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Trade Unions and Professional Organisations

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Partnership Agreement

The Partnership Agreement has been developed jointly by the Board and the Trades Unions and Professional Organisations representing staff.  The Agreement is designed to ensure staff are effectively involved in influencing the shape and implementation of decisions that affect their work, and offer managers the means through which staff views can be considered before taking the decisions for which they are responsible.

 It is recognised that staff, through their recognised trade unions and professional organisations and management are major stakeholders within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and it is therefore in the interests of all stakeholders that these groups work closely together in a partnership process.

 The purpose of this agreement is to provide a framework for partnership working between the Board, trade unions and professional organisations recognised within the NHS at a United Kingdom level, that will secure the best possible measure of cooperation and agreement on matters of mutual concern and which will promote the best interests of the Board and its employees.

The partnership agreement details values, roles and responsibilities and key forums including the Area Partnership Forum, local partnership forums and health and safety forum.

Policy

Facilities Agreement

NHSGGC recognises the mutual benefit to the Board and its employees, of staff representation by recognised Trade Unions/Professional Organisations at individual, departmental, directorate and divisional and corporate levels.

 The Facilities Agreement Policy ensures that recognised trade union representatives of the Board are not unreasonably refused paid time off to carry out duties which are concerned with other functions related or connected with:

  • Terms and conditions of employment, or the physical conditions in which workers are required to work;
  • Engagement or non-engagement, or termination or suspension of employment or the duties of employment, of one or more workers;
  • Allocation of work or the duties of employment as between workers or groups of workers;
  • Matters of discipline;
  • Trade union membership or non-membership;
  • Facilities for officials of Trade Unions;
  • Machinery for negotiation or consultation or partnership working and other procedures.

 The Facilities Agreement Policy sets out guidance on how recognised Trade Unions/Professional Organisations establish with the Board the number of representatives they have within the Board. The Policy also sets out the process for accredited Trade Union Representatives to apply for paid time off to attend any of the duties noted above.

Top Tips on using the Facilities Agreement Policy….

  1. Recognised Trade Union/Professional Organisations must establish with the Board the number of its representatives in each department/occupational group and the location and members for which each representative will be responsible.
  2. The appropriate Head of HR/ Head of People and Change should be notified within 4 weeks in writing when trade union/professional organisation representatives are appointed, resign or leave the employment of the board.
  3. Trade union/professional organisation representatives and officials granted time off will suffer no detriment and will be entitled to protection on the basis as outlined in the Board’s Managing Workforce Change Policy. Likewise they will be entitled to training to continue their professional development and maintain their registration.
  4. Requests for time off for trade union duties or activities should be made to the Departmental Manager or a recognised deputy or senior manager in the department using a Facilities Request Form (see appendix 2 of the policy).
  5. In the event that management are unable to authorise the leave, reasons will be recorded on the Facilities Time Request Form.

Agreement

Forms

This form should be used, in line with the Facilities Agreement, for the request of facilities time by a staff representative who does not have agreed secured time or where a request is for time that is additional to the secured time of a staff representative