I have been off work for a year due to bullying, discrimination etc that caused me to have a breakdown and feel suicidal.
I went to my workplace rep who was nice and sympathetic but quickly realised she was out of her depth who passed me to the regional equality rep who has been absolutely amazing.
Thanks to my union, I have had:
- my grievance and appeal letters written for me and damn, they are good. my work have struggled to wriggle out of what they have done
2, representation at all formal meetings from senior union officials
3, full pay for 12 months negotiated by my union
4, no annual leave taken off me even when I took (pre booked) holidays so I have had 40 days carried over into this year on top of this years entitlement
5, no bullshit. My union have been 100% honest about my case, whats strong, what's not strong
6, downgrading a disciplinary to a first written warning when it was looking like dismissal and pointing out to my employer that I am now adding victimisation to my case
7, introducing me to people who have had similar experiences for support network
8, got my employer to pay for specialised counselling (not the employee assistance programme)
9, got policy changes agreed in my workplace
10, got reasonable adjustments in place for me, including ones I hadn't considered
11, put an employment tribunal claim in for me
12, negotiated a positive reference for when I ever decide to leave
13, negotiated additional responsibilities etc for me at work in light of not being promoted due to my protected characteristics
14, putting me through union representative training so I can help colleagues
15, pushed for my line managers to be disciplined, if not fired, ensured their behaviour was not swept under the carpet
16, just sat and listened to me, let me cry and cry
17, answered emails and text messages at weekends and evenings.
18, sent me a very nice email saying how qualified, experienced and capable I am, not to mention strong and resilient and that they weren't just saying that because it was their job but that they were genuinely impressed with me.
I know so many people who are not in unions who got shafted by my employer. I was in a union since the age of 16 when I worked part time in a shop, now I'm full time in the public sector. My parents always insisted I join one and I thank them for that. I've only needed my union twice in my career but this occasion has been the biggie.
So although I've been a member for 17 years, I knew that didn't mean I was paying for nothing. You never know when union membership might be needed.
My union is Unison and I am so grateful to them because I really do not know how I would have coped this year without them. I do not have legal cover or anything like that I could have used instead. I did try going to HR at first but they were utterly incompetent and downright nasty - another thing that will feature in the tribunal claim. I am HR qualified btw so I'm not the typical HR hating employee.
So if you are in employment, please join a union, you don't know when you might need one. Yes there are workplace reps who are not very good (I've had some myself!) but always push for the regional rep if you aren't happy. I'd always rather be in a union than out of one.
Also don't make the assumption that if you are in a union then everything will go your way. If you steal something they are not going to pat you on the head, give you false hope and stop you from getting fired. They will, however, advise you of your options.
Anyway, if you join a union, make it Unison. They aren't just for the public sector.