Improved Cabinet Office guidance on time off for union reps secured

Following months of extensive talks with the Cabinet Office, PCS has been able to secure radical improvements to the current framework guidance, regarding time off for trade union representatives to conduct their duties and activities ("facility time").

These improvements include:

• Departments now have discretion to agree paid facility time for Trade Union Activities as well as Trade Union Duties
• As part of this change, departments are now explicitly encouraged by the Cabinet Office to consider paid facility time, to allow representatives to attend the union’s annual conferences
• Departments are equally encouraged by the Cabinet Office to consider paid facility time to attend national executive committee (NEC) meetings
• Although the Cabinet Office has not been prepared to move away from the broad principle of representatives spending at least 50% of their time on official duties, specific exceptions can be agreed, and can be agreed within the department, without the need to obtain ministerial approval
• It has now been accepted centrally that time spent by representatives undertaking Health and Safety functions will no longer count towards any 50% facility time figure. 

Additionally, in line with changes in legislation, there is no longer a strict cap on the element of the department’s pay bill spent on facility time; although for reasons of normal accounting purposes, departments are encouraged to maintain an overall record of expenditure.

More changes needed

The new framework does not yet include paid time off for equality representatives, but the framework document recognises that this amendment will need to be made when these changes are introduced later in the year – likely to be October 2026. 

Likewise other issues such as trade union access to the workplace, accommodation, facilities etc. are still subject to government consultation, and are also likely to come into force in October this year. The framework will have to be amended to reflect these changes, too.

Reps and members can read the revised framework by logging into PCS Digital.

Martin Cavanagh, PCS national president, said:

"These improvements to the facility time framework will make a positive difference to PCS representatives at all levels of the union. We've worked hard, not only to relieve the time pressures faced by our hard-working activists, but also to make attending our union conferences more accessible - particularly for those reps with caring responsibilities, whose annual leave is particularly precious. This can only make our union's sovereign body even more representative and even more democratic."