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Union recognition
ATL believes that trade union recognition represents the best way for staff to be involved in decision-making in their place of work.
A trade union is 'recognised' when an employer negotiates with it on pay and conditions for the workers it represents.
State maintained sector
ATL is recognised in pay and conditions negotiations for teaching staff in maintained schools and colleges across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
ATL is not one of the unions recognised by employers for support staff.
Independent sector
Almost 70 independent schools recognise ATL for collective negotiation of terms and conditions - see the complete list.
Roughly, half of the agreements cover teaching staff and half cover teaching and support staff. Since ATL's decision to extend membership to all staff working in the independent sector, a growing number of independent school employers see the benefit of recognising ATL in respect of all their staff.
If you are interested in trade union recognition for your school and would like to know more, please contact John Richardson, National Official Independent Schools.
Support staff - maintained sector
In the maintained sector, ATL provides first-class representation, help and advice to our support staff members. Whilst we are not formally recognised for collective bargaining purposes by the employers, we continue to ensure that the interests of our support staff members are not overlooked by governments and employers alike.
FE colleges
ATL and the national employers' body (the Association of Colleges) have agreed national guideline agreements which establish recommended minimum standards for colleges and FE institutions on:
ATL has recognition in many colleges and its professional representatives will be consulted on issues that affect their members' working lives. In some colleges, however, ATL has not yet been recognised - but ATL officers can help members seek recognition.
Contact ATL for support if this is the case in your college.
Where ATL is not recognised
Consultation is the key to good decision making and a well-run school or college. In some independent schools and colleges, consultation is done on an ad hoc basis, with key changes being made without staff involvement.
However, employees do have legal rights to be consulted under what is known as a 'recognition agreement'. This is a process whereby the employer recognises the staff's nominated union and consults with the union's school representatives. A recognition agreement puts things on a formal basis and ensures that proper consultation is undertaken.
Recognition has many advantages to both employers and employees. For example, it provides a clearly defined forum for communication and decision-making. Working together improves policies and procedures and staff involvement in decision-making helps to create shared responsibility for decisions and enhances staff morale.
Recognition can be achieved either by an amicable agreement with the employer, known as 'voluntary recognition', or forced through a legal procedure, known as a 'statutory recognition'.
Voluntary recognition
Voluntary recognition is preferred by ATL and its members because it persuades the school of the advantages of improved communication and negotiation structures. For recognition to work effectively, the school needs to be comfortable with the arrangement.
ATL recommends that staff are consulted on their general terms and conditions of employment, including changes to existing or revised contracts and policies and procedures (eg pay policy; capability, discipline and grievance procedures; physical working conditions; allocation of work or duties; staff training and development, appraisal arrangements; workload and bureaucracy issues etc).
ATL can provide a model agreement which can be modified following negotiation to reflect the agreed remit and the structure and ethos of the school.
Any agreements on terms and conditions (eg pay scales, contracts of employment, hours of work, working conditions etc), made under a recognition agreement are then incorporated into individual contracts of employment. All teachers and/or support staff would be covered by the agreement, whether members of ATL or not.
A voluntary recognition agreement may be terminated by either party giving notice in accordance with the agreement. Following termination, any agreements on specific terms and conditions, reached by the employer and the union, remain part of individual contracts of employment.
Voluntary recognition in practice
A joint consultative group (JCG) would be established where employee and employer representatives meet. Both sides can agree the frequency of the meetings. Many JCGs meet once a term, with the facility to call special meetings if so required.
The employer representatives would table any proposals to change terms and conditions of staff for discussion. Staff representatives would table any claims for improvement to terms and conditions. The JCG would not discuss individual disciplinary or grievance procedures.
Negotiations normally conclude with an agreement. However, in the unlikely event of the management team and the representatives being unable to agree, both parties would agree a way of trying to resolve any differences. This might involve seeking further information or advice, a 'cooling off' period to allow the representatives to take further soundings, calling in a conciliator or referring the matter to the governing body or one of ATL's national offices.
Minutes of each meeting would be circulated to all staff, although in exceptional circumstances, the parties might agree to keep some information confidential, such as commercial sensitive information.
Any agreements at the JCG would normally be reached in principle subject to ratification by, say, the governing body and staff group. The teacher and/or support staff representatives normally agree a protocol amongst themselves as to how and when they will consult members of staff.
Representatives would receive reasonable time off to prepare for meetings and consult staff.
ATL offers training and development to staff representatives. All representatives are supported by the full services of the union.
Statutory recognition
Statutory recognition is a legal right for unions and its members to seek negotiating rights from an employer who has refused to grant such rights voluntarily.
A union is entitled to seek recognition for a group of workers where at least 10 percent of the group are members of the union. This could be teachers and/or support staff. A statutory tribunal, known as the Central Arbitration Committee, considers the application from the union and representations from the employer.
Where a trade union is satisfied it has at least 10 percent of the staff in membership and can demonstrate that a majority of the staff are likely to support recognition, then the tribunal normally awards recognition automatically.
If there is uncertainty as to whether a majority of the staff support recognition, then the tribunal may call for a ballot of the group of workers. If a majority of the group votes in favour of recognition and that majority constitutes at least 40 per cent of the group then recognition is awarded.
Need further advice?
Your first point of contact is your ATL rep in your school or college. Your local ATL branch is also available to help with queries, or you can contact ATL's member advisors on tel: 020 7930 6441 or email us. Please have your membership number to hand when telephoning and include it with any correspondence - this will help us to answer your query more quickly.