The Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017 came into force on the 1st April 2017. These regulations place a legislative requirement on relevant public sector employers to collate and publish, on an annual basis, a range of data on the amount and cost of facility time within their organisation.

These regulations require relevant public sector employers to collect and publish, on an annual basis, a range of data in relation to their usage and spend of TU facility time in respect of their employees who are TU representatives.

Facility Time is the provision of paid or unpaid time off from an employee’s normal role to undertake TU duties and activities as a TU representative. There is a statutory entitlement to reasonable paid time off for undertaking union duties. There is no such entitlement to paid time off for undertaking activities.

The regulations only apply to employers, including Maintained schools and other educational establishments that have at least one TU representative and which have more than 49 full time equivalent (FTE) employees during any seven months of a 12 month relevant period.

The facility time (FT) data that organisations are required to collate and publish under the 2017 regulations are:

• Number of employees who were relevant union officials during the relevant period.
• How many employees who were relevant union officials during the relevant period spent a)0%, b)1 – 50%, c) 51-99% or d)100% of their working hours on facility time.
• Percentage of the total pay bill spent on facility time
• Time spent on paid trade union activities as a percentage of total paid facility time hours.

Organisations are required to publish this information on a website maintained by or on behalf of the employer before 31st July each year.

The FTE of staff at St Mary’s exceeded 49 from September 2018 (when St Mary’s Junior School and Downs Way Infants Schools combined).

The Facilities Time Report for 2018-19 for the school can be found here St Mary’s School Trade_Union_Facility_Time_Report.2019.

(One employee was a Trade Union representative, but they did not take any paid time off work for Union Duties, so it is a nil return.)