Work-Life Balance

Dear Colleagues,

NECESSARY LEAVE TO LOOK AFTER DEPENDENTS

In view of the strikes next Thursday 30 June 2011, I felt a reminder on the legal position regarding necessary leave to look after children or other dependents may be of assistance.

Under S.57A Employment Rights Act 1996 (“ERA 1996”), employees have the right to take unpaid time off work, in certain circumstances, to care for or make arrangements in respect of a ‘dependant’. In order for the right to apply, the employee must:
(a) tell the employer the reason for his or her absence as soon as reasonably practicable; and

RMT General Grades Committee decision:

That we note that Serco Docklands has clarified that: “Employees on trade union contracts will be paid double time if they work on a bank holiday, this applies to both hours and overtime. The bank holiday payments are applied from 12 midnight at the start of the day to midnight at the end of the day. If an employee is rostered to work on a bank holiday or if it is their rostered rest day they will accrue a lieu day. They may choose to have this paid instead.”

We seek the views of our Docklands Light Railway branch on this matter.

In April, working parents' rights will be extended in the areas of:

• additional paternity leave and pay
• right to request flexible working

Details are below. Employers should update their policies to reflect these changes.

Additional Paternity Leave and Pay

Paternity leave rights have been extended for parents of children born or placed for adoption from 3 April 2011 onwards (or who enter the UK from this date in the case of overseas adoptions).

The following resolution, submitted by LU Engineering branch and seconded by Stratford no.1 branch, was passed unanimously by the November meeting of the Regional Council.

That this Branch deplores the weakness of Flexible Working and Parental Leave legislation. The legislation only requires the Employer to "consider" a request by parents and carers for arrangements which allow them to work and take care of their families.

Former Metronet signals members voted massively in favour of both strike action and action short of a strike.

The First 24 hour strike action will take place between 06.45 hours on Friday 5th February and 06.45 hours on Saturday 6th February 2010.

Further 24 hour strike action will take place every weekend from Sunday morning into Monday morning. The first of these will take place between 06.45 hours on Sunday 14th February and 06.45 hours on Monday 15th February 2010.

TUBE UNION RMT announced today that London Underground (Metronet) members covered by the Signals Framework Agreement have voted by a massive majority of over 90% for strike action and action short of a strike in a dispute over the imposition of new rosters, breaches of agreements and the handing over of work to external contractors.

RMT have accused LUL management of unilaterally ripping up agreements, bulldozing through shift patterns that treat staff like slabs of meat that can be pulled off the shelf when it suits managers and of threatening job security through increased use of outside contractors.

TUBE UNION RMT confirmed today that it is balloting all London Underground (Metronet) members covered by the Signals Framework Agreement for strike action and action short of a strike in a dispute over the imposition of new rosters, breaches of agreements and the handing over of work to external contractors.

The ballot for action, which closes on 19th January, will involve 750 staff on the former Metronet sections of the tube network – all lines except for the Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee.

In this Circular:

1. IMPOSITION OF ROSTERS, BREACHES OF SIGNALS FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT AND OUTSOURCING – LUL – BALLOT FOR INDUSTRIAL ACTION
2. REVIEW OF MOBILE PHONE BILLS – LUL

The Department of Transport launched a consultation on the review of Domestic Drivers' Hours Rules. The rules, first introduced in the 1930s and largely unchanged since the 1960s, cover issues including maximum driving time, breaks, rest time, daily and weekly rest, record keeping and enforcement.

The consultation document can be found on the DfT website at

http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/domesticdrivershours/

Refusal to work on the grounds of safety - rights for pregnant women and new mothers

At RMT's AGM, the General Secretary presents a written report, and delegates can question and comment on it. These are the two points that I raised:

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There are two issues that are not in the Report, which I think should have been.

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Firstly, refusal to work on the grounds of safety.

You have the legal right to parental leave - that is, time off work to spend with your young or disabled children. This leave is unpaid and has to be taken in week-long blocks. Your rights are outlined in detail here.

This resolution, submitted by LU Engineering Branch, was passed unanimously by RMT Women's Conference. It will now be submitted to RMT's 2009 Annual General Meeting.

That this Conference supports those who wish to work flexibly for caring or other reasons. The practice of railway employers in being consistently half-hearted in accommodating employees and sometimes being deliberately obstructive must be challenged. We demand that the RMT assists any member who encounters problems at the whim of HR by backing the employee’s choices over an often unreasonable management compromise.

This document covers areas such as maternity and paternity leave, adoption leave, funeral leave, and other forms of leave additional to annual leave that you might need to take to meet your family responsibilities. The text is provided below, and you can click '1 attachment'/file name below to download the document as a PDF.

FAMILY LEAVE GUIDELINES

1. INTRODUCTION

This document provides London Underground's guidelines for progressing flexible working applications. Click '1 attachment'/file name to view and download the document as a PDF, including the application form. Your RMT rep can help you through the application process.

FLEXIBLE WORKING GUIDELINES

1. INTRODUCTION

Have you ever applied for 'flexible working'? ie. For changes to your hours or location of work to suit your caring responsibilities? RMT is surveying members' experiences of applying for flexible working. We know that while getting the flexible working arrangement you want can be a great boost to your 'work-life balance', getting it can be a difficult process.

By gathering information about your and others' experiences, we can boost our campaign to strengthen your right to flexible working.

The Employment Rights Act 1996 gives employees the right to time off if something “unexpected” happens to their arrangements for caring for a dependant. But your employer may suggest that the word "unexpected" means that if you had more than a couple of days' notice, then you do not have the right to the time off. But a recent legal case has established that “unexpected” can include a situation in which the employee had two weeks’ notice of a change to their childcare arrangements.

This resolution was unanimously agreed by RMT's National Women's Advisory Committee on 11 November, having been submitted by Bakerloo and Central Line West branches. It will now go to the union's Executive for their consideration.

This union is appalled at the announcement by Peter Mandelson that the government's plans to extend flexible working rights to parents of all children under 16 have been put on hold due to the economic crisis.