Shame on YOU, End Low Pay in Probation NOW

When it comes to low pay, the Private Sector Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) have put the Civil Service to shame. The vast majority of CRCs have abolished Band 1. They have got rid of a pay scale that would have paid staff less than the minimum wage. The National Probation Service (NPS) on the other […]

Facility Time Shambles

Effective organisation. Effective representation and effective negotiation can only take place when we have effective trade union facility time agreements. We have again seen the Private Sector Probation Services put the National Probation Service (NPS) to shame, with their facility time agreements and their negotiating structures. The NPS are fettered by Cabinet Office Guidelines on […]

Remember Enhanced Voluntary Redundancy (EVR) and Other Broken Promises?

During Transforming Rehabilitation (TR1) UNISON worked extremely hard to protect staff during the split and staff transfer. We managed to secure a staff transfer agreement to ensure additional protections to the staff transfer scheme and an Enhanced Voluntary Redundancy scheme to remunerate staff who were asked to leave the Probation Service. We are now facing […]

How many bites of the cherry?

Police Staff are probably under the most stringent scrutiny and procedural process than any other employees. At present we can be subject to a criminal investigation, an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation, a misconduct procedure and vetting all at the same time. If an employee is acquitted through criminal process, they will usually […]

Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) Investigations

IOPC investigations continue to be an area of concern to our members. Very often the involvement in these investigations is a cause of great anxiety. Members are always concerned and worried about the potential outcomes of such investigations which is often the cause of the anxiety. Reassurance is of vital importance to members who are […]

Dealing with the effects of post-traumatic stress

Many of our members work with the public in the best and worst of situations. Our call management staff can be dealing with a missing from home one minute and a murder the next. Very often our call management staff are the first port of call for those intending to complete a suicide and the […]

Race Religion and Belief a new strategy

There is now more than ever a need for our service group to refresh its strategy on Race Religion and Belief. The representation of BAME members in branches, regions and national bodies is woefully poor. UNISON operates a system of self-organised groups for Women, Black members, Disabled members and LGBT members. This system is well […]

Maintaining the pressure on sexual harassment

Conference commends the Service Group Executive (SGE) for its successful campaign on eliminating Sexual Harassment in policing. Working in partnership with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), the union has been able to establish strict guidelines and standards for the police service. As with most things, there is often a flurry of activity and interest […]

Misconduct Interviews

Police Staff who are subject to a misconduct investigations will be interviewed by Professional Standards Department (PSD) as part of the investigation. These interviews are often undertaken by detectives who are serving police officers and will be very similar if not the same as a criminal interview. These interviews will often be recorded and later […]

Routine NHS Health Checks for Older Persons “Prevention is better than Cure”

Conference acknowledges that early identification and diagnosis of a range of health conditions e.g. heart and lung problems, diabetes, kidney disease and early cancers can have a significant impact and increase the chance of success of subsequent treatments. Health professionals widely agree that early diagnosis of many conditions can be of major personal health benefit […]

BEWARE THAT SHARE!

Conference recognises the benefits of using social media to bring together communities and groups who have interests in common and congratulates our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) self-organised group on the many and varied ways social media has been used in branches, regions and nationally. We welcome and encourage our members to share […]

NO OUTSIDERS (LGBT+ EDUCATION RIGHTS)

Conference notes the recent protests against the ‘No Outsiders’ method of teaching young children about equality, in particular lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) relationships, to encourage acceptance at an early age. There has been a misuse of religion as an excuse to attack LGBT+ rights, and this is not the first time religious […]

Fraud and the elderly

Conference notes with concern the ‘BBC 5 Live Investigates’ report on fraud broadcast in September 2018 stating that fraudsters scammed nearly 49,000 older people across the UK in the past year, equivalent to almost six reports every hour. Furthermore the total number of reports has nearly doubled in the past 3 years and one expert […]

Austerity – Defending living standards for older p

Conference recalls how concerned we were last year about the Intergenerational Commission’s final report published in April 2018. Conference notes, now, that the report’s publication has foreshadowed a series of further attacks on older people’s entitlements and standards of living including: 1) The Taxpayers’ Alliance’s report, Pensions Inequality, issued in August 2018 calling for an […]

Health and social care provision for older people

Conference recognises that health and social care workers are dedicated and hard working but lowly paid with poor terms and conditions. They do their best to provide quality care but against a background of crisis within health and social care services. Research confirms care for residents in privately run homes for the elderly can be […]