Agenda Document Pack - Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff - 05/09/2023
Renfrewshire Council · 5 September 2023
Back to Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff — 5 September 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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30/08/2023 Notice of Meeting and Agenda Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff Date Time Venue Tuesday, 05 September 2023 14:00 Remotely via MS Teams, Membership Representing Renfrewshire Council Management Councillor E Rodden; Councillor J Paterson; T McGillivray, Head of Service (Inclusion and Quality Improvement)(Joint Secretary); J Calder, Head of Service (Curriculum and School Estate); J Colquhoun, Education Manager (Development); K Henry, Head Teacher, St Andrews Academy; J Houston, Head Teacher, Mossvale Primary School; A Hall, Education Manager (Development); M Thomas, Education Manager (Development); and L Mullin, Principal HR & OD Adviser (Finance and Resources). Representing Renfrewshire Council Teaching Staff K Fella/M Russell (Joint Secretary), JP Tonner, T Millar, Y Murray, D Tollan (all EIS); R Kane(SSTA); L Gibson (NASUWT); Voice (TBC). Further Information A copy of the agenda and reports for this meeting will be available online at http://renfrewshire.cmis.uk.com/renfrewshire/CouncilandBoards.aspx For further information, please email: democratic-services@renfrewshire.gov.uk MARK CONAGHAN Head of Corporate Governance Page 1 of 23
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30/08/2023 Items of business Apologies Apologies from members. Declarations of Interest and Transparancy Statements Members are asked to declare an interest or make a transparency statement in any item(s) on the agenda and to provide a brief explanation of the nature of the interest or the transparency statement. 1 Chairperson Consider the appointment of a Chairperson for this meeting. 2 Change of Membership Report by Joint Secretary (Management Side). 3 - 3 3 Minute of Previous Meeting Minute of previous meeting, held on 6 June 2023, as agreed by the Joint Secretaries. 4 - 8 4 Matters Arising Matters arising from the Minute of the previous meeting held on 6 June 2023. 5 Developments in Health and Safety Incident Reporting Report by Joint Secretary (Management Side). 9 - 10 6 Surrogacy Policy Report by Joint Secretary (Management Side). 11 - 20 7 Carer's Leave Report by Joint Secretary (Teachers' Side). 21 - 21 8 Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment Report by Joint Secretary (Teachers' Side). 22 - 22 9 JNC 15 Grievance Procedures Report by Joint Secretary (Teachers' Side). 23 - 23 10 Date of Next Meeting Members are asked to note that the next meeting of the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff is scheduled to be held at 2.00pm on 14 November 2023. Page 2 of 23
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Agenda Item .......... Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers To: Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers On: 5 September 2023 Report by Head of Education Change of Membership 1. Summary Since the departure of the Head of Personnel in 2013, the Principal HR & OD Adviser has represented the HR service on the Teachers JNC. As part of the Right for Renfrewshire review, the HR & OD team will be subject to a service review and as part of this review the opportunity has been taken the review the HR representations on various boards. 2. Recommendations It is recommended that from 5 September 2023 the Head of People and OD post be added to the membership of the management side of Teacher’s JNC, with the Principal HR & OD Adviser removed from the membership. Item 2 Page 3 of 23
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Minute of Meeting Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff Date Time Venue Tuesday, 06 June 2023 14:00 Corporate Meeting Room 2, Renfrewshire House, PRESENT Representing Renfrewshire Council Management Councillor E Rodden; Councillor J Paterson; T McGillivray, Head of Service (Inclusion and Quality Improvement), J Calder, Head of Service (Curriculum and School Estate), J Colquhoun, Education Manager (Development), M Thomas, Education Manager (Development) and A Hall, Education Manager (Development) (all Children’s Services); and L Mullin and S Fanning, both Principal HR and OD Advisers (both Finance & Resources). Representing Renfrewshire Council Teaching Staff K Fella (Joint Secretary), JP Tonner, Y Murray, M Russell and D Tollan (all EIS); R Kane (SSTA); and L Gibson (NASUWT). ALSO IN ATTENDANCE D Viola, Lead Facilities Manager (Support Services), Joyce Robertson (Strategic Facilities Manager (Soft FM) and Scot Fraser, Facilities Manager (All Environment Housing & Infrastructure – item 2 only); and D Cunningham and J Barron, both Assistant Committee Services Officers (Finance & Resources). APOLOGIES K Henry, Head Teacher, St Andrews Academy; H Paterson, Head Teacher, Heriot Primary School; T Millar (EIS); and S McCrossan (EIS Adviser to Teachers’ side). DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting. Item 3 Page 4 of 23
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1 APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR PERSON In accordance with the terms of the local recognition and procedure agreement, which stated that the Chair of the Committee should alternate between the two sides comprising the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff, it was agreed that Mr J P Tonner would chair this meeting of the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff. DECIDED: That Mr J P Tonner chair this meeting of the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff. ORDER OF BUSINESS The Chair intimated that he proposed to alter the order of business to facilitate the conduct of the meeting by considering Item 7 prior to Item 2 and Item 8 prior to Item 4 of the agenda. 2 SCHOOL SECURITY There was submitted a report by the Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) relative to access and security within Schools and the stipulations within JNC 5 that access to schools be controlled. It was requested that a review of access to schools be conducted and that improved measures be implemented where necessary. There followed a discussion on various aspects of access, security and CCTV at school premises and it was highlighted that local arrangements and issues varied for each establishment due to factors such as building size/design, staffing and roll numbers. The Principal HR & OD Adviser advised that a review was underway following a recent school incident and that feedback/recommendations would be provided once completed to the appropriate Heads of Service and that this would be taken forward across the remainder of the school estate where applicable. The Head of Service (Curriculum and School Estate) advised that addressing school security required to be an ongoing collective effort by all relevant Council services and school establishments and that any specific issues/concerns be raised via Head Teachers in the first instance. DECIDED: (a) That it be noted that a review of school access and security was being undertaken; (b) That it be agreed that feedback and recommendations from this review would be taken forward across the school estate as applicable; and (c) That it be agreed that issues/concerns be raised with Head Teachers. Page 5 of 23
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3 MINUTE OF PREVIOUS MEETING There was submitted the Minute of the previous meeting held on 25 April 2023. Under reference to Item 4 – Wellbeing at Work and Item 5 – Menopause and Special Leave Policy it was agreed that decision 5(b) be added as an additional decision to Item 4, numbered as decision 4(d), as this decision was applicable to both items, “That it be agreed that Management and Head Teachers look at dedicating time for the completion of i-Learn courses and general wellbeing support”. DECIDED: That the Minute be approved subject to the amendments. 4 MATTERS ARISING Under reference to Item 4 of the Minute – Working Time Agreements: The Allocation of Hours and Teachers’ Contracts of the previous meeting held on 25 March 2023, the Teachers’ Side stated that they had not received the information that open evenings did not constitute parents meetings and that the time allocated should not be deducted from the time set aside for parents meetings cascaded to them and requested that this be sent. The Education Manager (Development) advised that Head Teachers would be reminded of this agreement. DECIDED: That it be agreed that information be cascaded to Head Teachers that open evenings were not considered parents meetings thus the time allocated to them should not be deducted from the time set aside for parents meetings. 5 EDUCATION RECOVERY There was submitted a report by the Joint Secretary (Teachers’s Side) relative to the recent SQA announcement of a return to full National Qualifications assessment requirements in 2023/24. A survey of teachers delivering National Qualifications had been conducted by the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA) and it was found that 68% did not agree that pupils were ready for a full return to pre-covid assessment requirements. The Head of Service (Curriculum and School Estate) advised that the Management Side would reinforce the view of the Teachers’ Side as requested at a national level but that the Council would still require to follow the decisions applied by the Scottish Government, SQA and Education Scotland. DECIDED: That it be agreed that the Management Side would reinforce the view of the Teachers’ Side at any national level discussions with the Scottish Government, SQA and Education Scotland. 6 ANNUAL REPORT SESSION 2022/23 There was submitted a report by the Joint Secretaries relative to the Annual Report for Session 2022/2023. The report outlined the meetings of the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers held since the previous Annual General Meeting on 7 June Page 6 of 23
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2022. The report detailed the ongoing work of the Committee, it’s membership and summarised the reports discussed during this period. DECIDED: That the report be noted. 7 MEMBERSHIP OF THE JOINT NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE FOR TEACHERS 23/24 There was submitted a report by the Joint Secretaries relative to the Membership of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers for the session 2023/24. The report outlined the composition of members, proposed joint chairpersons and joint secretaries. The Joint Secretaries provided an update and advised that Hilary Paterson and Stephen McCrossan had ceased to be members. It was noted that Craig Carson remained on secondment and an update on his position plus replacement members would be confirmed at a future meeting of the Committee. John Paul Tonner would continue as joint chair until further notice. It was agreed that reserve members Barry Kelly, Trinity High School and Paula Quinn, Renfrew High School be added to the membership of the Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers. DECIDED: (a) That the membership of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers be noted for session 2023/24; (b) That the proposed joint chairpersons Councillor Emma Rodden and Mr John Paul Tonner plus joint secretaries Tracy McGillivray and Kenny Fella be agreed; (c) That it be noted that Hilary Paterson and Stephen McCrossan had ceased to be members and their replacements would be advised at a future meeting of the Committee; and (d) That it be agreed that reserve members Barry Kelly, Trinity High School and Paula Quinn, Renfrew High School be added to the membership of the Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers. VALEDICTORY The Committee gave thanks to H Paterson and S McCrossan for their valuable contributions. 8 DATES FOR FUTURE MEETINGS 2023/24 There was submitted a report by the Joint Secretaries relative to the dates for future meetings of the Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers for Session 2023/24. The report outlined the meeting dates agreed by the Council to year end 2024. Page 7 of 23
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It was noted that an additional meeting date had been included in error and that the Joint Secretaries would decide which date was more suitable to meet the business requirements of the Committee. It was discussed that there would be no substantive business to be heard at the meeting on 23 April 2024 due to the proximity of this date to schools having returned from the Easter break. DECIDED: (a) That the schedule of meetings for session 2023/24 be noted; and (b) That it be noted that there would be no substantive business to be heard at the meeting on 23 April 2024 due to the proximity of this date to schools having returned from the Easter break. 9 DATE OF NEXT MEETING DECIDED: That it be noted that the next meeting of the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff was scheduled to be held on 5 September 2023. Page 8 of 23
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1 Agenda Item .......... Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers To: Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers On: 05 September 2023 Report by Principal HR & OD Adviser Developments in Health and Safety Incident Reporting. ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary This report outlines the developments in the H&S incident reporting process and the ERP development of the system, which have taken place since the last meeting of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers (JNC). __________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 This report is for information only and to note that this is a retrospective record of health, safety and well-being activities undertaken by Finance and Resources, HR, health and safety section and the ERP Businessworld team. ________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The H&S incident reporting process has been an integral part of the ERP Businessworld solution for a number of years now. Over that period there have been some changes, mainly to try and refine the process to make it easier for people to report an incident as well as allowing managers greater access to data. We need to be mindful that the purpose of incident reporting is to; • Record the incident. • Determine the possible root cause and other causation factors. • Document any actions taken for corrective action. The aim of any incident management and investigation is to prevent a reoccurrence of any type of incident which may lead to injury, ill health, or damage to property. If we don’t report incidents that occur in a timely manner, the same type of incident could happen again. Item 5 Page 9 of 23
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2 3.2 The work competed over the summer period includes: • A housekeeping exercise conducted by the H&S team, The ERP team, and the CS H&S Coordinator to reduce the forms remaining in workflow. • The ERP team have increased manager time to review the form, with the escalation time moving from 7 days to 14 days. • New role and improved access for the H&S Coordinator within Childrens Services, this provides greater visibility to data and forms. • A weekly incident review meeting with the Health and Safety Team and the Childrens Services, H&S Coordinator has been established. • Improvements to the dashboard and reports. • A revision to the supply teachers process that allows the report to go to the head teacher at the school they are working in. • An overview of the improvements was provided at a recent Headteachers’ meeting. 3.3 The benefits from these changes will ensure that: • We continue to meet our moral and legal duties to manage, report and learn from incidents. • We continue to demonstrate a commitment to health and safety in the workplace for our employees, our schools, and our children. • We continue to improve the safety performance of the organisation. • We continue to improve the data that headteachers and managers can access and as well as providing greater flexibility when responding to Freedom of Information Requests. Page 10 of 23
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Agenda Item .......... Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers To: Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers On: 5 September 2023 Report by Head of Education Surrogacy Policy 1. Summary The SNCT Handbook, section 7 Family Leave (Paragraphs 7.5.1 – 7.5.9) provides the national guidance for all teaching staff in relation to surrogacy leave and entitlement. However, following recent discussions with a member of the teaching faculty who was looking to apply for this leave it was agreed that whilst the guidance was helpful it did not provide our teaching staff with detail required in relation to application form, clarity of the process via flowchart and a clear understandable policy for them to follow. 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the attached Surrogacy Policy and attachments be approved and distributed to all Headteachers for distribution to raise awareness to their staff. Item 6 Page 11 of 23
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Issue Number: 1 Issue Date: 7/23 Review Date: 7/25 Surrogacy Pay and Leave Policy For Teachers, Quality Improvement Officers, Educational Psychologist and Music Instructors This document is available in alternative formats on request. Page 12 of 23
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2 CONTENTS 1 Introduction 3 2 Purpose and Aims 3 3 Scope 4 4 Our responsibilities 4 5 Definition 4 6 Legal Parentage 4 6.1 Parental Order 4 7 Surrogacy Leave 4 7.1 Application for Surrogacy Leave 5 7.2 Commencement of Leave 5 8 Entitlement to Pay and Leave 5 8.1 Pay 5 8.2 Leave 6 9 Eligibility for shared parental leave 6 9.1 Surrogate’s Eligibility for Shared Parental Leave (ShPL) 6 10 Confidentiality 7 11 Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessment 7 12 Monitoring and Review 7 Appendix 1 – Surrogacy Leave Application Form Page 13 of 23
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3 VERSION CONTROL Version Date Details of Review/Revisals made Next Review date 1. Introduction 1.1 The Council strives to create a working environment that support employees with parenting responsibilities to achieve a better balance between their lives inside and outside of work. The Council workforce is diverse, and many employees are working parents. 1.2 The Surrogacy Leave and Pay Policy is designed to offer flexibility to employees at particular stages of their lives. 1.3 This policy covers leave and pay provisions relating to: • Surrogacy Leave 2. Purpose and Aims 2.1 The purpose of this policy is to promote the Council’s parenting leave and pay provisions which support and encourage employees to share parenting responsibilities. 2.2 This policy aims to: • Provide information and raise awareness of surrogacy leave in the Council, eligibility criteria and the associated pay rates. • Support employees who have parenting responsibilities and help them achieve a better balance between working and parenting commitments. • Meet all legislative employment requirements. • Implement fair, inclusive and consistent requesting and approval processes. • Support the achievement of the Council’s workforce planning, equality, diversity and gender pay gap outcomes. Page 14 of 23
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4 3. Scope 3.1 This policy complements other Council policies such as Parenting Leave and Pay Policy, Flexible Working, Special Leave/Supportive Leave, Respect at Work, and Equality and Diversity. Further guidance for Local Government Employees is available from HR & OD. 4. Our Responsibilities 4.1 Managers, Elected Members, HR & OD, Customer and Business Services and the Trade Unions all have a part to play in ensuring the principles of this policy are applied effectively. 5. Definition Surrogacy is the practice whereby a woman (the surrogate mother) carries a child for another person and (usually) that person's partner (the commissioning couple) as the result of an agreement prior to conception that the child should be handed over to them after the birth. 6. Legal Parentage Provision as to the legal parentage of children resulting from certain fertility treatments is made by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. The 1990 Act and 2008 Act set out specific conditions that must be fulfilled for the commissioning couple to apply for a parental order. If they do not fulfil these conditions, they cannot apply for a parental order. 6.1 Parental Order A couple (married couple, civil partners or a couple in an enduring family relationship) may additionally be treated as the legal parents of the child if a parental order has been made in their favour under s.54 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. Such an order made before 6 April 2010 will not have any automatic nationality consequences for the child but may justify registration under s.3(1) of the BNA 1981 (see Chapter 9). A child who is the subject of a parental order made in a UK court after 6 April 2010 will become a British citizen from the date of the order if either of the persons who obtained the order is a British citizen. 7 Surrogacy Leave Where the baby is the subject of a Parental Order following a legal surrogacy arrangement, the Council will provide surrogate parents with the equivalent entitlements as those which apply to adoptive parents. The Council requires: Page 15 of 23
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5 • A copy of the MATB1 prior to the birth of the baby, which the birth mother obtains from their GP or midwife at around 26 weeks before the baby is due. This will provide the employer with notice of the impending birth and date the leave will commence. And • A copy of the parental order, this should be provided no later than 6 months after the commencement of the leave. 7.1 Application for Surrogacy Leave Employees should have discussed with their line manager/Head Teacher their intention to take the leave, when providing a copy of the MATB1, at around 26 weeks before the baby is due. The employee should complete the attached pro-forma (see appendix 1 of this policy) and arrange to submit this application to their line manager, in writing, no less than 28 days before the leave is due to commence. Only one person can take the leave, so a decision must be taken by the couple as to who the leave will be applied to. Once this decision is taken, the employee will be entitled to 52 weeks Family Leave, regardless of length of service. If an employee has less than 26 weeks continuous contractual service, prior to the week in which she/he received the child, they will be entitled to 52 weeks’ Family Leave without pay. 7.2 Commencement of Leave An employee can choose to start their leave on the date of the baby’s birth or the day after birth. If an employee wishes to delay the start of the leave, you must tell your line manager/Head Teacher at least 28 days before the date it's currently due to start. If an employee wishes to start their leave earlier than planned, you must tell your line manager/Head Teacher at least 28 days before the date you want to change it to. If your baby is born earlier than expected or is premature, your leave starts straight away, namely on the date your baby is born. 8 Entitlement to Pay and Leave 8.1 Pay If you are an employee who has less than 26 weeks’ continuous service, you are entitled to 52 weeks’ adoption leave without pay. Page 16 of 23
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6 If you are an employee who has 26 weeks continuous service, you will be entitled to be paid the following: (a) 13 weeks at normal salary and (b) 26 weeks at a sum equivalent to the payment made for statutory adoption pay, provided the employee’s average weekly earnings are not less than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contribution liability. 8.2 Leave An employee shall accrue annual leave in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 5.3 to 5.5 of the SNCT handbook and this can be found at the following link Part 2 Section 5 - SNCT Handbook. During the period of leave an employee is allowed up to ten days at work with normal pay as Keeping in Touch Days, without bringing the leave period to an end. An employee is also entitled to take time off to attend 2 unpaid antenatal appointments with the surrogate carrying the child. 9 Eligibility for shared parental leave For employees to be eligible to take shared parental leave, both partners must meet certain eligibility requirements. A partner is defined as: The father of the child, or the person who, at the date of the child’s birth, is married to, the civil partner of, or the partner of the mother. A partner may be someone of either gender, who lives with the mother and the child in an enduring family relationship but who is not the mother’s child, parent, grandchild, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew. 9.1 Surrogate’s Eligibility for Shared Parental Leave (ShPL) The person taking surrogacy leave, as set out in this policy, is eligible for shared parental leave, if they: • has at least 26 weeks' continuous service prior to the weeks in which she/he receives the child and remains in continuous employment with the organisation until the week before any period of shared parental leave that she/he takes. • has, at the date of the child's birth, the main responsibility, apart from the partner, for the care of the child. • is entitled to Family Leave in respect of the child; and • complies with the relevant leave curtailment requirements (or has returned to work before the end of the leave) and shared parental leave notice and evidence requirements. Page 17 of 23
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7 In addition, for the mother to be eligible for shared parental leave, the partner must: • have been employed or been a self-employed earner in at least 26 of the 66 weeks immediately preceding the expected week of childbirth. • have average weekly earnings of at least the maternity allowance threshold for any 13 of those 66 weeks; and • have, at the date of the child's birth, the main responsibility, apart from the mother, for the care of the child. 10 Confidentiality Information processed may include paper or electronic records and will be done so in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation EU 2016/679) (“GDPR”), the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (as may be amended by the proposed Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications) and any legislation that, in respect of the United Kingdom, replaces, or enacts into domestic law, GDPR or any other law relating to data protection, the processing of personal data and privacy as a consequence of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. 11 Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessment This policy has been impact assessed in line with the Council’s obligation to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty. 12 Monitoring and Review This policy will be reviewed regularly and in line with any legislative and organisational changes. The recognised Trade Unions will be consulted on any future changes to this policy. Page 18 of 23
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Appendix 1 Section 1 - Application for Surrogacy Leave/Pay Employees with more than 26 weeks Continuous Service Complete this section if you have 26 weeks or more continuous service prior to the week in which you receive the child and are applying for surrogacy leave in line with SNCT handbook section 7.5.1 to 7.5.9 I would like my Surrogacy leave to start on: _______________________ I have also attached a copy of the MATB1 certificate and note that I am required to provide a copy of the parental order for the child as soon practicable possible, but not later than before the baby is 6 months old. I agree to the conditions applicable and confirm that I intend to return to work. Signature Date ______________________ Section 2- Application for Unpaid Surrogacy Leave Employees with less than 26 weeks Continuous Service As I have less than 26 weeks continuous service by the week prior to receiving the child, I wish to confirm that I intend to apply for surrogacy leave to commence on _____________. I agree to the conditions applicable and confirm that I intend to return to work. Signature Date _________________ RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL SURROGACY LEAVE APPLICATION FORM Complete and Sign the Section that is Applicable Page 19 of 23
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SURROGACY FLOWCHART Consider how much Surrogacy Leave you want to take. You will automatically qualify for 52 weeks’ Surrogacy Leave, regardless of your length of service with the Council. An employee who has 26 weeks continuous service prior to the weeks in which she/he received the child will be entitled to be paid: (a) 13 weeks at normal salary and 26 weeks at a sum equivalent to Statutory Adoption Pay. An employee who has less than 26 weeks continuous contractual service, prior to the week in which she/he received the child, is entitled to 52 weeks’ Family Leave without pay. Employees should inform their line manager/Head Teacher by filling in the Surrogacy Leave application form, no less than 28 days before the leave is due to commence. The line manager or nominated officer must advise Employee Services by forwarding the form on to them. Employee Services will confirm, in writing, within 28 days, setting out when they expect the employee to return to work. Employee Services must forward all information to payroll. Employees can choose to start their surrogacy leave on the date of the baby’s birth or the day after birth. If you want to return to work before the end of your adoption leave period, you must give 21 days’ notice of your early return. The council will require: • A copy of the MATB1 prior to the birth of the baby and • A copy of the parental order, this should be provided no later than 6 months after the commencement of the leave If an employee wishes to amend their start date, you must give 28 days’ notice. If your baby is born earlier than expected or is premature, your leave starts on the date your baby is born. Page 20 of 23
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Item 7 Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers To: Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers On: 5 September 2023 Carer’s Leave Report by Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) Background Renfrewshire Council employees who have caring responsibilities can now register on the Council’s Wellbeing Hub for additional leave subject to specified criteria in order to deal with appointments, emergencies and other duties required. Renfrewshire teachers have been told that this provision is not available to them. Action The Teachers’ Side is requesting that, in the interests of equity and the furtherance of teacher wellbeing, the Carer’s Leave provision be afforded to Renfrewshire teachers and brought within the framework of the Council’s Special Leave Policy for teachers. . . Item 7 Page 21 of 23
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Item 8 Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers To: Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers On: 5 September 2023 Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment Report by Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) Background Professor Louise Hayward has set out a number of key recommendations for the Scottish Government on the qualifications system in Scotland and how it can best support learners in schools and colleges. The Cabinet Secretary for Education has stated that she needs to be certain that the recommended changes are the right ones for Scotland’s young people and she is ‘determined that the voices of teachers will be central to this process.’ Action The Teachers’ Side is seeking confirmation that time will be made available for Renfrewshire teachers to respond to the recommendations to ensure that the changes to qualifications and assessment are informed by the experience and expertise of professionally qualified practitioners. Item 8 Page 22 of 23
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Item 9 Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers To: Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers On: 5 September 2023 JNC 15 Grievance Procedures Report by Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) Background At a recent Tribunal, an Employment Judge was highly critical of Renfrewshire Council’s handling of the grievance process. Criticisms included issues with evidence gathering, procedural irregularities, poor quality decision making, bias and lack of fairness. All of the aforementioned contributed to the undermining of trust and confidence in the grievance process. Action The Teachers’ Side is seeking an urgent meeting with the Management Side to discuss the application of the JNC 15 grievance protocols in order that Renfrewshire teachers can feel that their grievances are being respected through a process that inspires trust and confidence. Item 9 Page 23 of 23