The law
[ch 4: page 30]Members of an independent trade union recognised by the employer must be permitted time off during working hours to carry out the activities of a health and safety representative, under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 (SRSCR). Recognised trade unions can at any time invoke their right to appoint safety reps, who must usually be employees, except where appointed by the actors’ union Equity or the Musicians’ union.
A union-appointed safety rep may represent:
• only their own members;
• all the employees in a particular category; or
• employees who are not members of a trade union recognised by the employer, but are part of a group of employees for which a union is recognised.
Although safety reps’ rights stem from laws on health and safety rather than labour relations, the Trade Union Act 2016 counts their paid time off work towards the “cost” of public sector facility time.
Approved Codes of Practice and guidance on the legal rights of safety reps and other safety representatives can be found in the Health and Safety Executive publication Consulting workers on health and safety (www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l146.pdf).
TUC “Brown Book”, Safety representatives and safety committees (https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/BrownBook2015.pdf).