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The Council recognises UNISON for collective bargaining purposes. 

In accordance with the Local Government Transparency Code 2015, local authorities are required to publish the following information on union activity.

The following is the number and FTE, as at 1 April 2024 in the authority of representatives of the recognised trade union (Unison) and the level of union activity spent in 2023/24.

  1. Headcount and FTE of representatives as at 1 April 2024: 4 employees equating to 3.6 FTEs
  2. Basic estimate of spending on unions (calculated as the number of full time equivalent days spent on union duties by authority staff who spent the majority of their time on union duties, multiplied by the average salary) – NIL as no employee spends the majority of their time on union duties
  3. Basic estimate of spending on unions as a percentage of the total pay bill (calculated as the number of full-time equivalent days spent on union duties by authority staff who spent the majority of their time on union duties, multiplied by the average salary divided by the total pay bill). – NIL as no employee spends the majority of their time on union duties.

Under the Trade Union Act 2016 and Trade Union (Deduction of Union Subscriptions from Wages in the Public Sector) Regulations 2023, public sector employers, including local authorities, are only able to deduct trade union subscriptions from workers’ wages via a ‘check-off’ payroll arrangement where:

  • the workers have the option to pay their subscription by other means; and
  • the union makes reasonable payments to the employer which are “substantially equivalent to the total cost to public funds of making the deductions”.

The Council has reviewed its position regarding check-off and concluded that as the number of employees utilising check-off arrangements is minimal, employees have alternative options for paying their trade union subscription and the costs involved in administering check-offs are small, no changes will be made to the Council's arrangements. However, the Council will keep this position under review.