Agenda item

To receive a report from the working group on trade union facility time.Appendix  B refers.

Members noted the report to the Schools Funding Forum following two meetings held by the Trade Union Facility Time Working Group on 14 February and 5 March 2014.

The DfE had issued non statutory advice to school leaders, governing bodies, employers and employees following the call for evidence during the autumn term. The main points of the full document were outlined within the report including the list of paid and unpaid activities during working hours, management of facility time as well as accountability to employers and/or managers.

It was acknowledged that trade union work had grown in the borough at a cost of £5.70 per pupil.  This was one of the highest rates nationally.

Secondary schools where time off was allowed for school based trade union representatives was costing, on average £7,500. Added to the £5,000 contribution to the central pool the total cost was £12,500.  Primary schools did not allocate in-school facility time to the same extent as secondary schools and were content with the current arrangements of de-delegation.

It was noted that two academies had decided not to pay into the central pool.  Unions would be advised to withdraw support

Following a discussion, the Schools Funding Forum unanimously agreed to implement the following recommendations as from September 2014:

1.            Recommendations

(i)            Facility time for school based representatives to be used as follows:

All meetings with head teachers and management as well as meetings in which representatives support members (e.g. disciplinary, capability meetings) must be held in timetabled time (not lunchtime or before or after school).

All meetings which take place in non-contact time must be compensated with equivalent non-contact time.  Reasonable time off for training should be allowed.

(ii)          The current allocation of facility time to the trade unions is changed to bring it in line with membership as follows:

This was subject to further reductions as (iii) below.

Support staff

Unison to remain at 0.5 FTE and consideration given to the allocation of facility time for GMB.

(iii)         As a first step towards reducing the costs, charges to be based on £4 per pupil including 6^th form pupils.  The impact on de-delegation for maintained schools and the contribution from academies were circulated as a confidential paper.  This would reduce the facility time allowed for each trade union as follows:

(iv)         Reduce the budget by £11,250 that provides additional days for each trade union. This is currently as set out below but the recommendation is to remove this additional allowance.

(v)          From 2014-15 Schools Forums would be required to publish decisions made in funding facility time and academies would need to include details of facility time spending as part of their published financial statements.

A monitoring report would therefore need to be devised to capture traded union activities undertaken and an account of total hours spent under agreed headings.

       The Chairman concluded that the matter should be reviewed again in twelve months’ time.