What are your employment rights?
Employment Rights
- What are my rights?
- Can my employer stop me joining a union?
- My employer says he doesn’t recognise the union. What does this mean?
- Can the union represent me at a disciplinary or a formal complaint?
Employment Rights
What are my rights?
All employees are covered by two sets of workplace rights. All employees are covered by the statutory rights set out in British and European employment law. Individuals are also covered by the rights that are defined in their work contract.
Statutory rights govern issues like the minimum wage and maternity leave.
Contractual rights address issues such working patterns and requirements for giving notice.
Can my employer stop me joining a union?
No. Trade Union membership is protected by freedom of association legislation. It is unlawful for an employer to subject you to a detriment for the purpose of preventing or deterring you from being, or seeking to become, a member of a trade union or penalising you for doing so. You are under no obligation to tell your employer that you have joined a union.
My employer doesn’t formally recognise Community, what does this mean?
Unions that represent a certain proportion of a workforce can have their presence formally recognised by law. This requires employers to collectively bargain with unions on behalf of their members in relation to pay and working conditions.
You are still entitled to be a union member and the union can still provide services to you as an individual. Even if your employer does not recognise Community for collective bargaining you still have the right to request to be accompanied to disciplinary and grievance hearing by a trade union representative.
If your employer doesn’t recognise the union, then it is probably because there are not yet enough union members where you work for Community to apply for formal recognition. If colleagues are interested in joining the union the Member Service Centre can provide you or your colleagues with application forms to join Community.
My employer says he doesn’t recognise the union. What does this mean?
Recognition means that the union collectively negotiates what are called your terms and conditions of employment. This includes wages, holidays, bonuses, overtime and other allowances. In order for a union to gain what is termed ‘statutory recognition’ it must have either 50%+1 of the selected workforce as members or a clear majority voting in favour of collective bargaining. However, good employers will more than often sign a recognition agreement with a union voluntarily.
Can the union represent me at a disciplinary or a formal complaint?
A union official is entitled to represent you at a formal disciplinary and a grievance providing you are a member. A union rep or a colleague can also represent you and they are allowed to make both an opening and closing statement. They can also ask questions and seek clarification but they are not allowed to answer any questions on you behalf.