Background

The Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Regulations) require public sector employers, which include Leicester College, to collate and publish annual information on the amount and cost of facility time within the organisation for the ‘relevant period’. The relevant period is the 12 months from 1 April to 31 March every year.

Facility time is time off from an employee’s role to undertake trade union duties and activities as a trade union representative. There is a statutory entitlement for reasonable paid leave to undertake union duties and complete training.

Trade union duties and activities

Trade union representatives are entitled to paid time off during working hours to carry out the following

• duties connected with collective bargaining – for example, on terms and conditions of employment, redundancy, allocation of work;

• taking part in a negotiation or consultation process – including meeting and corresponding with managers, and informing union members of progress and outcomes;

• attending a disciplinary or grievance hearing including allowing reasonable time to prepare;

• attending training for the trade union representative role.

Trade union activities can be paid or unpaid, an employer can choose to pay for this time. Examples of trade union activities include

• attending workplace meetings to discuss and vote on the outcome of negotiations with the employer;

• meeting full time officers to discuss issues relevant to the workplace

• dealing with internal administration of the union – for example, answering union correspondence;

• attending branch, area or regional meetings;

• meetings of official policy making bodies e.g. executive committee, annual conference;

• One trade union representative at Leicester College has paid time off for trade union activities to attend a national meeting.

The College recognises three unions; UCU for teachers; UNISON for support staff; and NEU (formerly AiME) for managers. The facility time data that the College is required to collate and publish, is:

• The number and FTE equivalent employees who were relevant union officials during the relevant period.

• The percentage of working hours spent by each relevant union official on facilities time.

• The percentage of the total wage bill spent on facility time.

• Time spent on paid trade union activities as a percentage of total paid facility time hours.

The College is required to publish this information on Leicester College’s website and on the central publishing portal maintained by/on behalf of the government.

Trade union facility time 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024

Relevant Union Officials

Percentage of time spent on facility time

Percentage of pay bill spent on facility time

Paid trade union activities