Manager

Cover yourself

The Branch recognises that the issue of the ‘interim guidance’ places those members with a managerial role in the most awkward of positions. Worse still, because the ‘Employee Relations Team’ would not be the ones directly refusing reasonable facility time requests, as it stands it would be the local manager facing the threat of possible Employment Tribunal applications.

If you are concerned that the ‘guidance’ means that you could be in breach of the law, you should immediately email the Employee Relations Inbox to ask them if you are being instructed to refuse the facility time; and if so, ask for the instruction in writing. If you receive a telephone call from ‘Employee Relations Team’ giving you the instruction, again ask for the instruction in writing.

If the ‘Employee Relations Team’ refuse to provide written instructions, you may wish to ask why they have declined to do so; and also why their directive is referred to as “guidance” and not as (for example) “policy”.

You should then email your line manager to raise the concern that you may have been instructed to refuse a reasonable request for time off; and in doing so, you may have been instructed to breach employment or safety legislation; and seek advice.

Keep a physical record of all correspondence.

Comply with the law

The right to time off for Trade Union work is set out in law and is supported by the ACAS statutory code of practice.

If you are in any doubt as to whether a request is appropriate, you may wish to refer to the ACAS code. A pdf of the guide to the statutory code of practice is available to view free of charge at http://acas.ecgroup.net/Publications/Timeoff.aspx.

Ask your union!

If you’re not sure, there’s no ‘conflict of interest’ in any Trade Union member asking their union for advice or information regarding matters related to their employment duties. Make sure you have the full picture before making your final decision.