Facility time reporting: guidance for public sector employers

Facility Time Reporting: Scottish Government and Scottish Trades Union Congress Guidance for Public Sector Employers

Introduction

The Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017^[1] ("the Regulations") require public sector employers to publish information relating to facility time taken by union representatives. These Regulations were laid following the enactment of the Trade Union Act 2016, which the Scottish Government strongly opposed throughout its passage.

Public sector employers will be in scope if they have at least one trade union representative and more than 49 full time equivalent (FTE) employees. Employers must publish the legally required information annually on their website and in any annual reports published by the organisation.

The reporting period will run from 1 April to 31 March and reports will need to be published by 31 July each year. The deadline for reporting facility time data via online reporting service has been extended to 30 September 2020.

While the UK Government has published guidance containing information about the Regulations, the purpose of this document is to outline the Scottish Government's support for trade unions and facility time; to help ease the burden of the reporting requirements on public bodies; and ensure that the facility time data is set in the context of the benefits that facility time bring to the workforce.