The Unite offer explained

This Dispute Resolution Agreement sets out National Principles for application and implementation through the collective bargaining and consultation arrangements in each of the TOCs as appropriate to their business.

This Agreement is not intended to be legally enforceable either by or against any TOC, the Unite or any employee of any TOC.

2. That the TOC may implement the Workforce Changes as appropriate to their business, following their existing collective bargaining and consultation arrangements.

3. On the basis of this Agreement until 31st December 2024, TOCs will not propose further workforce reform measures beyond those specifically referenced for those grades directly affected by this agreement. For the avoidance of doubt this excludes proposals already agreed but not yet implemented, those verified as already in development at the date of this agreement, plus normal ‘business as usual’ changes that may be required by both employer and staff representatives.

4. Subject to the implementation of the Workforce Changes as appropriate to a TOC’s business, the TOC will implement the pay and conditions elements of this Agreement as set out in Appendix 2. The 1st year pay increase will be paid upon this Agreement being endorsed for each respective TOC. The 2nd year pay increase will be payable from the relevant TOC pay anniversary date subject to a jointly agreed implementation plan in each TOC being in place.

7-Day Railway: to ensure robust coverage of Sunday Services

The TOCs propose to establish a Sunday Commitment Protocol. This will mean that staff who are rostered to work a Sunday shift are committed and contractually required to work their shift where alternative competent staff cannot be identified to cover.

Unite accepts the TOCs proposals for a robust system via a Sunday Commitment Protocol to deliver a 7-day railway and now commits to agreeing with each TOC a variation to the working arrangements of staff to give effect to the Principles of Sunday Commitment Protocol. Where Sundays are worked that are in addition to the basic average contracted working hours per week, they will continue to attract the current agreed TOC specific enhanced rate for both existing and new employees.

Principles of Sunday Commitment Protocol 

• Removal of reliance on voluntary overtime to resource Sundays... 

...and replacement with robust contractual commitment to work rostered shifts (both diagrams and spare turns as may be rostered to meet business needs) on Sundays under a ‘Commitment to Work Sundays Protocol’.

• For the avoidance of doubt, where Sundays are not able to be included within the basic working week all future new entrants will be required to work their rostered Sunday shifts under this ‘Commitment to Work Sunday Protocol’.
• Where Sundays are not incorporated into the basic working week any current agreed TOC Sunday premium enhancements will continue to be payable to both existing and new employees where any Sunday enhancements are payable in addition to working the average basic contracted working hours per week.

• Where Sundays are currently outside of the basic working week and an existing employee has historically not worked their rostered Sunday turns, those employees will be given a one-off opportunity prior to the implementation of this Protocol to seek an exemption from all future Sunday working by giving written notice to not work their Sunday turns. This will be granted once committed cover can be provided from within existing staffing and/or, part-time or extra weekend-only employees can be recruited and trained to cover.

Where part-time or weekend only employees are recruited, Sunday enhancements will only be payable where the employee has worked the average basic contracted working hours per week of their grade.

• A process for roster implementation will be agreed within each TOC taking into consideration existing roster parameters and reasonable notice periods. Such rosters will fulfil 7 day working as required.
• Where existing arrangements are already in place and in line with these principles, those arrangements will continue to operate. The current arrangements for job share applications will remain unaffected.

Training and Briefing

Training, including specification, design and delivery, is the responsibility of management and any safety critical training will be subject to appropriate safety validation. Training will optimise training capacity utilising a blended combination of classroom, workplace and on-line as appropriate. This to also include technology enabled approaches along with modern learning techniques.

Management will be responsible for producing training and briefing materials and the associated length of time of any training and briefings. It will also determine how the training and briefing will be undertaken, i.e., face to face or remotely via online.

Where an employee is required to attend company training and briefings they will be normally expected to work part of the shift either prior to or after training or briefing session, dependant on session times and location.

Fleet & Administration Reorganisations

The TOCs will bring forward proposed reorganisations within Fleet & Administration, where appropriate which will be subject to consultation in accordance with the collective bargaining procedures within the respective TOCs. Unite acknowledges that reorganisation proposals tabled by the TOCs will aim to deliver: -

• Fleet organisations that deliver improved availability and reliability of train fleets to meet passenger demands and expectations for a 7-day railway that may incorporate as appropriate:
  • receiving, reviewing, updating and sign off of shift workloads;
  • downloading, analysing, checking and monitoring of electronic systems;
  • receiving, reading and acknowledgement of briefs, notes, bulletins and information;
  • electronic signing on and off duty
  • introduction of the movement of rolling stock within depot operating limits by designated engineering grades (for which an allowance will be payable).

The implementation of administration re-organisations to deliver more streamlined processes.

Any changes that the TOCs propose to implement will be subject to complying with their respective collective bargaining arrangements and statutory collective redundancy consultation.

Terms and Conditions

The TOCs intend to propose a number of changes to terms and conditions and policies applicable to all employees (excluding train driving grades) covered under general grades TOC collective bargaining arrangements as summarised below. These will be subject to discussion within each TOC regarding their implementation. Unite agrees to discuss each of these proposals in good faith with each TOC which proposes them and where appropriate to agree with those TOCs any changes to employees’ terms and conditions in order to give effect to the proposals summarised below.

Flexible Working

The use of part time contracts and effective use of flexible working rosters and patterns are to be encouraged that seek to balance meeting individual preferences with the needs of the business where this is feasible. This will support a more diverse workforce that more reflect the communities individual TOCs serve.

New Technology/Equipment

Where new technology or automation is introduced or has previously been in use, where required employees will receive the training needed to carry out their duties. No new additional payments including any changes to incentive payments as applicable will be made for undertaking training, using past or new technology, automation, or associated changes to ways of working. e.g., use of body worn cameras, tablets, mobile phones, ticket examination/checking etc.

Where legacy payments are in place and being paid to an employee on a periodic basis these will continue to be made whilst the individual is deployed in that role.

Train Movements

Implementation of depot train movements by designated engineering grades, within depot operating limits, with appropriate training and remuneration/allowance.

Attendance Management

New Managing for Attendance procedure based on ACAS Guidance will be introduced to improve and simplify processes for supporting employees who are unable to attend for work due to sickness and to improve attendance levels. A TOC working group will be established with employers and TU representatives to discuss this new procedure which will incorporate the following principles: 

• Managing and supporting employees with irregular attendance to help them improve their attendance to an acceptable level
• Agreed trigger points to be used to monitor and identify employees whose attendance levels are a cause for concern
• Four stage process (including an informal stage 1) to discuss with an employee their reasons for absence including any underlying causes not previously identified and to offer support and to seek an improvement in future attendance levels
• Where there is an improvement in attendance over the subsequent monitoring period the employee would revert to the previous stage of the procedure and where an employee demonstrates a sustained improvement over multiple monitoring periods they would be removed from the procedure
• Right of accompaniment at all formal stages

Stood Off Arrangements

Where stood off arrangements are still in use within a TOC these will be jointly reviewed including duration with the objective of updating and redefining them in the context of modern working practices and current legislation. This is to include clarifying the utilisation and types of alternative work that may be offered to employees under these arrangements.

Annual Leave Entitlement

Bank and Public Holidays will be a normal working day ensuring a standard approach and improved operational resilience across the industry.

Unless expressly referenced in existing agreements as additional days leave, employees will be required to take a day’s Holiday from their personal entitlement if the 25th or 26th December falls on a rostered working day and they are not required for duty. Enhancements for working on these dates will continue to apply.

The Annual Leave entitlement for employees leaving their employment will be pro-rata to the date of leaving irrespective of the reasons for leaving.

The standard Leave Entitlement for new employees will be 5 weeks and 8 days inclusive of bank and public holidays and applied pro rata for employees working part-time hours contracts. Where the number of days leave to be taken in the total rostered weeks allocated does not reflect the days associated with the standard working week the number of ad-hoc days leave due will be adjusted accordingly.

Existing additional leave entitlements relating to completed years’ of service will continue to apply.

Sick Pay Arrangements

The sick pay entitlement will be on a rolling 12-month basis. The entitlement will be calculated at the commencement of an employee’s sickness absence based on the remaining unused entitlement over the preceding 12-month period.

Except for the above, there will be no changes to current sick pay entitlements and qualifying periods for Company Sick Pay for existing employees.

For new entrants the maximum Company Sick Pay entitlement after completion of 5-years’ service will be 26 weeks full pay and 26 weeks half pay. The table below details the arrangements for new entrants from their start date to the completion of 5 years’ service: