Trade Union Recognition

The Directors and leaders of the St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust are committed to working with all recognised Trade Union organisations. This recognition of Trade Unions is reaffirmed each time a school joins the Trust and is reflected through the fulfilment of all legal obligations with respect to Trade Union Facilities Time. 

The Directors of the Trust are committed to working with nationally agreed terms and conditions with respect to employment.  This includes the conditions for support staff (The Green Book) and conditions for teaching staff (The Burgundy Book).  Changes to pay and conditions are determined through national negotiations between the government and Trade Union organisations, and applied to local agreements in full. 

Regardless of the freedoms to deviate from national terms and conditions, the Trust has not deviated from these arrangements in the past and remains convinced there is no reason to do so in the future.  We see the erosion of rights and key terms enshrined in national agreements as going against the values of the Trust.  We understand that this has been a source of anxiety for staff across the country as a consequence of a small number of organisations applying academy freedoms in a different way.  We take great care to ensure we do not act in this way.

Key employment policies used by the Trust are taken from either the Catholic Education Service or SchoolsHR.  Both organisations work with Trade Union organisations ahead of updates to their policies.  Where there are significant and substantive changes to policies, the Trust will carry out a consultation process in line with employment regulations.