In January 2022 the NHS Staff Council established a joint task and finish group to develop a draft national framework agreement on homeworking that could be incorporated into the NHS Terms and Conditions handbook.
The Staff Council Executive has now approved a draft to go out to local employers and local trade union reps for consultation.
Read on for more information for local reps on:
- Context and background information
- The draft framework – scope and remit
- A summary of areas where we propose to produce accompanying joint guidance
- A set of consultation questions for UNISON branch reps to complete as early as possible and by no later than Wednesday 14 June
Context and background information
The Staff Council identified a need for a national framework agreement on homeworking in response to a number of factors including:
- Rapid and unplanned increases in the extent of homeworking in the NHS prompted by the pandemic
- Enhanced flexible working rights agreed from September 2021 in the new provisions in s33 of the Handbook
- Moves by employing organisations to downsize estates and restructure service delivery around homeworking
It was recognised that a framework agreement on homeworking would need to cover arrangements that come about through a) individual employee choice and b) employer decisions to design roles/service delivery to require homeworking.
Draft framework agreement – scope and remit
The remit for the task and finish group was to develop a national framework to sit within the Handbook to provide core/minimum principles and parameters for the negotiation of detailed local homeworking policies in partnership.
There was no remit to re-negotiate any other terms and conditions – a key requirement was to provide clarity on how existing Handbook terms and conditions should be implemented in the context of homeworking.
NHS Employers did not have a mandate to negotiate a detailed prescriptive national policy so, for example, there was no scope to include a nationally negotiated homeworking allowance at this stage.
Trade unions have therefore sought to make the framework as comprehensive as possible by including enabling provisions and clear principles around financial support, health and safety, equality considerations, contractual change requirements and links to flexible working procedures and management of change processes.
Accompanying guidance
The task and finish group has also identified the need to develop a suite of accompanying guidance to go with new Handbook provisions, once agreed. This will include:
- Steps to assess current patterns of home and agile/hybrid working and agree regularisation of any ad hoc arrangements that started during the pandemic
- Checklists and FAQs for staff, local reps and employers to support implementation
- Signposting to relevant HMRC rules and provisions
- Health, safety and well-being requirements and good practice
- Equality requirements and good practice
- Case-studies