Procedure

1. Time Off - Principles. Employees who are officers of the recognised Trade Unions are permitted reasonable time off during working hours [1] to carry out Trade Unions duties and activities, as defined in this agreement.

An official is an employee who has been elected or appointed in accordance with the rules of the Trade Union to be a representative of all or some of the Trade Union’s members at the University of York.

Additionally, employees who undertake the duties of Union Health and Safety Representatives and Learning Representatives are also permitted reasonable time off during working hours to carry out the functions associated with the role.

2. Time Off - Duties. Employees who are Trade Union officials are entitled to reasonable paid time off, in accordance with the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, for recognised duties. The duties covered by this agreement are defined in Appendix A.

The intention of this agreement is to enable prospective payment for Trade Union duties to be made. This will enable Departments to plan ahead to provide suitable cover or similar in the absence of the member of staff on Trade Union duties. The duties for which payment will be made in advance of the Academic Year are defined within Appendix A.

This does not inhibit additional payment for duties carried out during the Academic Year over and above the prospective list. It is expected that certain duties, which cannot be predicted ahead, may be required to be carried out during the Academic Year and consequently additional reasonable time off and support from Departments will be expected.

The University and the recognised Trade Unions will agree at the JNCC of the summer term an amount, based on the payments protocol, for each Trade Union, to provide reasonable prospective cover for potential duties, as highlighted in Appendix A.

3. Time Off - Health and Safety Duties

Health and Safety Representatives have specific duties concerning their role. Reasonable paid time off may occur for the functions as specified in Appendix B.

4. Time Off - Learning Representative Duties

Union Learning Representatives have specific duties concerning their role. Reasonable paid time off may occur for the functions as specified in Appendix C.

The University of York and the recognised Trade Unions will liaise to ensure that proposed Health and Safety training activities complement each other and that duplication of training is minimised.

5. Time Off - Activities. An employee who is a member of a recognised Trade Union is permitted reasonable time off during working hours to take part in Trade Union activities and for the purposes of accessing the services of a Union Learning Representative. This time off is NOT paid. The activities covered by this agreement are defined in Appendix D.

6. Training. Employees who are officers of the recognised Trade Unions, including the Union Health and Safety Learning Representatives, should be appropriately trained to carry out their Trade Union role. It is recognised that Trade Union officers are more likely to carry out their duties effectively if they possess skills and knowledge relevant to them. The University of York therefore supports training and learning for recognised Trade Union officers and in particular supports formal accreditation where appropriate. Details of the level and types of training accepted by the University of York and the recognised Trade Unions are provided in Appendix E.

7. Requesting Time Off.  Under this agreement the recognised Trade Unions will provide the University of York, through their line manager and/or Head of Department (as appropriate), with as much notice as possible when requesting time off for the pursuit of duties, activities or to access the services of Union Learning Representatives. The notice will include details of the purpose of the time off, the intended location and the timing and duration of the time off required. The University will also endeavour to provide as much notice as possible on meetings to help with planning. Details of the mechanism for requesting time off for Trade Union duties are included in Appendix F.

8. Allocation of Time Off - Trade Union Membership. In order to calculate the amount of time off for the recognised Trade Unions an annual, independently verified (a return from the Trade Union Regional Office detailing the number of Trade Union members at the University of York, signed by the Regional Officer), written return of Trade Union membership will be required. This return will be requested from the regional offices of the recognised Trade Unions, via the local branch offices, and must include the number of Trade Union members who are employees of the University. A ‘Trade Union member’ will be considered as an employee of the University who has been a fully paid up member of the recognised Trade Union for at least three months at the date of the annual return.

9. Allocation of Time Off - Annual Provision. The date of the annual return will be 1 May each year to enable the University of York to provide a proposal concerning the amount of the prospective hours to which the recognised Trade Unions are eligible for the forthcoming Academic Year. This proposal will be discussed as a Standing Item on the JNCC for the Summer Term and where significant changes are required, a Temporary Working Group (TWG) may be convened and the outcome reported back to the JNCC..

Each Trade Union will receive an annual allocation of time off for Trade Union duties following agreement at the JNCC. It will be for the recognised Trade Union executives to decide which representatives should be given paid time off. It will be a matter for each recognised Trade Union to decide how much time should be allocated to the different aspects of Trade Union duties.

10. Prospective Allocation. The annual allocation will be prospective; namely for the Academic Year forthcoming. This is to enable Departments to plan ahead for replacement cover or support, for example buying in teaching. The JNCC for the Summer Term will discuss and confirm the main activities which require Trade Union representation and consist of a standard allocation, such as those identified in Appendix A, for the forthcoming Academic Year. An additional allocation is likely to be confirmed to include activities such as strategy and specific known projects; further details can be found at Appendix A.

11. In Year Allocation. It is also acknowledged that some patterns of activity may not be predicted and both the University of York and the recognised Trade Unions may need to be flexible to deal with additional casework, extraordinary matters and organisational change. The University of York will consult with the Trade Unions at the JNCC meetings to define and agree any additional workload and consequently any increase to payment in year. Payment calculations for organisational change can be found at Appendix G.

12. Allocation of Time Off - Communication. The recognised Trade Unions will confirm the apportionment of their allocation for each of their Trade Union officers in writing to the Employee Relations and HR Policy Manager prior to the end of the summer term, usually 30 September. Upon receipt by the University of the apportionment of allocation from the Trade Unions, in accordance with the above, instructions for payment for the forthcoming Academic Year will be initiated to Finance prior to the start of the new Academic year. The intention will be to give Departments sufficient notice in respect of time off payments prior to the start of the Academic Year. Payment for time off will be in accordance with the funding principles, defined in section 14.

13.Allocation of Time Off - Departmental Considerations. In addition to paid release for Trade Union duties it is possible that an individual may seek time off for voluntary activities and/or to work for outside bodies. This accrual of absence could cause significant issues for Departments and accordingly individuals should consult with their Department to determine the reasonable level of absence accepted by the Department for paid time off for Trade Union duties, work for outside bodies and voluntary activities. Exceeding 30% of an individuals FTE is unlikely to be considered a reasonable amount of time off. In respect of these types of duties/activities, Trade Union duties and work for outside bodies, such as Magistrates duties or similar, would be recognised as being of greater precedence than voluntary activities.

14. Payment. Payments for the time off for recognised Trade Union duties will be recompensed to departments by way of an hourly rate. The rate will be equivalent to the current salary spine point of the Trade Unions representatives allocated time off for Trade Union duties.

It is important that the payment system for time off for Trade Union duties is transparent and equitable. It is also recognised that the differing sizes of the recognised Trade Unions memberships will provide different levels of payment due to differing levels of casework. Full details of the payment calculation are provided in Appendix G.

There is no statutory requirement to pay for time off where the duty is carried out at a time when the official would not otherwise have been at work. However, the University recognises the challenges this can bring for officers who work part time or shifts and has included provisions as set out in section 15.

There is no statutory requirement that Union members or representatives be paid for time off taken for Trade Union activities. The University of York and the recognised Trade Unions will consult where it may be beneficial for activities to be considered for paid time off.

15.Monetary payments under exceptional circumstances

Casual Workers (typically GTA’s) Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA’s) are typically employed via a casual engagement and for those that are officers of the recognised Trade Unions, requesting paid time off from their pre-arranged work commitments is usually not possible. In such cases, registered casual workers will be paid for their time spent on Trade Union duties by way of the normal hourly rate, i.e. should they spend two hours over one week on Trade Union duties, they will be paid for the work they performed for the Department and for an additional two hours spent on the Trade Union duties.

Each recognised Trade Union will confirm to the University of York how much time should be allocated to each casual worker Trade Union official and the reasons for the time, as per section 12. This may be part of the annual allocation and/ or the in-year allocation.

Consideration of the GTA’s teaching commitments and maximum hours worked per week will be made before allocating hours and, in conjunction with the GTA’s department, HR will arrange for the hours spent on the Trade Union duties to be paid. Payments will be made at the individual's usual hourly rate.

Part time Trade Union officers/ representativesEmployees who are officers of the recognised Trade Unions and who work part time will be eligible for a payment for the hours spent on the Trade Union duties where taking the time off from their normal contracted role proves difficult.

As per section 12, each recognised Trade Union will confirm to the University how much time should be allocated to each part time Trade Union official. There is an expectation that facilities time is allocated reasonably so as not to overburden individuals and departments. An example could be to allocate time as a percentage of the FTE, where practical.

In cases where taking time off is proving difficult, for example a high amount of casework combined with departmental absences, and where reasonable steps have been taken by the Department to mitigate the loss of the Trade Union official from their normal work commitments (for example, recruitment, reduction in teaching, reallocation of work to other colleagues etc), subject to the Trade Union officials agreement, HR will arrange for the hours spent on the Trade Union duties to be paid via an overtime sheet. This decision will be made in collaboration and in advance with the Trade Union officer, Department, the local Trade Union President/Secretary and HR. Payments will be made at the individuals normal hourly rate and be funded by the department, from the allocation. In exceptional circumstances and after all other avenues have been exhausted, an agreement to temporarily increase the FTE for the official may be considered.

16. Funding. Funding for paid time off will be from central funds. Upon receipt of the Trade Union request for each year Management Accounts will adjust the budget of the relevant Departments accordingly. The actual mechanism for funding will be defined by the Finance Department.

17. Facilities. The University does not have a statutory obligation to provide facilities for Trade Union duties and activities. However, in the interests of the partnership approach, recognised by the University of York Employee Relations Agreement and Structure 2008, it is agreed that a range of facilities will be made available to the recognised Trades Unions as detailed in Appendix H.

18. Review. This agreement will be subject to review in accordance with the principles of the Employee Relations Agreement and Structure 2008. An annual agenda item on the Summer term JNCC will prompt attendees to discuss and agree whether a review is required and to what extent.

19. Appendices

A. Time Off for Trade Unions - Duties
B. Time Off for Trade Unions - Health and Safety Representative Duties
C. Time Off for Trade Unions - Union Learning Representative Duties
D. Time Off for Trade Unions - Activities
E. Time Off for Trade Unions - Training Requirements
F. Time Off for Trade Unions - Requesting Time Off
G. Time Off for Trade Unions - Payment Calculation
H. Facilities for Trade Unions

---

Document control

• Last reviewed and updated: 5 August 2021