Facility time

Cabinet secretary Nick Hurd last month confirmed that the government consultation over cutting facility time in the civil service was “imminent”.

He said the aim of the consultation was to: reduce overall facility time across the civil service; end or limit the practice of 100% facility time; end paid time off for trade union “activities”, as opposed to “duties”; and develop a common system for reporting and monitoring facility time across the civil service.

Meanwhile, Swindon Council has agreed to make the two key union officers there redundant and close the union office. The two share a full-time post carrying out trade union work.

And Southampton Council is consulting over ending the funding of council staff on full trade union facility time and ending provision of office facilities for unions.