Is it worth joining a union?

[chatenoire]

I'm in a client facing role within the tech industry. I fail to see what the benefits would be. Especially if nobody else in the company has joined one.

Always. The union is looking out for your interests, your employer is looking out for their own.

Be Prepared. You never know when your employer will stop being decent.

HR Director here - yes, always join a union.

Absolutely. What if you are accused of something at work or sacked unfairly? The union would pay for legal advice and representation.

I fail to see what the benefits would be.
Free representation/advice if any issues come up in your employment, other benefits offered by the union - look at their page and see what they say they can offer you.

I work in HR and would definitely recommend joining a union. They'll provide free advice and representation should you ever need it.

Yes, although both Dh and myself would say that some unions are better (tougher?) than others. Having said that joining any union is better than no union iyswim.

I would.

Only if you're prepared to strike if the union ballots for strike action.

Can someone answer me how a union differs to ACAS on the advice front please?

The sun might be shining now but there may come a time where you'll feel very glad you're a union member.

Yep. If it all goes wrong you get legal advice. That alone is worth it.

Go for it! Unless you're gender critical, or Jewish, or both. I speak from bitter experience.

Yes, that's more or less what I ponder too.

And no, I don't think I'd strike. Prospect is the only union that seems to have a Tech division.

Well I'm Jewish so...

Advice and representation. During certain meetings an employee has a right to be accompanied by a union representative (or another employee but you might not have anyone else). This applies even if your employer does not formally recognise a union.

It can be useful even if just that union helpline confirms the employer is doing everything they need to. Employment advice can be expensive. FromUnite union website

• “Access to free legal advice and representation for employment law and personal injury claims from specialist lawyers.
• Perhaps most importantly, trade unions help to redress the often unequal bargaining position between you and your employer. It gives you a voice that your employer is more likely to listen to because you aren’t on your own, and instead are part of a larger united group with the same aims.

I’d strongly consider it but before you join make sure you have an understanding (and acceptance of) the principle of collective action and engage with ballots, elections, industrial action etc if required/necessary. You shouldn’t just expect have the perks of union membership (of which there are many but some unions are better than others) if you’re not happy to act as a collective.

If you're not prepared to strike then don't join. Use a combination of ACAS and you home insurers legal protection for the benefits side.

I don't think ACAS represent you do they

Always join a union- your interests as an employee are NOT the same as your employer's. Without unions we would have no paid holidays, no sick pay, no health and safety at work basically no rights or protection at all. Never take these things for granted, they can be taken away.

https://www.acas.org.uk/dispute-resolution

They can help with dispute resolution

I honestly think Union membership is vital.
You have a far far better chance of standing up against unfairness with a good union behind you.
I have been to tribunal twice with my union, and won. Without it would have been a struggle.

We don't even have an HR department even though there's 70+ of us. I don't know if that makes things better or worse.

I’d say it makes it worse, because you can’t be sure anyone in the company really understands their duties as an employer or your rights as an employee. It’s all fine until it isn’t, at which point it’s usually too late to join a union. Don’t join though if you don’t agree with collective action, ie you wouldn’t go on strike if the union had a successful strike ballot.

I would support a strike if it affected me directly, but otherwise I think I'd be affecting my workplace for no good reason (other than I decided to join a union).

A previous employer really screwed me over after 7 years, which is the only reason why I'm thinking of joining a union.

However, that was 6 years ago. I was a fully remote employee, when it was completely unheard of. So I think that's the reason why my solicitor was useless.

Always join a union. If you can’t, make sure you have legal cover with your home insurance for employment disputes. I’ve actually got both to cover bases.