Monday 19 May 2014

Attendance Management Policy Changes message from UNISON

You will all be soon made aware by Management that there are changes to the Attendance Management Policy where they have reduced the Bradford Factor. Unfortunately, we did not gain agreement about this and it was forced through Full Council without UNISON agreement. 

We will make a further statement soon. 

Below is the Message sent out to all Managers from HR

The new Attendance Management Policy was agreed at Council in April and all employees have been informed that there is a revised policy, which is available on the intranet.

I wanted to remind you of the key changes and clarify the arrangements for transition from the old triggers to the new ones.

New Absence Triggers
·         Now set at 100 & 250 (previously 150 and 400) AND more significantly,
·         A new trigger to tie in with the corporate sickness targets i.e. more than 7 days off sick in any year for 14/15 and more than 6 days off sick in any year from 15/16. So these new triggers mean there will be more attendance reviews

Managing the transition from old triggers to new triggers
·         The +7 day trigger will start from 1st April 14 and look forward, not back until we have 12 months data to look back on. Of course anyone having +7 days from April will trigger instantly. 
·         AND – we’ll start the 100/250 after 6 months – this will prevent any confusion running two schemes. So from 1st October 2014 we’ll only run reports on the 100/250 and have meetings accordingly – whether people have already triggered on the old system – or not.

Important Action
·         Ensure that you are familiar with the new policy and if you are unsure about anything please raise with your HR Business Partner

·         Discuss the changes with your team and ensure that they are aware of the new policy and understand the transition arrangements – with advanced warning of the transition to the new 100/250 triggers they may have an opportunity to bring their score below the new triggers in advance of October.  You will also be able to have 121 conversations over the next few months with individuals who attendance levels would hit the new trigger scores of 100/250, but currently sit below the 150/400 so they are prepared for the changes (these will be shown in a report to the Head of Service each month)

Monday 12 May 2014

TUC survey on job insecurity


As many people now have jobs that offer little security, the TUC in association with the Scottish TUC wants to hear of worker’s experiences.
They want to hear the experiences of agency workers, workers on zero-hours contracts or people on short-term contracts.
A short survey is running until 24 June on these issues and people can fill it in by following the link below.
Take the TUCSurvey

Wednesday 7 May 2014

Fob System and CCTV system in the Council Buildings are being used to monitor employees whereabouts


UNISON would like to highlight this to all members 

Please read.



It has come to our attention that the Fob System and CCTV system in the Council Buildings are being used to monitor employees whereabouts when there is a potential disciplinary.

UNISON would like to highlight this to all members. We are very disappointed with the Council for taking this adversarial approach especially when UNISON had been reassured it would not happen.

Please be aware all your entries into rooms, corridors, entrances and exits is stored and can be used to track your movements – it only takes one allegation.

We are sorry to inform you of this; but we consider that we are serving our Members in the best way by making sure you are aware of this when we have been made aware.


We understand the level of mistrust this may make you feel about the employer and our door is open to Management to ensure we resolve this in the most amicable way.



2024 Annual General Meeting

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