordance with the ACAS Code of Practice (see Appendix). These are at the discretion of the governors, but it is recommended that they should include the following:

-reasonable time to carry out their duties

-notice board space

-use of telephone (payment to be made for outgoing calls)

-accommodation for meetings

-use of photocopiers and other equipment, on the basis of repayment, provided this does not interfere with the work of the school

-reasonable time off to attend training courses

Disputes

12.Disputes concerning this agreement will be dealt with as follows:

(a)Disagreements with decisions which are the responsibility of the Governing Body (see paragraphs 2.2 and 3.2 above), may be referred to the Governing Body’s Disciplinary or Grievance Sub-Committee. If no agreement is reached the remaining Governors will make a final decision.

(b)Disputes with the Children, Education & Families Directorate under the other paragraphs of this agreement will be referred to the Director for Children, Education & Families and the Chair of the appropriate employee representatives group. If the matter cannot be resolved at this level it will be referred to the appropriate Joint Committee.

The Governing Body is regarded as the employer in cases when employees at a school are in dispute with the Governing Body, in the exercise of its powers.

In the case of a dispute with a Governing Body the Governors are strongly recommended to seek advice from the Director for Children, Education & Families or the Head of the County Council’s Human Resources.

Teachers’ Collective Disputes Procedure

13.A local disputes panel of six members will consider any local collective disputes which might occur between teachers and the County Council.

The panel will consist of three members from each side of the Consultative Committee, to be nominated by the Chair of each side for each occasion.

In addition, the Chair (or their nominated Deputy) of that cycle’s Teachers’ Joint Committee will act as the Chair of the Disputes Panel. The Chair will have no voting rights but have the function of encouraging a mutually acceptable decision.

The decision of the Disputes Panel will be reported to the Teachers Joint Council and anywhere else as appropriate.

HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES

February 2012

ACAS CODE OF PRACTICE 3 (January 2010)

TIME OFF FOR TRADE UNION DUTIES AND ACTIVITIES

Section 1 - Time off for Trade Union duties

Union representatives undertake a variety of roles in collective bargaining and in working with management, communicating with union members, liaising with their trade union and in handling individual disciplinary and grievance matters on behalf of employees. There are positive benefits for employers, employees and for union members in encouraging the efficient performance of union representatives' work, for example in aiding the resolution of problems and conflicts at work. The role can be both demanding and complex. In order to perform effectively union representatives need to have reasonable paid time off from their normal job in appropriate circumstances.

Entitlement

8.Employees who are union representatives of an independent trade union recognised by their employer are to be permitted reasonable time off during working hours to carry out certain trade union duties.

9. Union representatives are entitled to time off where the duties are concerned with:

negotiations with the employer about matters which fall within section 178(2) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A) and for which the union is recognised for the purposes of collective bargaining by the employer
any other functions on behalf of employees of the employer which are related to matters falling within section 178(2) TULR(C)A and which the employer has agreed the union may perform
the receipt of information from the employer and consultation by the employer under section 188 TULR(C)A, related to redundancy or under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 that applies to employees of the employer
negotiations with a view to entering into an agreement under regulation 9 of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 that applies to employees of the employer; or
the performance on behalf of employees of the employer of functions related to or connected with the making of an agreement under regulation 9 of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection or Employment) Regulations 2006.

Matters falling within section 178(2) TULR(C)A are listed in the sub headings of paragraph 13 below.

10.The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 regulation 4(2)(a) requires that employers allow union health and safety representatives paid time, as is necessary, during working hours,to perform their functions.

Further advice on time off provisions for health and safety representatives is provided by the Health and Safety Executive in their approved Code and Guidance 'Consulting workers on health and safety'. This is not covered in this Acas Code.

11.An independent trade union is recognised by an employer when it is recognised to any extent for the purposes of collective bargaining. Where a trade union is not so recognised by an employer, employees have no statutory right to time off to undertake any duties except that of accompanying a worker at a disciplinary or grievance hearing (see para 20).

Examples of trade union duties

12. Subject to the recognition or other agreement, trade union representatives 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 the subjects of collective bargaining.

13. The subjects connected with collective bargaining may include one or more of the following:

(a)terms and conditions of employment, or the physical conditions in which workers are required to work. Examples could include:

pay
hoursofwork
holidaysandholidaypay
sickpayarrangements
pensions
learningandtraining
equalityanddiversity
noticeperiods
theworkingenvironment
operationofdigitalequipmentandothermachinery.

(b) engagement or non engagement, or termination or suspension of employment or the duties of employment, of one or more workers. Examples could include:

recruitmentandselectionpolicies
humanresourceplanning
redundancyanddismissalarrangements.

jobgrading
jobevaluation
jobdescriptions
flexibleworkingpractices
work-lifebalance.

(d)matters of discipline. Examples could include:

disciplinaryprocedures
arrangementsforrepresentingoraccompanyingemployeesatinternal interviews
arrangementsforappearingonbehalfoftradeunionmembers,
or as witnesses, before agreed outside appeal bodies or employment tribunals.

(e)trade union membership or non membership. Examples could include:

representationalarrangements
anyunioninvolvementintheinductionofnewworkers.

(f)facilities for trade union representatives. Examples could include any agreed arrangements for the provision of:

accommodation
equipment
namesofnewworkerstotheunion.

(g)machinery for negotiation or consultation and other procedures. Examples could include arrangements for:

collectivebargainingattheemployerand/ormulti-employerlevel
grievanceprocedures
jointconsultation
communicatingwithmembers
communicatingwithotherunionrepresentativesandunion full-time officers concerned with collective bargaining with the employer.

14.The duties of a representative of a recognised trade union must be connected with or related to negotiations or the performance of functions both in time and subject matter. Reasonable time off may be sought, for example, to:

preparefornegotiations,includingattendingrelevantmeetings
informmembersofprogressandoutcomes
prepareformeetingswiththeemployeraboutmattersforwhichthetrade union has only representational rights.

15.Trade union duties will also be related to the receipt of information and consultation related to the handling of collective redundancies where an employer is proposing to dismiss as redundant 20 or more employees at one establishment within a period of 90 days, and where the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employees) Regulations apply but also including the negotiations with a view to entering an agreement under regulation 9 of the Regulations (variation of contract in insolvency).

Union Learning Representatives

16.Employees who are members of an independent trade union recognised by the employer can take reasonable time off to undertake the duties of a Union Learning Representative, provided that the union has given the employer notice in writing that the employee is a learning representative of the trade union and the training condition is met (see paras 28 – 33 for further information on the training condition). The functions for which time off as a Union Learning Representative is allowed are:

analysing learning or training needs
providinginformationandadviceaboutlearningortrainingmatters
arranginglearningortraining
promotingthevalueoflearningortraining
consultingtheemployeraboutcarryingonanysuchactivities
preparationtocarryoutanyoftheaboveactivities
undergoingrelevanttraining.

In practice, the roles and responsibilities of Union Learning Representatives will often vary by union and by workplace but must include one or more of these functions. In some cases it may be helpful if Union Learning Representatives attend meetings concerned with agreeing and promoting learning agreements. Employers may also see it in their interests to grant paid time off for these representatives to attend meetings with external partners concerned with the development and provision of workforce training.