The Green Book (also known as the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Government Services terms and conditions) outlines the terms and conditions of employment for local government support staff in England. It is a collective agreement that sets out a range of employment-related issues, including working time arrangements.
The key arrangements for support staff working time under the Green Book are as follows:
Contractual hours
Whereas teachers are contracted to work 1,265 hours over the course of an academic year, support staff are contracted to work on a weekly basis; the standard full-time equivalent working week for Green Book employees is 37 hours (36 in London). For part-time support staff, these hours will be prorated based on the full-time equivalent.
Support staff who work more than their contracted hours on any given day should be compensated for the additional time worked, either as paid overtime or TOIL.
Paid overtime and time off in lieu (TOIL)
The Green Book specifies that arrangements for overtime remuneration should be clearly set out in support staff members’ contracts of employment. This could entail a set pay rate or locally agreed premium payments.
The Green Book makes no specific reference to TOIL, but it does refer to an alternative
to overtime payments, namely “such other method as shall be agreed by the local parties” (p26, section 2.3).
It’s important that these local agreements ensure that TOIL is offered at the same rate as overtime, e.g. time and a half, Mondays to Saturday (p27, para 2.6a), and that, either way, additional hours worked are appropriately remunerated.
Breaks
According to the Working Time Regulations 1998, employees in the UK are entitled to a minimum uninterrupted rest break of 20 minutes if they work more than six hours in a day; this break should be taken during working hours and not at the start or end of the shift. It’s important to note that this break doesn’t have to be paid.
Whereas teachers “must be allowed one break of reasonable length either between school sessions or between the hours of 12 noon and 2.00pm” (Burgundy Book para 52.3), there is no comparable right for support staff to take rest breaks specified in the Green Book.
However, breaks (lunch, mid-morning or afternoon) for support staff should be stipulated in contracts of employment and can be paid or unpaid.
The NEU recommends a minimum lunch break of 40 minutes and that support staff members should ensure they always take their contractual short morning and afternoon breaks, particularly as these are often unpaid.
Actions for reps
- Have one-to-one conversations with your support staff members to establish their views and concerns on working time and hours.
- If members express dissatisfaction, ask them to request an informal meeting with their line manager to discuss their concerns and ask that you attend as their rep.
- If an agreement on appropriate working time/hours cannot be reached, you should inform members that they can escalate by raising a grievance using the employer’s grievance procedure.
- If several members are affected by the same issue, consider raising a collective grievance. If you require further support, contact your local branch.
