Employment Affairs & HR
As a BESA member you have access to our in house team of experts at no extra cost.
An Extra Pair Of Hands To Help With Your Employment Matters
You may not have the resources to employ a Human Resources (HR) specialist and that’s what our service offers you, professional employment advice and help when you need it and on-going support. Manage your workforce by keeping on top of employment issues and legislation by accessing our extensive range of guidance, templates and supporting documents in the BESA Members' Area.
Our service includes:
- unlimited access to the BESA Employment Affairs Helpline
- guidance on formal processes such as disciplinaries, grievances, sickness, performance and probation
- regular employment updates and employer insight
- employment contract and staff handbook development
- policies and procedure reviews
BESA also negotiate and maintain collective agreements and are advocates for industry competitiveness and profitability. In its role as an employers’ organisation, the BESA is responsible for ensuring the relevance to members’ needs of collective agreements with the sector’s recognised trade union. These agreements are with the trade union Unite (in respect of hourly paid Operatives) and its white-collar section EESA (in respect of staff employees). Find out more about these agreements below.
Members can login to access these documents and the supporting guidance.
You can download the latest JCC LETTER 130 2023-2025 NATIONAL AGREEMENT OPERATIVE WAGE SETTLEMENT from our member area.
If you are interested in downloading a copy of the National Agreements, members can do so from the member area.
Non-members can purchase a copy at a cost of £25 by contacting our Employment Affairs team on employment.affairs@thebesa.com or 0207 313 4938.
The parties to this Agreement are BESA and the Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA) on behalf of the employers, and the Staff Association EESA, on behalf of the staff. The centrepiece of the Agreement is a straightforward-to-use, free-from-bureaucracy job evaluation scheme. The scheme is a recognised method of assisting employers put in place a grading and pay structure for their staff employees which is fair, equitable and rational – whether or not they use the EEI Agreement.
The salary structure of the Agreement sits neatly against the grades that emerge from applying the job evaluation scheme. The salaries set out in the Agreement are objectively and quantifiably linked to the salary levels which independent research shows are paid in the marketplace.
Two salaries are given for each grade:
- a grade minimum salary for the evaluated grade for an individual employee’s job description; and
- a guide salary for a fully competent employee which is intended to be an indicator of the salary paid to an employee who is consistently meeting the full requirements of the job. The Parties to the Agreement recognise that the Agreement confers no prescriptive or contractual entitlement to a salary at this level and actual salaries will be assessed by employers taking account of all relevant factors.
Pay progression between the grade minimum salary and the guide salary for a fully competent employee is performance-based using a formal personnel appraisal method developed and implemented in accordance with the guidance in the Joint Guidance Note contained in the Staff Salary Handbook of Agreements.
In our role as an employers' organisation, BESA publishes standard wage rates for hourly-paid, site-based Operatives which are negotiated on behalf of employers with the trade union, Unite, and salaries for staff employees, which are negotiated with the staff association, EESA (a white-collar section of Unite).
Equally, there are actions in relation to employment affairs and human resources issues which BESA undertakes in its role as the sector's representative body to Government, the Confederation of British Industry and other key national and international organisations.
Click here to view rates when working over the Winter holidays.
Key Advantages of the National Agreements Include:
The Agreement provides a level playing field between competing contractors in relation to pay and terms and conditions of employment for Operatives, leaving contractors to compete on quality of service, technical excellence, efficiency and delivering client satisfaction
It offers employees attractive terms and conditions of employment, including welfare benefits and pension
The employment package keeps pace with current employment legislation, leading to certainty in employers' employment practices
Use of the Agreement helps promote long-term labour price and industrial relations stability, avoiding the need for company negotiations
What Our Members Say About Us:
‘The Employment Affairs team at the BESA have been supporting us with our HR issues since 2019.
The team are always prompt in responding to enquiries and all clearly have extensive knowledge and experience. They provide professional and helpful support to prevent things going wrong and help resolve any issues that do arise. It is reassuring to know that they are available whenever we may need their advice and I would highly recommend them."