Conference notes that COVID-19 has had an unequal impact on disabled people. Statistics show that 6 out of 10 people who have died from COVID-19 are disabled. There is a clear need to protect disabled people from exposure of the virus and the Health and Safety of workers should be a priority for employers. With […]
Conference motions
Conference notes that with the easing of restrictions, members are now being asked to return to the workplace, but this can cause additional stress and anxiety for workers with disabilities. Working from home can be an isolating experience. People with disabilities are more likely to feel isolated due to the lack of communication in accessible […]
Conference notes that there are 13.9 million disabled people* in the UK yet disability rights are still being questioned. From July to September 2019, there were over 2,000** disability discrimination cases brought to tribunals and cases are rising. Employers are legally obliged to treat disabled workers fairly and implement the necessary adjustments/ changes. Yet even […]
Covid-19 and Disability Inclusion in the Workplace With one in five employees being disabled its important that employers make our workplaces inclusive. Failure to make reasonable adjustments may amount to disability discrimination. Conference is aware that there can be particular benefits to disabled people from working from home; however, this is an individual assessment and […]
This conference commends work ongoing in Scotland to protect and promote the rights of people with Autism and with Learning Impairments. This includes the Our Voice Our Rights Campaign, led by the organisations ENABLE Scotland, the National Autistic Society Scotland, and Scottish Autism, to make Scotland the first place in the world to have an […]
This conference acknowledges that during the Coronavirus health pandemic we have had to wear Personal Protective Equipment [PPE] such as face masks and gloves when going about our day to day lives, and also in the workplace. For staff in certain roles there are more vigorous PPE requirements. This has helped to keep us and […]
Conference notes that recruitment of young members continues to increase year on year, including in the police and justice sector, with over 27,000 new young members joining UNISON in 2020. Conference notes that young members continue, however, to be under-represented as UNISON stewards, representatives and officers. Conference believes that the full participation of young members […]
This motion calls upon the Service Group Executive to discuss with the appropriate relevant bodies a National Police Staff Long Service Award. Whilst we acknowledge that most, if not all forces will have their own long service award arrangements in place, a nationally recognised award is something that many police staff would like to see […]
Whilst Conference accepts that the re-unification of the majority of probation services as a positive step, this has not been the experience of all members. National Probation Service (NPS) members and now Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) members transferring to the new probation service are subject to an unaccountable, arbitrary and sometimes draconian vetting process which […]
Conference notes that a UNISON survey of disabled members working from home during COVID-19, including Police and Justice workers, found that 53% did not receive any reasonable adjustments from their employer to help them to overcome the barriers they faced as a disabled person working from home. Only 5% had help from Access to Work, […]
Conference notes that many disabled staff in police and justice have previously requested to work from home as a reasonable adjustment and been refused. However COVID-19 has sparked a revolution in home working and as a union we need to build on the positives for disabled workers whilst also guarding against any detrimental impact. UNISON’s […]
Conference notes that police staff often work additional hours and not just on rest days. Often staff need to remain on duty to process prisoners, gather crime scene marks, speak with customers either on the phone or in front offices and many more reasons. Staff can currently only claim these additional hours worked as pay […]
Whilst conference acknowledges the success of our long standing Keep Probation Public campaign, and are extremely pleased to see the reunification of the majority of the probation service back into the public sector domain. It is important to acknowledge the small but important minority of people that have been left in the private sector in […]
In 2010, research commissioned by UNISON and carried out by Incomes Data Services produced a detailed report that looked at the employment experiences of police detention officers in England and Wales and police custody and security officers (PCSO) in Scotland. The report identified the bargaining priorities for UNISON that represents members working in custody. The […]
Conference notes that it has been an ambition for UNISON to obtain a national job evaluation scheme and national pay and grading for police staff in England and Wales through negotiations over part 2 of the review of the Police Staff Council (PSC) Handbook. Conference believes that this may not be achievable due to a […]