The RCN: Working
with you to support
your business
The Royal College of Nursing is the largest
professional trade union for nursing in the
UK. We represent over 410,000 members
wherever they work. We represent nurses,
midwives, assistant practitioners, care
assistants, and student nurses.
We provide education, training, professional
leadership and employment relations
advice and support to our members and
health and social care employers. We also
have relationships with professional and
care quality regulators, and active political
influence both in the UK, Europe and
internationally.
Our aim is to support and assist
organisations and our members in providing
high quality care to patients and clients.
As a result we have various professional
development programmes and ways of
working with employers which can assist you
in your business.
The benefits of working with
the RCN
Our priority is to work closely with employers to
improve standards of nursing care and the working
environment.
There are many benefits to working with the RCN.
Over 30% of RCN members deliver care outside the
NHS and this percentage is growing. Therefore we
understand what is important to your staff and how
we can best help them. Furthermore we understand
your business, your issues and your motivations and
we can help you to achieve your business objectives
and quality of care outcomes.
In times of economic pressures and seeking business
growth we recognise that your best asset is a wellmotivated, loyal and professional nursing and care
workforce. Being able to retain their skills and
commitment has a direct impact on the success of
your business. And we know it is important for you to
recruit and grow the right calibre of staff and the RCN
can support you with this.
The RCN is a professional trade union and our
approach is one of learning and development,
professional advice, joint problem solving, reducing
conflict and valuing each other.
We have working relations with many employers
across all sectors where we make positive change
by offering bespoke, flexible arrangements to meet
your needs.
We understand business and the special demands
of a health and social care business, and whilst
we do not seek to be involved in your business
decision making, we can assist with your business
performance through various supportive activities.
Learning and development with the RCN
Research shows that support for learning and
development enhances productivity and improves
organisational performance.
The RCN is committed to introducing evidence-based
nursing practice - this is one of the key benefits
of working with us. Our training and education is
considered of excellent quality and academically
robust and can make a real difference in the
workplace. Care providers face tight regulatory
scrutiny and RCN training and education is recognised
by regulators as evidence towards meeting
professional quality standards.
The RCN offers bespoke training and education
opportunities through its consultancy service. This
includes leadership programmes for current and
aspiring leaders. The RCN also offers resources such
as ‘First Steps’ – an introductory on-line training
package for care assistants. All our resources and
services have the RCN’s quality endorsement and can
carry academic accreditation.
There are many other packages and training we can
develop and facilitate locally through a network
of RCN learning representatives. These learning
representatives are elected by RCN members and will
be trained and mentored by us to support learning
needs analysis and assist your staff to plan and
manage their learning, support the development
of a workplace learning strategy and to encourage
and support continuing professional development.
The learning representatives will also direct staff to
appropriate learning opportunities and resources,
for example, the RCN Learning Zone, library
and information service, and the research and
development centre.
RCN learning representatives can support the
development of local workplace learning events or
champion projects on direct care matters such as
dignity, nutrition, record keeping, accountability and
preceptorship of newly qualified nurses.
Health and safety compliance
The RCN can assist you in meeting your requirements
of health and safety legislation.
We understand the challenges faced by employers
to ensure the health and safety of their clients and
staff is maintained. As a result we can help you
to develop and create a positive workplace safety
culture which can reduce the cost of accidents and
ill health which can lead to lost working days and
compensation claims.
Training your staff to become RCN safety
representatives can ensure the health, safety, security
and welfare of all staff in your workplace. They can
support and promote the development of a positive
safety culture to benefit staff, patients and clients.
RCN safety representatives are elected RCN members
trained and mentored by experienced RCN staff.
They are provided with up to date information and
resources on a wide range of health and safety
issues affecting health and social care organisations.
They also encourage others to adhere to health and
safety procedures and contribute to the health and
safety risk assessments in the workplace. They are
proficient in carrying out safety inspections and can
highlight potential hazards and risks in the working
environment before they cause injury and ill health to
your staff.
Your RCN trained safety representatives would work
jointly with you to support compliance with health
and safety legislation, observing the Management of
Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999) and the
Health and Safety at Work Act (1974).
Excellence in employee relations
The quality of the RCN nursing voice is related to
the strength and quality of employee relations
within organisations and the ability to establish RCN
representatives in the workplace.
The RCN has a network of regional officers across the
United Kingdom who work with employers nationally
and managers locally to enhance the working relations
you have with your staff.
As a professional trade union we can work with
you to develop policies and procedures that are
appropriate for your entire workforce and will be
responsive to the changing demands of your service.
We positively express employee concerns and will
work with you to try and reduce conflict between
employers and workers, therefore leading to a more
effective use of management and employee time.
The RCN manages the election and accreditation
of workplace RCN stewards who will be trained in
understanding legislation, managing negotiations
and consultations and will play a key role in
disseminating and feeding back information to RCN
members in the workplace.
RCN stewards can assist you in fulfilling your
obligations regarding statutory information and
consultation frameworks. RCN stewards enhance
staff engagement, improve communication and help
to reduce workplace disputes without the need for
costly consultancy services. As a result there should
be an improved sense of staff commitment and effort,
resulting in a positive impact on productivity.
RCN stewards are also expert in assisting organisations
and members through change and reorganisation, TUPE
and redundancy consultation in a timely way with a
resultant reduction in staff grievances and a reduction
in tribunal claims - which can run to hundreds of
thousands of pounds for your business.
Partnership working with the RCN
The RCN brings a professional
and nursing dimension to
the workplace which enables
a flow in information and
resources to the employer at
no cost while your staff keep
abreast of developments in
best nursing practice.
turnover, better training, staff
involvement in implementing
change and much more. This
all contributes to a better
environment for all staff and
patients.
We can give a louder voice
to organisations through a
shared platform with a range
We have a strong profile in
of stakeholders including
the NHS because of formal
partnerships with employers. We politicians on professional and
are also recognised by a growing political issues. The RCN have
a long history of working with
number of independent sector
other trade unions at all levels.
organisations. Joint working
However the RCN contribution
has been shown to bring with it
better communication, improved is unique and thus we can also
complement any other trade
customer satisfaction, fewer
unions that you may already
disciplinary hearings, lower
sickness absence, lower staff
recognise.
Next steps
There is no financial cost to
you in agreeing to work with
the RCN but you can benefit
from the relationship, both
financially and productively.
You will discover that some
of your business costs will be
reduced through improved
efficiency and performance.
The RCN will train your staff to
become representatives - all
you need to ensure is that
they are given time away from
their workplace to undertake
their training and workplace
representative duties. RCN
members in the workplace will
also be able to access the wide
range of products, services and
discounts that are available to
all our members.
If you are interested in working
with the RCN, please contact us
to discuss your needs.
For more information, contact Clare Jacobs, Employment Relations
Adviser on 020 7409 3333 or email clare.jacobs@rcn.org.uk
Further information is available at
http://www.rcn.org.uk/support/independent_sector
Royal College of Nursing,
20 Cavendish Sq, London, W1G 0RN
Publication code: 004 016
Published February 2012