TEU NEWSLINC Lincoln Branch May 2011 Christmas Closedown Mediation History The University has long been faced with a substantial financial liability due to a large amount of untaken leave. In October 2009 the Union were informed that the University intended to closedown for three days in the week before Christmas and that staff would be required to take annual leave for those days. While questioning the legality of the decision, the TEU agreed to the closedown on the understanding that the University would be generous to staff who might be disadvantaged and that the University would work with the Union on the Annual Leave Policy so that leave was managed effectively in the future. The Union was clear that this was not to set any precedents about a customary closedown.
preparation, or with preparing to meet end of year reporting deadlines.
Mediation After representation from the Union’s legal advisors, the University agreed to take part in mediation. This took place on May 18th but unfortunately was unsuccessful. In very general terms the Holidays Act allows an employer to have one customary closedown a year. The Union’s position is that we do not accept that the three or four days before Christmas Eve are a time when the University has customarily closed down.
The issue was discussed as part of the collective bargaining process but no agreement was reached.
The act allows an employer to require employees to take outstanding leave at a specific time if they have negotiated with the employee and cannot reach an agreement. We are happy that if staff have a lot of accumulated leave that they have been unable to agree on taking, that the University can compel them to take it at a specified time (i.e. in the week before Christmas). However we do not agree that those staff who managed their leave responsibly—and especially those with no accumulated leave should be disadvantaged in this way. In fact we do not believe the University can legally require this.
The Issues
Next Steps
While some of our members are quite relaxed about being compelled to take time off before Christmas others are not. We have over 100 signatures of members who are prepared to have their names attached to further action. Many staff do not have much accumulated leave and do not want to be compelled to take leave at a time when their families are not yet on holiday. Many have serious problems with childcare. For others, the last week of the year is busy with summer school marking and
The Union’s legal representatives will now file a “Statement of Problem” with the Employment Relations Authority to get a ruling on the legality of this compulsory leave. We hope that this will be filed within the next 3 or 4 weeks so we can get a decision before Christmas.
In May 2010 the University sent a memorandum signalling it would again close down, this time for four days before Christmas. We accept that the University were prepared to work with individuals who identified problems however essentially staff were required to take these days out of their leave entitlement.
We will keep you informed.