Date of Request
04/10/24
Request
Dear Sir,
Please advise:
1. The details of any office accommodation your organisation provides to staff to carry out trade union business. Please include details of:
- space measured in square feet
- how much of this space is contained within entirely separate buildings (i.e. occupied solely by staff carrying out trade union business)
- whether a professional valuation of the market rental value of the space has been sought either in-house or externally, and if so, what the valuation of the space was
- any charges the council levy for office space given to trade unions.
2. Do you deduct trade union subscriptions for any of your employees via payroll (sometimes known as the “check off” system)? If so, do you charge a fee to the trade unions concerned for providing this service?
3. With regard to trade union facility time, please provide the total cost of facility time from your pay bill for the financial year 2023/24 and the budget for the current financial year. Please also advise the current number of employees that you fund to be union officials, measured as full time equivalents? (For guidance on definitions please refer to the Government’s Transparency Code for local government: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-transparency-code-2015/local-government-transparency-code-2015)
4. Please advise any estimates for other costs met for those staff on trade union facility time apart from salaries – including travel expenses, office supplies, telephone expenses and energy bills.
Best wishes
Response
Hi
We thank you for your request for information, which has been received by Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (the Service) and considered under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000
The Service can confirm that the information that you have requested is held and is as detailed below:
1. The details of any office accommodation your organisation provides to staff to carry out trade union business. Please include details of:
· space measured in square feet.
No dedicated space is provided to staff to carry out trade union business, although trade union officials can use their work office space and/or general meeting space should they need to.
· how much of this space is contained within entirely separate buildings (i.e. occupied solely by staff carrying out trade union business).
None.
· whether a professional valuation of the market rental value of the space has been sought either in-house or externally, and if so, what the valuation of the space was.
Not applicable.
· any charges the council levy for office space given to trade unions.
Not applicable.
2. Do you deduct trade union subscriptions for any of your employees via payroll (sometimes known as the “check off” system)? If so, do you charge a fee to the trade unions concerned for providing this service?
Yes, for some union members we deduct their fees via payroll, but we do not charge a fee to the trade unions.
3. With regard to trade union facility time, please provide the total cost of facility time from your pay bill for the financial year 2023/24 and the budget for the current financial year. Please also advise the current number of employees that you fund to be union officials, measured as full time equivalents? (For guidance on definitions please refer to the Government’s Transparency Code for local government: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-transparency-code-2015/local-government-transparency-code-2015)
No union officials are directly funded as a full time union role. However, officials are able to claim back reasonable time enabling them to carry out their role. There are four unions recognised at this time in the Service (with the number of officials shown in brackets for each), namely, Unison (1), Fire & Rescue Services Association (1), Fire Officers Association (1), and the Fire Brigades Union (3).
In terms of facility time, this depends on the union official’s time and their role/rank in the Service (i.e. the calculated on cost of that staff member), consequently an approximate annual cost is given for financial year 2023/24 as £19,236 (noting that if union officials don’t record and submit their activity to the Service, this is not included). With reference to a budget for 2024/25 this will depend on the reasonable time claimed back by officials, but is expected to be similar to 2023/24.
4. Please advise any estimates for other costs met for those staff on trade union facility time apart from salaries – including travel expenses, office supplies, telephone expenses and energy bills.
We do not pay other costs associated with trade union business, i.e. travel, office supplies, telephone expenses, this is dealt with between union officials and their trade union.
If you have any questions regarding your request, please contact Information Governance and Committee Services on tel: 0345 122 4454 or by e-mail informationrequests@hwfire.org.uk. In any such communication please include the reference number assigned (see Subject).
Should you have any queries regarding the management of your request and wish to make either a complaint or request a review of the information disclosed to you, please do so by using Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service’s complaints system: Comments and Complaints. This must be done within 40 working days of our response to your request. After this date and in line with ICO guidance the Service is not obliged to provide an internal review of your request.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you may appeal the decision by contacting the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF, Tel: 0303 123 1113 (alternatively 01625 545745) or E-mail: casework@ico.org.uk.
Further information on Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service may be viewed at the Service’s website: www.hwfire.org.uk
Thank you for your request for information.
Kind regards,
Information Governance Team