ACM Members’ Excessive Working Hours

ACM members regularly work excessive hours in order to fulfill their management duties; yet colleges appear unmoved by what is clearly a widespread disregard of the Working Time Regulations. These are some of the findings, just published by ACM, taken from results of their survey of members’ working time.

The 2007 Survey, which was undertaken last term, found that two out of three ACM members are working in excess of the average 48 hour week limit set by the Working Time Regulations, but only 4% have signed a working time opt-out that allows them to do so. This suggests colleges are ignoring safe limits on working hours in order to ensure targets are met.

In addition, 90% of ACM members have so much work that they regularly take some home, while 81% describe the demands of their job as high. And as we have already reported on this blog, an alarming one in eight members has been diagnosed by a GP as suffering from work related stress in the 12 months before the survey was undertaken.

Indeed, exposure to factors that can cause stress is high. One in four members described their role at their college as not clearly defined, and a further quarter described their role as conflicting. Two thirds of members also said they had experienced substantial change in the last 12 months.

Sadly, the 2007 survey results are almost identical to those of the previous survey carried out in March 2004. The implication is that moves to improve work life balance in the UK have simply by-passed the Further Education sector.

ACM Head of Employment Relations David Green said, “These figures ought to be shocking, but sadly they come as no surprise. They do underline though, just how much pressure is placed upon college managers. Indeed, add in the fact that colleges restructure regularly and it is hardly surprising that stress is such a big problem.

“Unfortunately colleges are reluctant to tackle the problem. They have LSC targets to reach; and the effect on their staffs’ work life balance and even health simply isn’t a big enough priority.”

ACM has been pressing the Association of Colleges to negotiate national guidelines on reducing working time.

One in Eight College Managers Suffers Stress

A massive one in eight ACM members has been diagnosed by a doctor as suffering from work related stress in the last year. These alarming figures come from ACM’s survey of working time and related issues, carried out towards the end of 2007.

The survey also found that nearly two thirds of members worked in excess of 48 hours per week, and that one in six works over 60 hours per week. But despite these excessive hours, 95% of members have never opted out of the Working Time Regulations which limits maximum hours to an average of 48 per week.

Not surprisingly, four out of five members said high demands were placed on them in terms of workload and targets.

But potential sources of work related stress aren’t just confined to the demands of the job. Two thirds of ACM members said they had experienced substantial change in the last year, and a third reported a low level of support from their line manager or in terms of resources. In addition, one in four members described the clarity of their role in the college as conflicting.

Commenting on the figures, ACM Head of Employment Relations said, “These survey results should ring alarm bells in our FE colleges. They show clearly that ACM members work in a very stressful environment; and that there is a real risk their jobs will make them sick unless colleges take preventative action.

“Sadly the culture in most colleges means that tackling stress is not seen as essential. If the going gets tough you are too often expected to struggle through or leave.”

ACM will be using the survey results to highlight the need for proper implementation of the HSE management standards and other measures to prevent stress. The findings will be reported to FESH, the sector’ safety and health forum, who have already begun work on preventing stress. ACM will also be using the survey results to back our calls for national negotiations on joint guidance to reduce working time in the sector.

In the meantime, ACM branches will be urged to ensure working time and stress is moved up the safety agenda. David Green added, “At the end of the day, positive change will only come about with consistent union pressure. If managers are worried about their health or the excessive hours they are working they should join us now and strengthen our voice on this important issue.”

Opinion in Coleman Case Welcomed

ACM has welcomed the opnion of the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice on the Coleman Attridge case. Sharon Coleman had claimed under the Disability Discrimination Act that her employer had treated her less favourably than others because she had a disabled child.

The issue at stake was whether disability discrimination law protects people who, although not themselves disabled, face discrimination because of their association with a disabled person. The Employment Tribunal had asked the European Court for a decision on whether such discrimination is covered by European law. The Advocate General’s opinion is absolutely clear that it does, and also that this would extend to all areas covered by anti-discrimination law.

David Green, ACM Head of Employment Relations said, “This is an important decision which will be welcomed by many ACM members in a similar position to Sharon. Despite colleges having policies on promoting equality, we’ve seen members with caring responsibilities lose their jobs because of their college’s failure to make reasonable adjustments.”

The TUC was also supportive. General Secretary Brendan Barber said, “The Advocate General has given a welcome opinion in this important case. Workers with caring responsibilities should be protected from discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

‘Although most sensible employers now realise the benefits that come from being flexible and helping staff balance their lives, there are many bosses still living in the last century, who need to be persuaded to do much, much more to help their employees have less stressful lives and not to make life even more difficult for those already shouldering caring responsibilities.”

More information on the Advocate general’s decision can be found here.

Increase In Employees Working Unpaid Overtime

The number of employees working unpaid overtime increased by 103,000 in 2007, bringing the total to nearly five million, according to a new analysis of official statistics published by the TUC today (Friday).

Employees who work unpaid overtime would receive an extra £4,955 a year if they were paid for the extra hours they are putting in. The average amount of unpaid overtime is seven hours and six minutes a week.

About one in five of the working population work unpaid overtime. The TUC has calculated that if everyone in the UK who works unpaid overtime did all their unpaid work at the start of the year, the first day they would get paid would be Friday 22 February.

That is why the TUC has declared this ‘Work Your Proper Hours Day’ and is calling on employers to say thank you to staff for putting in the extra hours and to ensure that they work their proper hours on this day.

The biggest increases in the number of employees working unpaid overtime have occurred in Yorkshire and Humberside (38,000), the Eastern Region (37,000) and London (32,000). The numbers fell sharply in the East Midlands (-57,000) and the North West (-41,000).

Culture and Religion Are Not Biggest Barriers

New research reveals that people’s perceptions of ethnic minority women in the workplace are lagging behind the reality.

Nearly four in 10 people (37%) think that unemployed Bangladeshi and Pakistani women face cultural and religious barriers that prevent them from working (after family and caring responsibilities, 43%), according to an Ipsos MORI survey commissioned jointly by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). The survey also showed that around a half (53%) of people thought that white British women in work were more likely than ethnic minority women in work to have a degree.

But a separate study on Pakistani and Bangladeshi women’s attitudes to work and family published today by the DWP, found that attitudes are changing from one generation to next. It shows that difficulties in finding suitable childcare and flexible working arrangements act as the biggest barrier to work for ethnic minority women, in the same way as they do for women in general.

What’s more, research from the EOC’s own report looking at ethnic minority women at work found that 90 percent of Pakistani and Bangladeshi 16 year old girls said their parents supported their choice to combine a career with their family responsibilities.

When it comes to levels of education, public attitudes are also out of touch with the times. Information from the 2001 census shows that only 24% of white British women in work have a degree, compared to 52% of Black African women, 35% of Pakistani women, 32% of Black Caribbean women, 30% Bangladeshi women and 38% of Indian women.

Jenny Watson, Chair of the EOC, said: “The gap between the public’s perceptions about the obstacles holding ethnic minority women back at work and the actual reality is startling. While many pin the cause of Black and Asian women’s employment gap on culture and lack of skills, the evidence, particularly for younger women, is pointing to something very different.

“As the EOC’s two-year investigation illustrated, there is a generation of increasingly well qualified and ambitious young women, the vast majority of whom tell us their families support their choices to balance a career with a family. We need to tackle both the practical barriers they face such as help with childcare and better careers advice as well as challenging persistent and outdated stereotypes. Only then will we deliver real change.”

Teleworking: Inspiration or Isolation

An article in the latest issue of People Management reports that almost a third of UK workers believe they would be more inspired if they worked away from their office.

The figures come from a survey by T-Mobile of 1,025 office-based employees. It found that given the choice, 23 per cent would like to be able to work from home in the future. Perhaps not surprisingly, the survey found that other desirable work locations included the top of a mountain (4 per cent) or a beach (3 per cent). Altogether, 65 per cent of workers said they would like flexible working options in the future.

While working from the beach may be fun, it does have some practical implications. But home working is certainly much more common, in part due to improved access to high speed Internet. Other considerations such as traffic congestion and rising transport costs are also helping to fuel an interest in remote working (teleworking).

A European funded research project, SusTel, was set up in 2002 to look at the sustainability of teleworking. From their UK case studies, the project concluded that teleworking improved work performance, reduced stress and other ill health, and improved quality of life. However, although these benefits outweighed the negatives, they warned that isolation and other communication problems were the main source of dissatisfaction, and that working hours actually increased.

In colleges, we have little evidence of any major shift towards teleworking, although a fair number of members will work from home on an informal basis. However, we suspect that this is largely driven by excessive workloads. We therefore urge members to contact us if teleworking becomes an issue so we can ensure it is introduced by proper agreement.

More Support For Work Wise

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is the latest supporter of Work Wise UK, the major five-year initiative that aims to bring about a fundamental change in working practices in the UK.

IOSH has joined the TUC, CBI and British Chambers of Commerce in encouraging a ‘workstyle revolution’ through the widespread adoption of new smarter working practices, such as flexible working, including compressed hours and nine-day fortnights, remote and mobile working, and working from home.

IOSH, Europe’s largest professional body for occupational safety and health, is supporting Work Wise UK because of the occupational health benefits of the widespread adoption of these new smarter working practices.

Lisa Fowlie, IOSH president, said: “It is widely accepted that flexible working can help employees achieve a proper work-life balance. A feeling of lack of control over workloads and pressure to work 24/7 may lead to stress. Many people have to work overtime or commute long distances, which adds hours to their working day. Enabling employees to achieve a proper work-life balance will help to reduce ill health absence.

IOSH believes wider adoption of flexible working practices will improve business productivity and profitability and help to improve the environment by reducing transport congestion and pollution. An important bonus is that it helps employees cope with their family commitments. A recent survey found that more than a quarter of employees had missed family and social occasions for work and one in five had cancelled or cut short holidays for work.

Work Wise UK is a five-year initiative to promote the wider adoption of smarter working practices such as flexible working (including condensed hours and nine-day fortnights), mobile and remote working, and working from home. It is backed by the TUC, CBI, British Chambers of Commerce, BT, Transport for London, Equal Opportunities Commission, RAC Foundation, Association of Commuter Transport, SCOPE, Henley Management College and Technology Means Business.

Returning From Maternity or Parental Leave

Members who return from maternity or parental leave would naturally expect to return to the same job they have always done. Regulation 2(1) of the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999 says: ‘job’, in relation to an employee returning after additional maternity leave (or parental leave) means the nature of the work which she is employed to do in accordance with her contract and the capacity and place in which she is so employed;”

In a recent case heard by the Employment Appeals Tribunal, a primary school teacher was allocated a different class to teach upon her return from maternity leave. She claimed that this was not a return to the “same job” as when she left. Whereas previously she taught the reception class, she was told that upon her return she would teach year two, something she had no previous experience of doing.

The question which arose in this case was whether the job she returned to was classed as the “job in which she was employed to do before her absence”.

The court found that the appellant was employed as a teacher and not specifically as a teacher of a particular class. As a teacher, she could be required to teach any class within her school.

However, the court did find that she had suffered a detriment on a related matter because the teacher while on her maternity leave had not been asked, unlike all her colleagues, which class she preferred to teach in the following year. Blundell v. St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School EAT 0329/06

Clearly this case shows that when considering the suitability of jobs and the application of the law, the small print in a member’s contract will be particularly relevant. Any member who has concerns on this matter is advised to contact their ACM regional officer.

Flexible Working and Work-life Balance

Following recent changes to the law giving carers of adults the right to request flexible working, the employment relations service ACAS has produced a new advisory booklet. Primarily aimed at employers, it takes a detailed look at the different types of flexible working available, and offers practical advice on introducing a flexible working policy. The booklet can be downloaded in PDF format from the ACAS website.

Improved Rights For Parents and Carers

Changes to maternity and adoption leave, and a new right for carers to request flexible working, take effect this month as a result of the Work and Families Act 2006. All expectant mothers will now qualify for additional maternity leave regardless of service, meaning they can take up to 52 weeks leave in total. Mothers whose babies are born on or after 1 April 2007 will also be entitled to 39 weeks paid maternity leave. Similar provisions are being introduced for adoption leave. Also, the right to request flexible working will be extended to carers of adults from 6 April. This will affect an estimated 2.6 million working carers.

ACM has a PDF version of the government’s guide on the new maternity arrangements. Called Pregnancy and Work, we can e-mail this to members if they send a request to the ACM helpline.