Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel TodayLatest NewsPublic sectorTrade unions

‘Facility time’ reports due from public sector employers in July

by Jo Faragher 15 May 2018
by Jo Faragher 15 May 2018 Matthew Chattle/REX/Shutterstock
Matthew Chattle/REX/Shutterstock

Public sector employers have just a few more weeks to publish information on individuals’ time off to carry out a trade union role.

Time off for union duties

Policy on time off for trade union learning representatives

Facilities and time off for union duties and activities agreement

Under the Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) 2017, eligible employers must publish a report detailing their “facility time”, the agreed time off for employees to carry out trade union roles, by 31 July 2018.

The reporting period is the 12 months beginning 1 April each year, and any public sector employer that has had at least one trade union representative and 50 or more employees for seven months during that period must report.

The report must be published on the employer’s website, or in the employer’s annual report, if it produces one.

The regulations state that employers must:

  • publish the information in the form indicated in schedule 2 of the regulations;
  • place this information on their website before 31 July 2018; and
  • include this information in their annual report which covers the relevant period (April 2017 to March 2018).

The requirements also state that – similar to gender pay gap reporting – facility time information should be published on a dedicated Government website, although it’s understood that this portal is still under development.

Official Government guidance on facility time reporting is also yet to be published, but Acas has a guide that explains which trade union duties can be described as “facility time”. There is also an explanatory note on the Government website.

The reporting requirements originate from the Trade Union Act 2016, which introduced controversial reforms to the way unions can organise strike action, although many of the initial proposals were watered down.

Facility time can mean a broad range of things to different employers – in some organisations it may mean a rep is fully seconded; in others they may just take a certain amount of time out per week or month.

In Scotland, first minister Nicola Sturgeon – a vocal opponent of the Trade Union Act – recently backed guidance from the Scottish government for public sector employers to only report the bare minimum required by legislation.

The guidance states: “The UK Government’s reporting requirements do not seek to capture any of the benefits of facility time and focus solely on costs.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“The Scottish Government is committed to working with public bodies, the STUC and trade unions to prevent the facility time reporting requirements from undermining the role of trade union representatives.”

The National Assembly for Wales has also limited the impact of the rules by removing the requirement for devolved Welsh authorities to report on their facility time.

Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

previous post
Mental Health Awareness Week: Graduates fear telling employers about issues
next post
Sadiq Khan launches ‘Our Time’ female talent development scheme

You may also like

Forward features list 2025 – submitting content to...

23 Nov 2024

Features list 2021 – submitting content to Personnel...

1 Sep 2020

Large firms have no plans to bring all...

26 Aug 2020

A typical work-from-home lunch: crisps

24 Aug 2020

Occupational health on the coronavirus frontline – ‘I...

21 Aug 2020

Occupational Health & Wellbeing research round-up: August 2020

7 Aug 2020

Acas: Redundancy related enquiries surge 160%

5 Aug 2020

Coronavirus: lockdown ‘phase two’ may bring added headaches...

17 Jul 2020

Unemployment to top 4 million as workers come...

15 Jul 2020

Over 1,000 UK redundancies expected at G4S Cash...

14 Jul 2020

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+