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The state of the union

15th July 2004, Page 34
15th July 2004
Page 34
Page 35
Page 34, 15th July 2004 — The state of the union
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Once a union is recognised it gains a raft of rights. How much leeway must employers give its representatives? Patric Cunnane reports.

Most employers are aware that union representatives have rights within the workplace, but where a union is newly recognised employers may be unsure what exactly these rights are.

The key to the whole process is to allow "reasonable" time off with pay for officials to carry out duties that involve representing workplace members. And members should be allowed time off to attend meetings and take part in other activities.

Later this year the Employment Relations Bill will introduce a raft of new measures related to union rights. It is expected to receive Royal Assent this autumn and will, for example, introduce measures to clarify the operation of the recognition procedure. These will include how the bargaining unit (the group of workers represented) is determined and the topics it should discuss But at a local level union reps and employers need to build a working relationship, whatever the law says. and the best way to do this is to follow the ACAS Code of Practice on Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities.

Union duties

Where the union is recognised the employer has a statutory duty to provide paid time off for union officials to carry out duties of that union. These include negotiations and representations on a host of issues, including pay, hours of work, holidays and holiday pay, sick pay arrangements, pensions, learning and training needs, equal opportunities, a safe working environment and operation of machinery or equipment. Officials can also expect to have paid time off for personnel issues ranging from methods of recruitment to collective redundancies. There will also be individuals requiring representation on issues such as job grading or evaluation, disciplinary procedures or grievances; the union officials will expect to be involved in these.

Officials are entitled to paid time off to prepare for negotiations; inform members of progress, explain outcomes to members and prepare for meetings with the employer.

Pay for union duties should match what the employee would normally earn. If pay is variable it should match average hourly earnings.

Union activities

Employers have a statutory duty to allow members reasonable time off for union activities although they are not obliged to pay for this time. Examples of members' activities include workplace meetings, voting in union elections and meeting full-time officials to discuss workplace issues.

For union representatives activities might include branch or area meetings, meetings of policy-making bodies and meetings with fulltime officials to discuss issues relevant to the workplace.

While paid time off for such activities is not a statutory right, the code suggests that employers would be wise to be flexible.After all, a vote on your latest and most generous pay offer will be meaningless if half the workers don't vote because they will lose money by attending the meeting. Similarly, it would be daft to penalise employees who want to make use of the services of the union learning representative.

There is no right to time off for industrial action within the terms of union activities.

Union learning representatives

Union learning representatives have the right to paid time off to undertake duties which include undergoing relevant training, analysing workplace learning or training needs, providing information about learning or training, arranging learning or training, and consulting the employer on such matters. • CONTACTS

The law on time off for trade union duties and activities is chiefly found in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) helpline: 08457 474747; www.acas.org.uk Department of Trade and Industry: www.dti.gov.uk


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