Welcome to the EIS FIFE Local Association
Helpful Hints for EIS School Reps and Health and Safety Reps.
Election of school rep and school health and safety rep.
Fife Executive advice would be to hold the elections around October each year rather than at the start of term, which tends to be a very busy time anyway.
Large schools may choose to elect assistant reps in both categories.
The jobs can be shared – in other words there could be two school reps dividing the work between them. In small schools the job of rep and safety rep could be combined.
Remember to send in a note of the elected representatives to the Fife EIS office so that we know who to contact.
New rep. just elected?
You should have a rep’s handbook and a health and safety handbook as well. Contact HQ at Moray Place to get a copy of these – we don’t keep them at the Fife office.
If you need help or advice, contact the Fife office as we are always happy to come out to schools to have a chat with new reps and help them get settled in.
Let us know who you are – e-mail so that we get you on our files.
You are entitled to time off for trade union duties on the basis of the number of members in your branch as follows – 4-20 members – 40 minutes a week, 21-40 members- 60 minutes a week, over that 80 minutes a week.
New or re-elected rep - jobs to do:
Check that the working hours agreement has gone out to staff and been sent in to the Local Authority. Check the figures on the plan – do the hours tally with what was agreed?
Check the pupil support plan has been sorted out – this is often missed yet is an important aspect of consultation
Arrange a timetable of meetings with management for the purpose of dealing with the year’s business – there will be times when no meetings are needed but ensure that enough time is available to negotiate the working hours and pupil support plan for the next year.
Consider your branch meetings schedule – do you need to meet once a month, once a term or what? Consult your members and draw up a timetable which should be passed to your HT as a courtesy. Also arrange a suitable venue for your branch meetings with your HT.
Arrange – with the co operation of the health and safety rep – time for the annual safety inspection of the school. There should be cover made available for this as it usually takes a full day in a big school
Branch Meetings
Don’t forget to put out an agenda for your branch meetings in advance of the time.
If you want to invite someone from the Local Association then contact the Fife office in good time to arrange to get it in our diary.
Keep a written summary record of decisions taken at a branch meeting and any questions raised. It is best to appoint a note taker to free the rep to act as convenor but this is not always possible. The written record then needs to be approved for accuracy at the next branch meeting or by sending it round members soon after the original meeting.
If your meeting is to discuss your members wishes regarding working hours or perhaps to raise initial concerns over management issues then you may want to invoke the Protocol for Branch Meetings which suggests that members who are also school management should not attend such meetings in order to allow free discussion by staff.
Don’t panic!!
Sometimes members can demand instant action and keep demanding it. Give yourself a chance to think things through before deciding on a course of action. It can be really hard to switch quickly from teacher mode to school rep mode!
Another bit of good advice is to remember not to take things personally. Sometimes the rep can be faced with angry or bitter members claiming this or that. Focus on getting to the root of their complaints and avoid the temptation to respond in the same vein.