Trade Union facility time

Trade Union facilities arrangements in Hillingdon

All employers are required, by law, to permit trade union representatives reasonable paid time off to carry out their trade union duties.

Hillingdon provides funding for a fixed number of facility days to enable branch secretaries and other specified officials of trade unions to carry out the duties for which they were elected. This includes attendance at management and trade union meetings that are convened in line with the various consultations and collective bargaining arrangements that take place on a regular basis.

This funding is only available to cover trade union officials who are employees of the council. Trade union officials from regional offices who carry out the duties of a branch secretary do not attract funding under the corporate or schools facilities budgets. Accordingly, during the 2014/15 financial year, corporate funding was expended only in respect of Unison, GMB, NUT and ATL officials. Facilities provision for the GMB union has only been available from January 2015, following the appointment of a council employee to an eligible trade union position.

The corporate funding of trade union duties is not paid to the trade unions but is made available to managers (as required) to enable them to backfill the jobs of trade union officials, so that services to residents do not suffer.