On the eve of the 2012 Trades Union Congress, the Tax Payers Alliance (TPA) published a new legal briefing, by Francis Hoar, examining facility time in the public sector, which finds that “many public sector employers have not approached ‘facility’ time in the manner envisaged by industrial relations law”.
The briefing shows that:
- Paid facility time is only supposed to be allowed for a certain set of trade union duties.
- Unpaid time is allowed for more widely defined trade union activities.
- Public sector employees are only entitled to paid or unpaid leave for trade union duties and activities if they have requested it from their employer, and if their request is deemed reasonable.
To read full briefing go to: Limitations of the right to time off for union responsibilities.