Government reviews workplace representatives and their facilities
The UK government has published the first results of a review of the facilities and facility time provided to workplace employee representatives, both union and non-union. We summarise the key findings.
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In June 2006, the government launched a review of workplace representatives' facilities and facility time (the time off they receive to carry out their duties), focusing on: whether or not new methods of working seriously affect the ability of workplace representatives to function well; and whether or not the effectiveness and efficiency of representatives can be enhanced to "optimise the net benefits they bring to employees, employers and society more generally". The initial findings are presented in a consultation document1 published in January 2007.
The consultation will run until 29 March, after which the government will publish a final study and conclude the review.
Characteristics of representatives
Using data provided by the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) (Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2004), the report notes that there are more than 350,000 workplace representatives, including those who deal exclusively with health and safety issues. It finds that they are evenly split between trade union and non-union representatives, although union representatives are more active and perform a wider range of functions, including: shop stewards; health and safety and learning representatives, as well as acting as representatives on joint consultative committees. Further, the analysis finds that union representatives often perform several roles simultaneously.
The previous WERS survey was in 1998, and although the questions were not identical to those in the 2004 survey, the report finds evidence that, despite there being still quite large numbers of representatives, they may be declining relative to the increased size of the workforce. The document notes that representatives are concentrated in larger workplaces and that almost half of all employees (47%) are employed at workplaces with an on-site representative. Representation is more prevalent in the public sector, largely reflecting the higher concentration of union membership, according to the findings.
Regarding age and gender, the report finds that the average age of workplace representatives is 46 and that women are under-represented. Unions are finding it difficult to recruit new and younger members as representatives, according to the document.
Time off
Workplace representatives need time off from their normal jobs to undertake their duties as representatives. The study finds that senior union representatives spend an average 12.5 hours a week on their union duties, of which a significant amount is at home, during their own time. Junior representatives, however, are likely to spend far less time on their activities, with a "sizeable proportion" being "quite inactive". Non-union representatives generally spend significantly less time on their duties, states the document.
Some unions have reported that representatives are under increasing pressure and are failing to take sufficient time off work to undertake their functions effectively. The main reasons cited in the report are: lack of cover; a negative attitude among middle managers; increasing pressures on representatives to go off-site to deal with members; and a need to deal with complex issues. Some representatives also cited privacy issues, which were of less concern if they undertook union business in their own time.
Most representatives (89%) are paid by their employer for carrying out their workplace duties, according to the findings. The figure is slightly higher (91%) at workplaces where unions are recognised. Around three-quarters (74%) of non-union representatives receive payment for undertaking their duties.
Training
Trained representatives are able to offer a better service to their constituents, states the report, and the review found that three-quarters of union representatives, compared with only around one-fifth of non-union representatives, had received training in their duties. The majority receive pay while training, while a significant minority (15%) do not.
There is a well-organised system of trade union training, with more than 40,000 students attending TUC-organised courses in 2005. The topics covered include core training for shop stewards and short courses on specific topics. The government contributes around £10 million a year to support trade union training. TUC feedback from students indicates that they find the courses generally beneficial, although there is little evidence on how they help the representatives when they return to their workplaces.
Facilities
The law provides a "patchwork" of rights to workplace facilities, with union and employee health and safety representatives and those who need to be consulted under the law on collective redundancies and business transfers having statutory rights to facilities. The review finds that most representatives have access to basic office facilities that allow them to communicate with their constituencies - with those in larger companies having access to more.
Although an increasing proportion of representatives have access to a computer at work, the study found evidence that there are also those who have to work without such equipment, creating, it suggests, a "two-tier system of representation". Some representatives reported that they do not use workplace computers because of security and privacy reasons, with a significant minority preferring to use their own computers.
Guidance on representatives
The report notes that various government departments and agencies provide a range of materials on the rights of workplace representatives. However, it comments that this could be more useful and accessible if it were consolidated or provided via a single online access portal. It also suggests compiling a guide to the law on all types of workplace representation.
Additionally, Acas and the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) produce codes of practice on workplace representatives that have special legal status. The HSC code establishes legal norms for the treatment of safety representatives.
Unions and employers also produce their own guidance for representatives and managers, which are sometimes joint documents taking the form of facilities agreements. The government is keen to see the entire body of guidance updated, to take into account changing patterns of work and workplace practices.
Legal entitlements for representatives
Several sets of legislation cover the various categories of workplace representatives and the report finds that formal complaints to employment tribunals about alleged breaches of these laws are infrequent, with the volume remaining stable over time. On the other hand, some representatives, including most non-union representatives and those of non-recognised unions, have no statutory rights or limited entitlement. Even among those with statutory rights, there are big differences in entitlement, with some entitled to facilities and time off for training while others are not.
Further, the report states that the wording used in statutes to express the same entitlement varies, and while the differences appear small, they can have widely varying results. The government has suggested that this body of law could also usefully be consolidated or simplified, with more consistent wording across related entitlements.
One area that the study highlights relates to "entitlement to time off", which is often subjected to a "reasonableness test" or equivalent. This has led to both employers and unions suggesting that the entitlement should be clarified.
Benefits and costs
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) estimates that workplace representatives bring an identifiable range of benefits, worth between £476 million and £1.13 billion a year, according to the report. The DTI also suggests that there are significant other gains from increased productivity, potentially worth between £3.4 billion and £10.2 billion a year.
The estimated costs to employers of providing paid time off and facilities range between £407 million and £430.4 million a year. Finally, the report states that representatives spend large amounts of their own time on their duties, estimated to be worth £115 million a year.
The TUC has welcomed the consultation document and the government's review of the support union representatives and stewards receive in the workplace.
1. Workplace representatives: a review of their facilities and facility time (PDF format, 405K) (on the DTI website).
