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Trade Union recognition and employee consultation

We recognise the importance of good industrial relations and effective communication with our staff. At SFC we formally recognise Unite the Union for collective bargaining and consultation purposes as well as staff representation.

About Us

We have a Joint Negotiation and Consultation Forum (JNCF), which meets regularly, and involves members of our Senior Management Team (SMT) and representatives from our staff trade union, Unite. Through this we share information, discuss issues of mutual concern, consult and, where appropriate, negotiate on policies, procedures and terms and conditions of employment.

We also have a health and safety committee which includes union representatives to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of staff working at the SFC.

To enable union representatives to effectively represent their members and work with the Management of SFC we provide facility time which we see as an investment that improves the quality of staff working relations, helps us to work collaboratively to reach workable solutions within the workplace and greatly reduces the potential negative impact of disputes in the workplace.

In accordance with the Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017 we provided the following support through paid facility time for union officials working at SFC in the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018.

Relevant union officials

Number of employees who were relevant union officials during the relevant period 

Full-time equivalent employee number 
  • Six Unite Committee members (including post holders)
  • Two Health and Safety representatives
7.5 FTE

Percentage of time spent on facility time

 Percentage 

Number of employees 
0% 0
1-50% 8
51-99% 0
100% 0

Percentage of pay bill spent on facility time
Total cost of facility time £15,514
Total pay bill £5.375 million
Percentage of the total pay bill spent on facility time: 0.3%

Paid trade union activities
Time spent on paid trade union activities as a percentage of total paid facility time hours 100%