Terms & Conditions of Service - Trade Union Partnership

This Falkirk Council Partnership Agreement has been established as part of an employee relations framework that recognises that partnership and collaboration are the best means by which sustainable change and improvement can be delivered.

This agreement:

provides a method for consultation to take place between the Council and its employees
allows staffing issues and concerns to be raised and discussed; difficulties explored and resolved and for shared routes forward to be agreed
ensures a joint focus on the Council's vision of being an innovative, responsive, trusted and ambitious organisation

The trade unions recognised for the purposes of this partnership agreement are:

EIS
GMB
SSTA
UNISON
UNITE

Table of contents

Behaviours and principles

The partners to this Agreement share the belief that certain behaviours and principles are required to achieve sustainable improvement and to retain the commitment and support of staff. The following principles will be adopted:

a shared commitment to the success of the Council in providing effective and efficient services to the local community
mutual trust, honesty and respect
openness and transparency in communications
commitment to the principles of Fair Work
respect confidentiality where either party considers this to be essential
recognising and valuing the contribution of all partners
access to and sharing of information by all parties
consensus, collaboration and inclusion as the "best way"
maximising employment security
a collaborative approach to underpin partnership working

The Council's Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities Policy underpins the Council's commitment to partnership working.

Roles and Responsibilities

This partnership approach and the employment relations framework outlined offers the opportunity for the Council's employees and their trades unions to be fully and consistently involved from an early stage in the formulation and implementation of change. If we are to realise the full potential from adopting this approach, all parties need to recognise their roles and responsibilities, and be committed to demonstrating actions consistent with the principles of this agreement.

Elected Members, managers, recognised trades unions and employees all have responsibilities within this process.

All parties to the Agreement will:

be committed to and willing to contribute positively to partnership working.
accept responsibility to try and agree decisions by consensus and demonstrate confidence and confidentiality to enhance the local partnership process.
be committed to the principles of Fair Work
recognise interdependence and agree that matters affecting their interest shall be considered jointly as provided for in this agreement in order to continue and maintain harmonious employee relations.
agree to work within the terms of the agreement, and that any disagreement should not prejudice a partner's position at any later stage in the partnership
recognise that some issues will require negotiation and, where this is necessary, a separate group will be established for this purpose.

Management responsibilities

be familiar and adhere to the principles of the partnership agreement
engage with trade unions at the earliest opportunity on issues which have workforce implications including service delivery, organisational changes etc to try to reach decisions by consensus
share information and staffing data (subject to GDPR requirements) as appropriate with relevant trade unions to enable effective partnership working to take place
encourage the formation of joint working groups where appropriate
recognise the role of trade unions in representing the interest of their members and ensure appropriate time off for trade union duties/ activities in line with the Council's Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities Policy

Trade Union responsibilities

be familiar with and adhere to the principles of the partnership agreement
take an active and constructive part in partnership discussions at an early stage to try to reach decisions by consensus within agreed timescales
provide a considered response to management proposals including alternative options where appropriate
share with management relevant information to assist discussions
recognise the right of management to plan, organise and manage the business, activities and staffing of the Council according to the Policies and Procedures agreed by the Council.
Adhere to the Council's Time off for Trade Union Duties and Activities Policy.

There will be situations where, although supportive of partnership working, trade unions or managers are unable to agree a joint approach. Remaining involved in the partnership process will enable differences to be dealt with appropriately. The current structure for dealing with employee concerns will be available to support this.

Partnership Framework and Governance

The framework for partnership working within the Council can be seen below and will essentially comprise of:

Flow chart showing executive at the top, branching off on the left to Council of the future board, then down to Council of the future workstream boards. The right hand branch links off to tripartite forum, then partnership forum then service level consultation. Partnership forum also has separate links to integrated joint board and LNCT.

Tripartite Forum

The Tripartite Forum meet quarterly (or as required). This forum will consist of nominated Elected Members, relevant officers and Trade Unions. It will provide a mechanism for consultation on strategic matters affecting Council employees eg budget, etc.

Corporate Partnership Forum

The Corporate Partnership Forum meet quarterly (or as required). This forum will provide a method for consultation to take place at a corporate level between relevant officers and recognised trade unions. It will allow for discussion of Council wide staffing issues and for concerns to be raised and discussed; difficulties explored and resolved and for shared routes forward to be agreed. Any matters agreed through this Forum which impact on the Council's workforce policies will be referred to the Executive Committee for consideration.

Council of the Future Workstream Boards

The Council of the Future Workstream Boards seek to align transformational activities with the Council's priorities, to ensure that the Council delivers on its priorities. The Boards oversee all transformational change projects within the Council's change programme. Trade union involvement on such Boards helps to generate and discuss ideas for change, to support Council of the Future project developments and to support the Council's vision of being an innovative, responsive, trusted and ambitious organisation. These Boards do not however, replace the normal consultation processes that may be required as part of the individual projects.

Service Partnership Working

Services should involve trade unions through regular discussion of proposed change initiatives and operational matters impacting on the workforce. Regular channels of communication with trade unions should be implemented at an appropriate level across the Service. For some areas, such as Children's Services or Social Work Adult Services, this may be via a Service Partnership Forum (or equivalent). For other service areas, however, this may involve establishing review or working groups involving employees and trade unions or inviting trade union representatives to team meetings depending on issues/ change being considered. The arrangements in place within each service should be reviewed on an annual basis. At the request of either management/ or trade unions, the creation/ disbanding of such forums, out with this review period, may be agreed between parties.

HR/Trade Union Group

Regular meetings chaired by the Head of People, Technology and Transformation will be held with recognised trade unions. Matters of mutual interest, concern, operational issues and information sharing will be raised at these meetings, or at other times if needed, with the intention of resolving them at this level. Topic specific meetings of this Group may be required to deal with particular changes, issues and matters arising.

Terms of reference for the operation of each of these Groups are attached as Appendices 2-6. It is recognised by all parties that the various partnership groups referred to above are advisory bodies only. The Council shall have regard to any recommendations made by them but shall not be bound to accept them or to act on them unless and until they are approved and adopted by the Council or, in terms of a relevant delegation, by a Committee or officer on the Council's behalf. Where the

Council does not agree to the implementation of recommendations made, matters may be remitted to the original forum for further discussion.

Any issues arising in relation to the conduct of service level partnership working, should be raised with the relevant Chief Officer in the first instance. If unresolved, the matter should be raised with the Head of People, Technology and Transformation for review. Where necessary, the Head of People, Technology and Transformation will seek to resolve this matter in line with the Council's policies.

Outwith these forums, the following additional consultative forums will operate:

Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers (LNCT) – allows for discussion of devolved national conditions at a local level.
Joint Staff Forum (Health & Social Care Integration) - provides a forum to enable effective joint discussions between employer and employee representatives, on employment issues, relating to the effective implementation of Health and Social Care Integration.

Development

All partnership forum members will participate in appropriate joint development events, as required, to continue the development of effective partnership working across the Council.

Review

Partnership working arrangements, if they are to be effective, need to be responsive and flexible. The partners will review the details set out above on an annual basis.

Terms of reference

Tripartite Forum

The role of the Forum is:

To provide a mechanism for consultation on strategic matters affecting Council employees eg budget, terms and conditions etc.
To ensure proposals focus on the Council's vision of being an innovative, responsive, trusted and ambitious organisation.

Principles

To underpin the working of the Tripartite Forum, the following principles will be adopted:

a shared commitment to the success of the Council in providing effective services to the local community
mutual trust, honesty and respect
openness and transparency in communications
commitment to the principles of Fair Work
respect confidentiality where any party considers this to be essential
recognising and valuing the contribution of all partners
access and sharing of information
consensus, collaboration and inclusion as the "best way"
maximising employment security
a collaborative approach to underpin partnership working.

Ways of working

The Forum will meet every quarter however this frequency can be varied if needs dictate this.
Members of the Forum will receive papers one week before each meeting, where possible.
An action note of the meeting will be created, kept and agreed by all members of the Forum who attended the meeting.
The Forum shall be chaired on a rotational basis by the Leader of the Council or their nominated substitute and a staff side chair appointed by relevant trade unions.
The Forum may establish sub-groups or working parties to focus on particular issues. The membership of any such group shall be at the discretion of the Forum. Such groups will be expected to report back to the Forum at regular intervals as agreed.
From time to time, individuals may be asked to provide specific advice or expertise to the Forum as required.

Membership

Membership of the Forum shall comprise nominated Elected Members, representatives of the Council's management team and all relevant trade unions.
Each of the following trade unions, recognised by the Council, may appoint one nominated representative to the Forum:

UNISON
EIS
UNITE
GMB
SSTA

If the nominated trade union representative is unavailable, they may be represented by a substitute.

Full time officers may attend on an ex-officio basis, noting their attendance in advance.
Members of the Forum are expected to take ownership of and implement actions agreed by the Forum.

Governance

The Forum shall be an advisory body only. The Council shall have regard to any recommendations made by the Forum but shall not be bound to accept them or to act on them unless and until they are approved and adopted by the Council or, in terms of a relevant delegation, by a Committee or officer on the Council's behalf.

Corporate Partnership Forum

The role of the Forum is:

To provide a method for consultation to take place at a corporate level between the Council and its employees.
To provide a mechanism for Council wide staffing issues and concerns to be raised and discussed; difficulties explored and resolved and for shared routes forward to be agreed.
To ensure proposals focus on the Council's vision of being an innovative, responsive, trusted and ambitious organisation.

Principles

To underpin the working of the Corporate Partnership Forum, the following principles will be adopted :

a shared commitment to the success of the Council in providing effective and efficient services to the local community
mutual trust, honesty and respect
openness and transparency in communications
commitment to the principles of Fair Work
respect confidentiality where either party considers this to be essential
recognising and valuing the contribution of all partners
access and sharing of information
consensus, collaboration and inclusion as the "best way"
maximising employment security
a collaborative approach to underpin partnership working.

Ways of working

The Forum will meet every quarter with a schedule of meetings issued on an annual basis. This frequency can however be varied if needs dictate this.
Members of the Forum will receive papers one week before each meeting.
An action note of the meeting will be created, kept and agreed by all members of the Forum who attended the meeting.
The Forum shall have joint chairs who will chair meetings on a rotational basis. The staff side chair shall be appointed by relevant trade unions.
The Forum may establish sub-groups or working parties to focus on particular issues. The membership of any such group shall be at the discretion of the Forum. Such groups will be expected to report back to the Forum at regular intervals as agreed.
From time to time, individuals may be asked to provide specific advice or expertise to the Forum as required.
Service Unit Managers will ensure that minutes of Partnership Forums are displayed on relevant staff notice boards or otherwise made available. These minutes will be published on the Council's intranet. Trade Union representatives will however have an important role in both communicating with their members and actively ensuring that their members' views are conveyed effectively and taken into account.

Membership

Membership of the Forum shall comprise representatives of the Council's management team and all relevant trade unions.
The Chair and the Secretary of the JTUC will attend each meeting.
Each trade union may appoint one nominated representative to the Forum (in addition to the Chair and Secretary role). If the nominated trade union representative is unavailable, they may be represented by a substitute.
Full time officers may attend on an ex-officio basis, noting their attendance in advance.
Members of the Forum are expected to take ownership of and implement actions agreed by the Forum.

Governance

Council of the Future Workstream Boards

Purpose

The purpose of the Workstream Boards is to develop strategy and coordinate and manage transformation activity across the Council and ensure that improvements and savings are delivered in line with the Council of the Future (COTF) vision.

Each Workstream Board will:

Provide the overarching governance and decision making framework for the COTF Workstream.
Agree the overall workstream objectives, plan, benefits and measures of success.
Ensure that every project has a business case and project initiation document (PID) with project sign offs in place for project start-ups, closures and the change control process. Projects will only be approved if a sound business case is provided with benefits linked to COTF vision.
Monitor and manage workstream progress, savings and impact.
Provide a rigorous challenge and scrutiny function for all COTF Workstream projects.
Manage high-level interdependencies and risks associated with the COTF Workstream and the impact on the wider COTF change programme.
Strategically identify, prioritise and allocate resources to workstream projects, re-aligning where necessary.
Identify and develop funding and resource plans designed to assist in the delivery of the workstream.
Ensure projects deliver against their objectives, plans, benefits and measures of success as identified in business cases and project initiation documents (PIDs) using appropriate change controls where there is slippage.
Ensure that benefits are tracked in line with the Council's Medium Term Financial Plan / Business Plan and agreed saving targets.
Put in place an over-arching effective communications and engagement strategy, sharing key messages with employees, elected members and partners.
Ensure that project managers are adequately supported in their work and held to account for the delivery of their responsibilities.
Ensure that forums are established at a local level, as appropriate, to involve employees and trade union representatives in relevant projects.

Roles and responsibilities

Chairperson

Effectively chair and facilitate Board meetings to ensure agenda is covered and all views actively sought and considered.
Commit to effective and efficient COTF workstream governance.

Senior Responsible Owner

Responsible for the success of the COTF Transformational Workstream, ensuring the Board remains focused on achieving its objectives and realising the expected benefits.
Where concerns are escalated, eg a project is experiencing delays because of organisational blockers, step in to help resolve these.
Promote partnership working to engender trust and encourage creative and collaborative relationships to develop.
Provide stability in the development, adoption and maintenance of the workstream.
Encourage and facilitate frank and open conversations that may at times be difficult, working towards consensus amongst all members.
Arbitrate when disagreements arise and seek resolution.

Board Members

Facilitate change and champion the programme to internal/external stakeholders.
Review papers, attend meetings and complete actions as agreed.
Seek to reach consensus opinions within the Board and consider matters from other perspectives, including the elected members, public and employees.
Feedback on new discoveries, significant risks and issues from Services and support the presentation of business cases, project progress updates, change control and project closures.

Trade Union Representatives

Participate in the Workstream boards and represent the workforce of the Council.

Programme Management (PMO) Partner

Provide challenge, quality assurance, track progress and monitor the delivery plan for the workstream.
Escalate concerns from the projects to the Workstream Board.
Develop a programme risk register to align with the Council of the Future Programme Risk Register.
Ensure compliance with project management framework.

Meetings

The board will meet every 6 weeks.
Agenda and papers will be circulated at least three working days in advance of the meeting. Minutes and actions will be circulated within 5 working days after the meeting.
A standing agenda will be provided that will include discussion of the action log from the previous meeting, key decisions and new actions and the plan for taking these forward.
Reports on progress will be submitted to the COTF Board every month and to the Executive on a quarterly basis.

Membership

The membership of the Board will comprise:

Chair
Senior Responsible Officer
Trade Union representatives as nominated by the individual recognised trade unions
PMO Partner
Project Sponsors
Finance Partner
Other key officer support from across the Council may be invited to attend meetings, as required.

Review

The terms of reference and membership of the COTF Workstream Board will be reviewed on an annual basis, or as required.

Service Partnership Forums

The role of the Forum is:

to provide a mechanism for service specific staffing issues and concerns to be raised and discussed; difficulties explored and resolved and for shared routes forward to be agreed.
to ensure proposals focus on the Council's vision of being an innovative, responsive, trusted and ambitious organisation.

Remit

In general, the remit of Service Partnership Forums is to discuss day to day service delivery and operational matters impacting on the workforce covered by the Forum and the performance of the Service area.

Forums will only be established for specific Divisions or Functions where the Partnership Forum agrees that this is necessary. The arrangements in place within each service should be reviewed on an annual basis. At the request of either management or trade unions, the creation and disbanding of such forums, outwith this review period, may be agreed between parties.

Principles

To underpin the working of Service Partnership Forums, the following principles will be adopted :

a shared commitment to the success of the Council in providing effective and efficient services to the local community
mutual trust, honesty and respect
openness and transparency in communications
commitment to the principles of Fair Work
respect confidentiality where either party considers this to be essential
recognising and valuing the contribution of all partners
access and sharing of information
consensus, collaboration and inclusion as the "best way"
maximising employment security
a team approach to underpin partnership working.

Ways of working

The Forum will meet every 8 weeks with a schedule of meetings issued on an annual basis. This frequency can however be varied if needs dictate this.
Members of the Forum will receive papers one week before each meeting.
An action note of the meeting will be created, kept and agreed by all members of the Forum who attended the meeting.
The Forum shall have joint chairs who will chair meetings on a rotational basis. The staff side chair shall be appointed by relevant trade unions.
The Forum may establish sub-groups or working parties to focus on particular service issues. The membership of any such group shall be at the discretion of the Forum. Such groups will be expected to report back to the Forum at regular intervals as agreed.
From time to time, individuals may be asked to provide specific advice or expertise to the Forum as required.
Relevant Service Unit Managers will ensure that minutes of Service Partnership Forums are displayed on relevant staff notice boards within the Service or otherwise made available, making use of new technology where possible.. Trades Union representatives will however have an important role in both communicating with their members and actively ensuring that their members' views are conveyed effectively and taken into account.

Membership

Membership of the Forum shall comprise representatives of the service management team and all relevant trade unions.
Each trade union, with members within the Service, may appoint one nominated representative to the Forum. If the nominated trade union representative is unavailable, they may be represented by a substitute.
Full time officers may attend on an ex-officio basis, noting their attendance in advance.
Members of the Forum are expected to take ownership of and implement actions agreed by the Forum.

Governance

The Service Partnership Forums will submit action notes and any issues to the Council's Partnership Forum.

Other service level mechanisms for partnership working

Where it is not considered appropriate to establish a Service Partnership Forum, specific partnership working groups/forums may be established as the need arises, for example, during the development and implementation of major change projects. Best practice guidance for such groups is detailed below.

Managers are encouraged to arrange to meet with trade union representatives to discuss issues arising or to seek joint solutions to problems, commencing at as early a stage as possible.

Services should also inform and engage with employees directly on relevant issues to seek their views through a number of mechanisms, as appropriate to their teams, including:

Inside Falkirk
Noticeboards
Employee newsletters
Team meetings – guidance on effective team meetings is available under the Good Conversations Toolkit. Managers are encouraged to invite trade union representatives to team meetings when relevant issues are being discussed.
Briefings / Toolbox talks
Listening Events
Hackathons
Letters / memos / emails / texts

Consideration should be given to the most appropriate mechanisms for virtual communications in the current environment. Trade unions should be asked, in advance, for their input into newsletters or other correspondence being issued to employee groups.

Principles

To underpin the service level partnership working, the following principles will be adopted:

a shared commitment to the success of the Council in providing effective and efficient services to the local community
mutual trust, honesty and respect
openness and transparency in communications
commitment to the principles of Fair Work
respect confidentiality where either party considers this to be essential
recognising and valuing the contribution of all partners
access and sharing of information
consensus, collaboration and inclusion as the "best way"
maximising employment security
a collaborative approach to underpin partnership working.

Change Management / Review Groups

Managers are responsible for reviewing the operational arrangements for the delivery of their service areas on an ongoing basis. A range of outcomes may arise from such reviews. These could include:

proposals to make changes to service structures impacting on staffing levels, individual roles and reporting arrangements
revisions to working arrangements (eg changes to shift patterns, work locations and particular working practices)
changes which may indirectly impact on employees (including employees not in their own service area) or a full scale service review.

Partnership working is essential in such circumstances if the change process is to be effective and successful. Early discussions and consultation with nominated Trade Union representatives is integral to the successful and timeous implementation of any organisational change.

Initial phase

At the outset, when any potential review is being considered, managers should contact the allocated HR Business Partner who will provide guidance on the consultation requirements, including any statutory requirements applicable. They will also provide support to the review process.
At the earliest appropriate opportunity, managers should arrange to brief relevant Trade Union representatives for the impacted employee grouping(s). It is recognised that at this stage the full scope and impact of the change may not be fully identified. It is however important that early discussions take place. This will help to inform the approach that managers take.
The briefing should outline the background/business case (as identified at that stage), high level detail of the proposed change, anticipated timescales, and confirmation of the affected employee grouping. There should be a reasonable opportunity for the Trade Union representatives to ask questions/seek clarity about the proposal and to be involved in the formulation and implementation of the change, in partnership with the manager. Whilst it is recognised that the Trade Unions may have different views to the manager, it is important to seek these views at an early stage and prior to discussions with employees. This will help mangers to formulate the next steps and how the process should progress.
During the initial discussion, it should be established who the nominated Trade Union contacts will be for ongoing consultation arrangements with employees, connected with the proposed change. It would be helpful to also agree anticipated milestones and how these will be discussed with the Trade Unions representatives. Where appropriate, a provisional schedule of consultation meetings should be agreed.
It should also be made clear when the initial details of the proposal will be communicated to relevant employees and how long the content of discussion is required to remain confidential.

Implementation phase

As plans relating to any proposed change develop, the Trade Union representatives should be kept updated on progress. They should also be advised of and invited to attend any meetings with employees.
Where it is appropriate, approaches to the implementation of a proposed change should be agreed in consultation with the Trade Union representatives eg, the slotting and matching protocol to be adopted in the implementation of an organisational review.
Any delays in the process, and where appropriate, the specific reason for these, should be communicated to the TU representatives at the earliest opportunity.