Trade Union Facilities Time
Each year our schools pay into pooled trade union arrangements with each of our local authorities, and we currently employ a number of those trade union representatives in our schools who undertake paid trade union duties. We also have several school-based representatives who are staff working in our schools. They undertake a range of full-time and part-time roles, whilst also undertaking trade union activities, working closely with their local and regional representatives.
Each year, we are required to submit a trade union facility time report to the government, and for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, our submission details the following:
As of 31st March 2024, we will currently employ 1104 staff excluding casuals, and of those staff, five of our employees are in-school trade union representatives and four are paid trade union representatives. The full-time equivalent of paid trade union representatives is 2.8.
The percentage of working hours spent on facility time for the period the submission relates is:
- 3 in-school representatives have not undertaken trade union activities during working hours.
- 2 representatives spent between 1-50%.
- 3 paid trade union representatives spent between 51-99%.
- 1 paid representative spent 100% on trade union duties.
The submission now allows the trust to reflect additional trade union facility time information in relation to local authority pooled arrangements. The submission for 2023/24 is inclusive of the total cost of staff related facility time (£153566.23) and the total cost of pooled arrangements (£23,996.01), total £177562.24. An increase of £17,700.24 owing to teachers’ salary increases, increased time and payments to in-school representatives, an increase in facilities cost to local authorities and East Riding not increasing the amount of reimbursement or including oncosts.
Our total pay bill for the period was £37,010,391. The percentage of pay spent on paid facility time is 0.41%. The total hours the paid trade union representatives spent on facility time is 3549 (as opposed to 3497 last year), no hours were spent on paid trade union representative’s activities. The percentage of total paid facility time hours spent on paid trade union representative’s activities is 0%. The school-based representatives spent 22.5 hours (as opposed to 61.25 last year) on paid trade union activities during working hours, total cost £350.28 (included in total cost of staff related facility time).
The cost of paid facility time to the organisation is £153,566.23. We are able to claim back £131,803.87 from East Riding and Hull local authorities, leaving a shortfall of £21,762.36. The total cost of local authority pooled arrangements is £23,996.01. Total trade union cost to the organisation £45,758.37 (an increase of £8,166.37) on last year.
