We note the document from London Underground Ltd, clarifying that managers can and should exercise discretion in the management of attendance. We welcome this clarification, which follows concerted pressure from this union to demand that managers should stop routinely giving the maximum penalty to members.

We therefore instruct the General Secretary to circulate this document in full to all our London Underground branches and representatives, with a covering letter explaining its background and how to use it to the benefit of members.

However, while the document improves the situation regarding discretion, we believe that it does not go far enough. It maintains that “a full term warning would generally be applied” and that a shorter-length warning is considered to be the exception. We note that LUL expects managers to give an explanation if they give shorter-term warnings, but not if they give full-term warnings. This does not constitute a balanced application of the concept of “discretion”.

We therefore instruct the General Secretary to obtain legal advice on this matter – taking into account the implications of the Tribunal ruling in Mihaj vs Sodexo (2012) – and to place this in front of the GGC.

London Transport Regional Council and branches to be advised.

• You can read the gudance document here