Donato Tallo is a Senior Regional Officer at the RCN South East region. He started this role in October 2021 after being an RCN steward and chair of staff side during the pandemic, alongside working in his organisation’s corporate nursing team. 

RCN reps provide a detailed level of support to members that improves everyone’s working lives and conditions, often sorting out problems before they grow into much bigger issues. They also act as the robust voice of members on all kinds of consultations and policy-making, making sure their views are represented at every level.  

But it would be hard to do all of that work without having facilities time. Everyone in health care is under significant pressure, trying to do their best under challenging circumstances. If you’re trying to juggle being an active rep alongside your existing substantive nursing role, it can be very difficult. We don’t want reps to feel they have to use their own time - or we risk them becoming tired, burned out, or feeling they can’t do things as well as they’d like. 

Dedicated facilities time releases the potential for reps, giving them time to be able to engage productively with members. This includes the opportunity to talk about some of the RCN’s campaigns, sharing information and resources. Many of our reps also deal with highly complex disciplinary and grievance cases involving members. Having facilities time means reps can be on hand to support people properly throughout what can sometimes be a long and testing process. 

For employers, agreeing facilities time sends a huge message, demonstrating how much the role of the rep is valued. It’s saying the organisation is willing to take a longer and broader look at how staff should be supported. Yet while many employers understand the clear benefits of having facilities time, sadly some still don’t, particularly those within the middle layers of management. We need to persuade them of the significant differences it can make. 

Opposition comes from people not understanding what facilities time is and the benefits it can bring to the whole organisation – and not just the rep’s own department. An average grievance can cost large amounts of money, easily running into tens of thousands of pounds if you consider the staff time involved, plus lost days off. Reps can save time and money by doing a lot of work that’s not always visible to prevent grievances happening in the first place. Sometimes issues can be resolved amicably before they ever reach a formal stage. 

Without facilities time it would be impossible to achieve anything like as much. But I also feel it's important to be able to demonstrate how this time is being used productively, showing how we’re contributing. We need to be seen to be doing.

All of us want a workforce that’s happy, healthy and supported – and reps play a key role in making sure that’s possible.