Union vs Employment Lawyer

[TheLasrStraw]

As a paid up union member, is there any reason why I should use a solicitor instead of my union?

It's regarding something serious which happened at work.

I'm not really sure what to expect from a union as I've never had to use them.

Depends on the situation? If it's you being investigated against or taking to disciplinary hearing you can take a union rep but most likely won't be allowed to bring a solicitor along. If you want to take your employer to tribunal I personally Would go with solicitor

Your union should have access to lawyers, start there and see what they advise

Your Trade Union should engage a solicitor for you if needed.

Don’t go to a solicitor first until you’ve checked out the support available from your trade Union.

You can only bring a solicitor as a companion to a formal meeting if you’re facing a potentially Career-ending situation, whereas you have a right to bring an accredited trade Union representative.

What’s happened?

@Furbaby2842 why would you not want to use the union or union's solicitor at a tribunal?

Sorry I meant I would use a solicitor over a union rep

Really depends on the quality of the Union rep,varies enormously
You might want to give Union a try,you can always lawyer up later

You don’t mention the size of Type of organisation that you work for, what you’ve done or what the trade Union presence is like there.

It can be the case that employers sometimes have a very healthy relationship with trade Union representatives (either local or regional) and some very realistic conversations can take place. It’s unlikely that these relationships with solicitors exist.

There are good Union reps and rubbish ones like all professions. If your case is highly complex, potential gross misconduct or if you are at risk of being struck off from a professional register, then request support from your trade Union at regional organiser level. It may be that once you induce a solicitor, your Union may not deal with the case anyway.

AFAIK all of the major trade unions retain the services of employment lawyers and barristers to act for them if needed. As a paying member, you have nothing to lose in looking into it further.

Instruct a solicitor.

Please don’t induce any solicitors!

From experience, I would go employment lawyer every time. Union were shite and just rolled over.

Start with your union and see how get on. They can refer you to a solicitor if needed and will cover the cost (but they decide if needed not you). They will generally have a contract with a big employment firm.

Also check your home insurance as you might be covered for legal advice there.

Most trade unions give you free access to legal advice and that's one of the major benefits as solicitors fees are beyond the reach of many. So I would always discuss with union first and go from there.

Most of the unions use the same few law firms. They will assess your case and might then fund a tribunal claim using their solicitors.

It isn't either/or. The choice isn't either go with Union Rep or go with solicitor.

If you're a paid up Union Member, start by engaging with your Union Rep, explain whatever the "serious" circumstances are, give them the facts incl. dates/times/event/impact and get them to help you with a grievance, as a starting point.

Use your Rep to gain access to the company policy to strengthen your case (otherwise why bother paying your subs, that's what the Union is there for).

Once the Rep has full access to the facts, they will determine whether putting a solicitor onto it is worth doing. If they don't believe there's a case, or if the facts aren't sufficiently clear or strong that some aspect of employment law has been breached, then there is no point getting a solicitor involved.

That is also a useful barometer for you, as to whether you get your own solicitor involved - it could be putting good money after bad.

Thanks all.

Having just been through a disciplinary process where my DH was summarily dismissed and then we went through the appeal process against dismissal I would get an employment lawyer. The CWU were useless and it’s only because one of my best friends is qualified in employment law that we had the dismissal overturned. The divisional rep put forward what we prepared and had the audacity to claim the credit despite presenting dozens of appeals a month (his figures) and this was the first appeal he had ever won.

^^this.

Why pay union fees and then not at least hear their advice?

I’d say to get the advice of the union but if you’re looking at a potential gross misconduct get some legal advice too. If you’re lucky you might get this from your union but prepare yourself that proper legal advice might not be an option unless you get to the employment tribunal stage and even then only if they think you’re going to win the ET. This was our experience with CWU (Royal Mail).

Speak to the rep first and see what they say / do. You might have to push them to pass the matter to a senior official, who would then determine whether to pass to a solicitor. Most reps will try to get you to resolve it informally, but you can still get a good outcome from a rep. Depends on the rep, I've had good ones and bad ones. I've been a rep myself and have also SEEN good and bad ones.

I had my union help me twice - same employer - first time, the rep was shit and I got a written warning for something that I didn't do and I had to get my own lawyer to resolve it. Employer promised it wouldn't happen again and I was stupid to stay and believe them but I thought my rep knew best.

Second time - I had a better rep, who escalated to a senior official who was absolutely awesome and literally a life saver as I was suicidal. Helped me take it to tribunal. I got a big payout, an apology, good reference and walked into another job. All the things that should have happened first time around.

All the same union. So union reps can be hit and miss but I'd recommend trying them first and seeing what happens. Also you might think you have a good case but actually you don't. So a lawyer could be a waste of time and money. See what hte union says first.

Unions have "proper legal advice". But if you go to a lawyer, your union will then refuse further support. So be very careful not to lose the benefits you've paid for. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and lawyers cost money.

Whilst I recognise people have differing personal experiences, my union previously fought an unfair dismissal that netted me compensation that far exceeded the fees I will ever pay them; and more recently successfully fought my employer on disability discrimination, bullying / harassment and unfair selection for redundancy and also won that. There's just as many stories about how lawyers have let people down, especially no win no fee. So there isn't a right answer, and just because you think you have a case doesn't mean the union lawyers or any other lawyer will agree. But you've paid for the union already, so why walk away?

What reasons would a union support a claim with a senior legal solicitor and a barrester ?

you need your own thread. What do you mean though?

I mean do senor solicitors and barrester support on every discrimination claim or what types of claim get sent for support at senior levels

Yes the unions have contracts with various law firms. The unions themselves don't do the work. If a solicitor feels a barrister is necessary on the case then the solicitor will instruct a suitable barrister. In most cases in the employment tribunal it will be cheaper for the law firm to instruct a barrister to do the actual advocacy than for a solicitor to do it.