• Work-life balance
• The case for work-life balance
• Things you'll need to know
• Your workplace
• Contacts and links
• Documents
• Different ways of working

Your workplace

Although many of the work-life balance issues are the same across the public services the options open to you beyond those found in law may vary according to what type of job you do.

For example if you work in the NHS you may be more familiar with the term Improving Working Lives, and as a Local Government employee your branch should have received a copy of the National Joint Council advice (the NJC is the national negotiating body for local government that brings together the Employers Organisation to represent employers and the main local government trade unions). Further information on each of these initiatives can be found in the links below.

In addition UNISON has a number of bargaining guides on specific aspects of work-life balance, and other campaigns that target issues like low pay, or term-time working that also affect people's work-life balance.

Improving Working Lives (IWL) in the NHS

The Improving Working Lives Standard sets a model of good HR practice against which NHS Employers and their staff can measure the organisation's HR management and against which NHS employers will be kite-marked. Over the past few years NHS organisations (including trusts) have gone through a three stage process aimed at achieving accreditation and being awarded an IWL kite mark. Their progress has been judged against the IWL Standard, and backed by significant sums of money from the Department of Health.

Improving Working Lives Standard

NHS employers committed to improving working lives:

• Recognises that modern health services require modern employment services
• Understands that staff work best for patients when they can strike a healthy balance between work and other aspects of their life outside work
• Accepts joint responsibility with staff to develop a range of working arrangements that balance the needs of patients and services with the needs of staff
• Values and supports staff according to the contribution they make to patient care and meeting service needs
• Provides personal and professional development and training opportunities that are accessible and open to all staff irrespective of their working patterns
• Has a range of policies and practices in place that enable staff to manage a healthy balance between work and their commitments outside work

A great deal of IWL work has focused on the personal development of staff through training. In tangible terms this means £8m in 2003/04 for investment to extend occupational health services to GPs and their staff and an extra £140m invested during 2003/04 in personal development and training. This will hopefully ensure that all professional staff are supported in keeping their skills up-to-date and to provide access to learning for all NHS staff without a professional qualification. This is part of the wider NHS University initiative that has been fully supported by UNISON.

Local Government
http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/B288.pdf

Term-time working
http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/13048.pdf

---

Back: Things you'll need to know | Next: Contacts and links

Home | About us | News | Campaigns | Get active | At work | Groups | Resources | Benefits | Contact us | Why join UNISON? | Help at work

U - official magazine for UNISON members - 6th highest magazine circulation in the UK

UNISON plus for Motor Insurance