Activists' zone

Quick links:

Branch Development and Organising Toolkit: an overview
A set of short planning modules to help branches map their branch organisation and membership.

Requesting time off
Stewards requesting time off should provide employers with as much notice as possible and supply details of the purpose, the location and the amount of time required.

If you are requesting time off for training you should give the employer a few weeks' notice. Employers can insist on seeing a copy of the syllabus. Contact your branch or regional office if this happens.

When stewards want to call meetings of members in working time or on employers' premises they should also advise managers which groups are to be involved. The ACAS code suggests holding these towards the end of a shift or the working day, or before or after meal breaks.

Reasonableness
Requests for time off must be 'reasonable'. There are no strict guidelines on this, but employers may be legally entitled to refuse time off if:
• they have difficulty providing a service or maintaining production
• safety and security could be affected
• the amount of time or frequency cannot be justified.

Stewards who are regularly refused time off should seek advice from the branch or regional office.

Your rights as a UNISON rep

Stewards are entitled by law to certain arrangements to assist them in doing their job as elected representatives of UNISON members.

These are often called 'facilities' and usually include the right to reasonable time off for undertaking trade union duties and for training.

They also incorporate access to telephones, computers and email systems, access to information, use of notice boards, lockable filing facilities and, in some cases, the use of dedicated office space.

In many cases, stewards will be covered by a written agreement made between their employer and UNISON (and possibly other unions).

This will specify how these legal rights are to apply in practice and is usually known as a Facilities Agreement.

Sometimes UNISON does not have a written agreement with the employer. This is common in cases where the number of employees is small, or if no one has made a formal approach.

However, an accredited steward is legally entitled to facilities whether a written agreement exists or not.

Most legal rights only apply where the employer recognises the union.

Nevertheless, stewards working for employers who do not recognise UNISON have some legal rights which are covered at the end of this chapter.

Much of UNISON's work depends on stewards getting paid time off to carry out union duties, such as talking to members, representing members and meeting with management.

Without paid time off, it would be very difficult for the union to organise and members would lose out.

Stewards and branch officers have the right to time off for trade union duties, training and union activities.

These rights come from the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, which sets out the basic rules governing the rights of trade union representatives to paid time off for union duties.

Practical guidance on how the law should apply is laid down by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) in their code of practice on Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities.

The law distinguishes between trade union work which should receive paid time off and that which may only be unpaid.

Paid time off should be made available for trade union duties and training.

Trade union duties cover all matters relating to collective bargaining and individual representation.

These include meetings with management, preparation for these meetings, and keeping members informed about negotiations, discussions with management, terms and conditions etc.

The ACAS code stresses the importance of employers giving paid time off for stewards to be trained as soon as possible after they have been elected, for further updating training in specialist areas and where legislative change may affect industrial relations.

Employers should agree to stewards taking unpaid time off to make them available for trade union activities. These include keeping members informed, attending trade union meetings, administration and recruitment.

Some employers will agree to pay stewards for time off for some of these activities because they recognise that this may lead to improved industrial relations.

The ACAS code encourages this.

Often facilities agreements will state when stewards are entitled to paid and unpaid time off and sometimes specify a fixed amount of time that is available each week or month.

Advice for activists | next: Getting involved in UNISON

ADVICE FOR ACTIVISTS

The workplace rep

Working with members

Recruiting

Dealing with problems

Working with employers

Health & safety

Campaigning

Your rights

Getting involved

Pay matters

A fair deal for public service workers

Where the union is not recognised

Stewards and workplace representatives working for employers who do not recognise UNISON do not have access to comprehensive legal rights to time off, facilities, etc.

However, there are some limited legal rights which do apply in these circumstances and which can be used to help build workplace organisation in non-recognised workplaces.

Representing members in hearings
The Employment Relations Act 1999 gives all workers the right to be accompanied to grievance and disciplinary hearings by a fellow worker or 'companion'. Stewards and workplace contacts can therefore volunteer to act as a companion for members even when they are not recognised as UNISON stewards by the employer.

The companion then has the right to time off for preparation, attendance at the hearing and conferring with the member. Strictly speaking, this is not a right to 'representation'. At the hearing the companion can address the hearing and confer with the member but not answer for them.

If the companion is not available on the date of the hearing and the worker suggests another date within five working days, the employer has to postpone it.

The companion has the right not to be victimised.

Protection against dismissal and victimisation
Stewards and workplace contacts have rights as trade union members not to be victimised or dismissed on union grounds.

This is especially important for stewards in workplaces where the union is not recognised because they may be organising trade union activities in workplaces where the employer is openly hostile.

A steward may be able to take a case to tribunal if the employer victimises them for taking part in trade union activity. This can be quite complicated, and success will depend upon UNISON being able to demonstrate that the employer committed a specific act whose purpose was to prevent or deter trade union activity. Stewards must therefore seek advice from the regional office before pursuing such a claim.

The legal protection, such as it is, only applies to trade union activity being pursued in the stewards' own time - ie breaks and outside working hours.

Rights to consultation
Workers in non-recognised workplaces also have legal rights to consultation over transfers and redundancies. This is covered in Working with the employer.