A bill to allow teachers who are not members of trade unions to seek broader representation in legal hearings passed the first reading stage in the House of Commons today.
The bill was introduced by former headteacher and MP for Bassetlaw Brendan Clarke-Smith, to amend the Employment Relations Act 1999 over the issue of who can accompany staff at a disciplinary or grievance hearing.
Mr Clarke-Smith said: “This bill is about levelling up the teaching profession. It is about strengthening the role of teachers. It is about promotion of equal rights in the workplace and it is about closing a gap in the law. It is a pro-worker move that costs nothing hurts no-one.”
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Among MPs backing the bill are former education secretary Damian Hinds as well as Commons Education Select Committee chair Robert Halfon and former education minister Tim Loughton.
Currently, section 10 of the act leaves it down to the employer’s discretion as to whether someone other than a union rep or colleague can attend a hearing to support a teacher.
But Mr Clarke-Smith said it would be unlikely that, for non-union members, a colleague would be trained or experienced to the same extent as a union representative, and said a suitable companion might be “someone appropriately trained or experienced and in some cases legally qualified.”
NEU joint-general secretary Mary Bousted said: “Representing people with their employer is a highly specialised and costly activity and members of unions get that for their membership fee.
“if they need the union, the representation that they get is excellent and if they were paying for it themselves either though a solicitor or some other body the costs would be hugely increased so that’s one of the reasons why people join a union - for a very reasonable membership fee they get the protection of the union if they ever should need it if they have dispute.
“There is clearly an anti-union feeling and that’s because the unions, and the NEU in particular, is the place where teachers have gone to because they haven’t felt that the government has protected them or looked after their interests, particularly their interests to not catch Covid in the pandemic. So that’s why the NEU has seen massive membership growth.
Mr Clarke-Smith said the bill, which has its second reading tomorrow, was “not an attack” on trade unions.
He said: “It does not seek to diminish their power or their influence. It does not seek to undermine the value of work they do and the accompaniment they provide or the legal representation which they can offer - rather it seeks to enhance and protect workers’ rights for teachers.
John Roberts, Chief Executive of Edapt, which provides legal advice to teachers and school staff said: “Accompaniment should not be a closed shop - teachers and staff should be allowed to choose who they have alongside them at times of great stress and anxiety.
“It’s great to see a Member of Parliament bring forward this issue - especially so a former head who fully understands the impact of the current legislation.
“This is very straightforwardly a question of fairness. Joining a union is a choice, but this choice should not affect a teacher’s, or indeed any employee’s, employment law rights.
“Should the Government decide to make legislative changes, this will see equal rights under the law to workers and employees regardless of whether they are a member of a trade union or not.
“It means that everyone is afforded the same rights to be accompanied in their working life by an appropriately trained companion during any difficult times, and it is baffling to understand why anyone would be opposed to such a positive move forward for employment relations.”
Sara Ford, Deputy Director of Policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The Employment Relations Act 1999 applies to all employers, not just to schools. It gives employees a legal right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or colleague at a disciplinary or grievance hearing. It doesn’t prohibit another type of representative, that is currently permitted albeit at the discretion of the employer.
“This campaign seems to be an attempt to create a legal right to be accompanied by a solicitor. Such a change would apply to all employers - not just schools - and would obviously represent a significant additional burden in terms of managing hearings and the timeliness of such hearings.
“Trade unions, such as ASCL, draw on legal expertise and extensive member support experience, and therefore the representation provided is of a very high standard.”
