Trade Union Funding

The request was successful.

Dear sirs,

I am writing to obtain information about the total amount of money paid to trade unions by your organisation, the amount of staff time spent on trade union duties and/or activities and the payment of subscriptions.
To outline my query as clearly as possible, I am requesting:

1. A list of trade unions which received payments from your organisation and the total amounts paid to each union for financial years a) 2011-12 and b) 2012-13. If it is not possible to list the amount paid to each union, please provide a total amount paid to all unions. Please do not include membership dues or salary costs. Please only include direct payments.

2. Please state:
a) Which trade unions your organisation provide staff time to work on trade union duties and / or activities (sometimes called ‘Trade Union facility time’) in i) 2011-12 and ii) 2012-13.

b) The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff that were provided for each trade union in i) 2011-12 and ii) 2012-13. For example, if a member of staff spends 2 days per week on union business, this is equal to 0.4 FTE.

3.

a) Does your organisation provide the facility to deduct trade union subscriptions from staff salaries in the payroll process?

b) If so, for each union please state what your organisation charged for this service (whether as a fixed amount per employee or a percentage), and the total amount collected in:

i) 2011-12

ii) 2012-13

Please note that the guidelines issued by ACAS state that: “An employee who is a member of an independent trade union recognised by the employer in respect of that description of employee is to be permitted reasonable time off during working hours to take part in any trade union activity. An employee who is a member of an independent and recognised trade union is also permitted to take reasonable time off during working hours for the purposes of accessing the services of a Union Learning Representative (provided those services are services for which the Union Learning Representative is entitled to time off).”

If the information is not recorded, there is no way of ascertaining whether the time off provided is reasonable. I therefore do not expect the response that the organisation does not hold this information. If a formal record is not kept then I will accept a reasonable estimate.

If the response to any of the questions is ‘nil’ or you are unable to answer any of them, please continue to respond to the other questions

My preferred format to receive this information is electronically, but if that is not possible I will gladly accept letters at the address below.

I would be grateful if you would acknowledge receipt of this request as soon as possible.

Kind regards

Alex Wild

Health and Safety Executive

Thank you for your email. This address is for enquiries from the media only. If you are a journalist, we will reply to you as soon as we can. Your email will be read during office hours (8.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday), but not automatically so outside of these hours. If a reply is needed outside office hours, journalists should ring the duty press officer on 0151 922 1221. If you are not from the media, please visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/contact.htm for information on where to direct your enquiry.

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Health and Safety Executive

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    FOI request acknowledgement whatdotheyknow.com TU funding 31 July 2013.DOC.doc

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Alex

Please see the attached acknowledgement letter.

Regards

Annie

Annie Green | PA to HR Director | HRD Business Intelligence and
Development Team
Health & Safety Executive | 6.3 Redgrave Court, Merton Road, Bootle L20
7HS |

-------------------------------------------
From: Alex Wild[SMTP:[email address]]
Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 9:19:34 AM
To: Media Enquiries
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Trade Union Funding
Auto forwarded by a Rule

Dear sirs,

I am writing to obtain information about the total amount of money paid
to trade unions by your organisation, the amount of staff time spent on
trade union duties and/or activities and the payment of subscriptions.
To outline my query as clearly as possible, I am requesting:

1. A list of trade unions which received payments from your
organisation and the total amounts paid to each union for financial
years a) 2011-12 and b) 2012-13. If it is not possible to list the
amount paid to each union, please provide a total amount paid to all
unions. Please do not include membership dues or salary costs. Please
only include direct payments.

2. Please state:
a) Which trade unions your organisation provide staff time to work on
trade union duties and / or activities (sometimes called 'Trade Union
facility time') in i) 2011-12 and ii) 2012-13.

b) The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff that were provided for
each trade union in i) 2011-12 and ii) 2012-13. For example, if a member
of staff spends 2 days per week on union business, this is equal to 0.4
FTE.

3.

a) Does your organisation provide the facility to deduct trade union
subscriptions from staff salaries in the payroll process?

b) If so, for each union please state what your organisation charged for
this service (whether as a fixed amount per employee or a percentage),
and the total amount collected in:

i) 2011-12

ii) 2012-13

Please note that the guidelines issued by ACAS state that: "An employee
who is a member of an independent trade union recognised by the employer
in respect of that description of employee is to be permitted reasonable
time off during working hours to take part in any trade union activity.
An employee who is a member of an independent and recognised trade union
is also permitted to take reasonable time off during working hours for
the purposes of accessing the services of a Union Learning
Representative (provided those services are services for which the Union
Learning Representative is entitled to time off)."

If the information is not recorded, there is no way of ascertaining
whether the time off provided is reasonable. I therefore do not expect
the response that the organisation does not hold this information. If a
formal record is not kept then I will accept a reasonable estimate.

If the response to any of the questions is 'nil' or you are unable to
answer any of them, please continue to respond to the other questions

My preferred format to receive this information is electronically, but
if that is not possible I will gladly accept letters at the address
below.

I would be grateful if you would acknowledge receipt of this request as
soon as possible.

Kind regards

Alex Wild

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Health and Safety Executive

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    FOI request acknowledgement whatdotheyknow.com TU funding 31 July 2013.DOC.doc

    64K Download View as HTML

Alex

Would you please clarify the following question. We are unsure if it
means the total amount collected refers to a service charge or the
amount of TU subscriptions paid.

b) If so, for each union please state what your organisation charged for
this service (whether as a fixed amount per employee or a percentage),
and the total amount collected in:

Regards

Annie

Annie Green | PA to HR Director | HRD Business Intelligence and
Development Team
Health & Safety Executive | 6.3 Redgrave Court, Merton Road, Bootle L20
7HS |
*: +44(0) 151 951 3481 (VPN 523) | 7: +44(0) 151 951 3200 (fax) | *:
[email address]

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Dear Health and Safety Executive,

The total amount collected refers to the service charge levied on the collection of union dues.

Yours faithfully,

Alex Wild

Health and Safety Executive

1 Attachment

Alex

Please see the attached response.

Regards

Annie

Annie Green | PA to HR Director | HRD Business Intelligence and
Development Team
Health & Safety Executive | 6.3 Redgrave Court, Merton Road, Bootle L20
7HS |
*: +44(0) 151 951 3481 (VPN 523) | 7: +44(0) 151 951 3200 (fax) | *:
[email address]

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