Taking on a new role is always a challenge; there are new people to meet, rooms to find, processes to learn and documents to read. These challenges are often magnified when they are faced by a disabled person. There is currently no process in place to help new Self Organised Group Officers to learn their […]
Conference motions
This Conference recognises the importance of the Access To Work Scheme which enables disabled people in employment to have support including specialist equipment, a support worker or sign language interpreter or taxis to and from work, for example. This support is vital to ensure disabled people can continue to attend work and make a valuable […]
Shortly after the General Election this year the prime minister announced that the new minister for disabled people would be Justin Tomlinson, Conservative MP for North Swindon. Tomlinson has a strong anti-benefits and anti-human rights background. Tomlinson is a former national chairman of Conservative Future, the youth wing of the Conservative party and has been […]
Conference 2014 acknowledged the particular mental health concerns for disabled LGBT people and agreed an action plan to start to address this. Conferences notes the additional impact that being diagnosed with a learning difficulty or disability can have upon our mental health. People who are not aware of their specific learning difficulty or disability or […]
Conference will note that participation in self organisation is integral to the core work and values of UNISON. Yet activists are increasingly reporting that employers are cutting back on facility time and questioning the purpose of the meeting. Activists are feeling pressurised into disclosing their disability, sexual orientation or gender identity when they may have […]
Conference recognises the work that has been done at all levels of UNISON to encourage and meet the access needs of Black disabled members that are actively involved at all levels of UNISON. Conference notes the disproportionate numbers of Black people with learning and physical disabilities. Conference further notes the commitment of the union in […]
We are increasingly concerned at the way that Police Staff are sometimes treated when they are victims of crime. The service they receive from the police should be no better or worse than any other member of the public, but we are aware of cases where this does not happen. Already staff are disadvantaged because […]
The last Labour Government’s workforce modernisation agenda had a proven positive impact on policing in the UK, particularly with regard to community involvement. However since 2010 the disproportionate cuts to the police and justice budget have had a severe impact on UNISON members and numbers of police staff, including PCSOs have dropped to dangerous levels. […]
ACCESS TO WORK The Access to Work (AtW) programme is a fund that helps disabled people start a new job, or remain in employment, with practical support that goes beyond “reasonable adjustments”, which employers are required to make by law. Without AtW many disabled people would be prevented from doing their jobs because of the […]
Assistance Dogs as Reasonable Adjustments for Disabled People Working in Police and Justice Services
UNISON’s disabled members are aware of their right under employment and occupation provisions within the Equality Act to request reasonable adjustments that will assist them to remain in the workforce. Recent reports however advise that some employers do not understand that assistance dogs can be a legitimate reasonable adjustment and in doing so lose the […]
Conference is concerned that the creation of a single Police Service in Scotland has resulted in an unachievable savings target of £1.1 billion by 2026. Coupled with the Government led austerity agenda there are going to be further cuts to Police Staff jobs in order that the budget is balanced. Conference also notes the employers […]
Official statistics produced by mental health charities advise us that one in four people will experience mental ill health at some point in their lives. Despite the success of many charities raising public awareness and drawing employers and ACAS’ attention to the mental wellbeing of staff there is still considerable stigma associated with mental health […]
Conference is aware that Home Office funding for the Police Staff Council (PSC) for England and Wales is currently guaranteed only to September 2015. This funding provides for the offices of the Employers Side Secretariat, which has been delivered since the inception of the PSC in 1996 by the Local Government Association. Conference is aware […]
Conference notes that UNISON represents members working for police forces in England and Wales whose annual pay award is not decided by negotiations at the Police Staff Council for England and Wales. These members include: a)Police staff working for forces which are currently opted out of the Police Staff Council, namely: Kent Police, Surrey Police […]
Conference notes that on 1 June 2014, 8,000 former Probation Trust staff were transferred from the outgoing Probation Trusts to one of the 21 new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) as a result of the government’s misguided Transforming Rehabilitation reforms. On 1 February 2015, the CRCs were sold into private ownership by the Ministry of Justice. […]