6. Right to facilities
By law, some employee representatives have a right to facilities to help them carry out their duties. For example, communication tools and meeting rooms.
This advice is about non-union employee representatives.
We also have advice on facilities for trade union representatives.
Who has the right to facilities
The legal right to facilities applies to:
- TUPE representatives
- collective redundancy representatives
- representatives of employee safety
By law, an employer must provide reasonable access to facilities for these representatives.
However, employers should consider allowing all representatives reasonable access to facilities. This is so they can carry out their duties and communicate with workers privately.
Facilities an employer should provide
The facilities an employer should provide will depend on the circumstances.
Where it's practical, an employer should provide:
- secure access to a telephone and other forms of communication – for example email, digital platforms, intranet and internet
- noticeboards or an online equivalent
- access to workers in different locations or with different working patterns
- access to computers and other technology to do online training or take part in online meetings
- meeting rooms
- dedicated office space – for example, if the amount of representative work justifies it or if multiple representatives could share the space
- other reasonable facilities, if needed
Employers should also provide private and confidential spaces for:
- communicating with workers or management online or by phone
- in-person or online meetings where representatives can discuss sensitive and confidential issues
Temporary office space can be very helpful for TUPE and collective redundancy representatives. Especially where a large number of workers are affected by the organisational changes.
Separate online accounts
In some cases, it might be appropriate for an employer to allow a representative:
- a separate email address for their employee representative work
- a password-protected area on an intranet or another communication tool
Agreeing what to provide
What's reasonable to provide depends on each situation. It can depend on:
- the representative's role
- the size and resources of the organisation
- operational requirements and organisational structure
- the nature and scale of the work the representative is doing
- the needs of individual representatives, including disabled representatives who need reasonable adjustments
Representatives should talk with their employer as early as possible about the facilities they need. This gives the employer time to consider what's practical.
It's good practice to have a formal agreement with clear guidelines on the use of facilities. This should include rules around confidentiality. Find out about creating an agreement for representatives.
Keeping information confidential
Representatives and employers must comply with data protection and privacy law when providing and using facilities.
This is particularly important when representatives have access to:
- organisational and personal information
- information that could seriously harm the organisation
Communication between representatives and workers can include sensitive and confidential information. Employers should not monitor this, apart from in exceptional circumstances.
Find out more about confidentiality and legal requirements in employment information guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office.