This is Not a Test

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11 min read

see also Unionising summary

Many Bothans died to bring us this information.

This guide covers the essential steps to unionise your workplace in the UK, focusing on practical advice for your specific situation. The key is to start small, build support gradually, and connect with an established union that can provide guidance and protection throughout the process.

Some additional points to consider:

1.	Documentation is important - keep records of any workplace issues that demonstrate why unionisation would be beneficial.

2.	Patience is crucial - successful unionisation typically takes months rather than weeks.

3.	Digital organizing may be particularly relevant for your online marketplace workplace - consider secure communication channels for discussing union matters.

The Idiot’s Guide to Unionising Your UK Workplace

Understanding Unions And Why They Matter

A union is simply a group of workers who join together to protect and improve their rights at work. Unions can:

  • Negotiate better pay and working conditions
  • Provide representation in disciplinary meetings
  • Offer legal advice and support for workplace issues
  • Create a collective voice to address concerns with management

Step 1: Research Existing Unions

For an online marketplace with 100-200 employees, these unions might be relevant:

  • Prospect - Represents professionals, managers, and specialists in tech
  • Unite - A large general union covering many sectors
  • GMB - Represents workers across various industries
  • Community - Focuses on workers in newer industries including tech

Look at their websites to understand their approach, membership fees, and benefits. Most unions have sector-specific branches.

Step 2: Gauge Interest Discreetly

Before approaching colleagues, assess interest:

  • Have informal conversations with trusted colleagues
  • Discuss workplace concerns without explicitly mentioning unionisation initially
  • Listen for common issues (pay, working hours, treatment by management)

Keep these conversations private and preferably outside the workplace.

Step 3: Make Contact With a Union

Once you’ve identified a suitable union:

  1. Contact their organising department
  2. Explain your workplace situation
  3. Ask about their process for establishing a presence

Most unions have experienced organisers who can guide you through the process and may arrange a meeting to discuss further.

Step 4: Build a Small Group of Supporters

Identify 3-5 trusted colleagues who share your concerns and are interested in unionising:

  • These should be people from different departments if possible
  • Reliable individuals who won’t share your plans prematurely
  • Ideally people who are respected by their colleagues

Step 5: Develop a Plan With Union Support

With your core group and union representative:

  • Identify key workplace issues to focus on
  • Create materials explaining union benefits
  • Plan how to approach colleagues
  • Set realistic timelines

Step 6: Quietly Build Membership

Start recruiting colleagues to join the union:

  • Have one-to-one conversations
  • Focus on specific workplace issues
  • Explain how a union can help address these concerns
  • Be prepared to answer questions about membership fees and benefits

Remember: In the UK, you have the legal right to join a union, and employers cannot legally discriminate against you for union membership or activities.

Step 7: Going Public

Once you have a significant number of members (at least 10% of employees):

  • The union may approach management to request recognition
  • Or you can continue building membership before going public

Step 8: Seeking Recognition

For formal recognition (which gives negotiating rights):

  • Voluntary recognition: The employer agrees to recognise the union
  • Statutory recognition: If at least 10% of workers are members and likely majority support exists, you can apply to the Central Arbitration Committee

UK workers have significant legal protections when unionising:

  • Protection from dismissal for union activities
  • Right to be accompanied by a union representative in disciplinary or grievance meetings
  • Right to be represented by a union in collective bargaining (if recognised)

Common Challenges And How to Address Them

”What If Management Finds out Before We’re rEady?”

  • Focus on building solid membership first
  • Know your rights - you cannot legally be dismissed for union activities
  • Have union support ready for any members who face issues

”What If Colleagues Are Hesitant to jOin?”

  • Focus on specific workplace issues that affect them
  • Explain concrete benefits of collective representation
  • Address concerns about fees (many unions have reduced rates for lower earners)

“What If Management is Hostile to the uNion?”

  • Document all interactions
  • Rely on union expertise and legal protection
  • Continue to build membership to strengthen your position

Resources And Support

Useful Websites:

Remember:

  • Unionising is a legal right
  • The process takes time and patience
  • Having union expert support is crucial
  • Building genuine relationships with colleagues is key to success

. Here are some important things to keep in mind as you move forward:

1.	Be patient - Union organizers are often busy and may take a few days to respond. If you don’t hear back within a week, a polite follow-up is appropriate.

2.	Prepare for your conversation - When a union organizer does connect with you, be ready to discuss:

-	Specific workplace issues in more detail

-	The general mood of your colleagues

-	Any company policies about communication or organizing

-	Your workplace structure and different departments

3.	Start documenting - Begin keeping records of workplace issues that could demonstrate the need for a union, such as:

-	Inconsistent application of policies

-	Pay disparities

-	Workload concerns

-	Any problematic management practices

4.	Maintain strict confidentiality - At this early stage:

-	Use personal devices and accounts for all union-related communication

-	Meet colleagues off-site or in private settings

-	Be careful about leaving union materials around

-	Consider who you can truly trust before bringing them into discussions

5.	Research your employer’s history - Look into whether your company has dealt with unionization efforts before, either in the UK or elsewhere. This might give you insight into what to expect.

6.	Know your rights - Familiarize yourself with your legal protections:

-	The right to join a union without penalty

-	Protection from being dismissed for union activities

-	The right to discuss working conditions with colleagues

7.	Be prepared for questions from colleagues like:

-	“How much are union dues?”

-	“What concrete benefits will we get?”

-	“Could we lose our jobs?”

8.	Watch for common management responses if they become aware of organizing:

-	Sudden interest in addressing workplace issues

-	“Open door” meetings about concerns

-	Increased scrutiny of organizing individuals

-	Anti-union communications

Remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint. The strongest unionization efforts build steadily through relationship-building and addressing specific workplace concerns rather than rushing to go public before you have solid support.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Assuming we get enough people to join to qualify for ‘statutory recognition’, would we then just let the company know?

If you reach the threshold for statutory recognition, there’s a specific process to follow rather than just informing the company. Here’s how it typically works:

  1. Verify your numbers first:

    • Ensure you genuinely have at least 10% of the workforce as union members
    • Have evidence suggesting a majority would likely vote in favor in a ballot

  2. Formal recognition request:

    • Your union representative will typically send a formal letter to management requesting voluntary recognition
    • This letter outlines the proposed bargaining unit (which employees would be covered)
    • The company has 10 working days to respond

  3. Three possible outcomes:

    • Acceptance: The company agrees to recognize the union (best case scenario)
    • Negotiation: The company wants to discuss terms of recognition
    • Rejection/No response: The company refuses or ignores the request

  4. If rejected - Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) application:

    • Your union submits a formal application to the CAC
    • The application must demonstrate membership levels and define the bargaining unit
    • The CAC will first determine if your application meets the criteria to proceed

  5. CAC process:

    • The CAC may try to facilitate agreement on the bargaining unit
    • If no agreement is reached, the CAC will determine the appropriate bargaining unit
    • If at least 50% of workers in the bargaining unit are already union members, recognition can be granted without a ballot
    • Otherwise, a secret ballot will be organized

  6. The ballot:

    • For success, you need:
      • A majority of those voting to support recognition
      • At least 40% of all workers in the bargaining unit to vote in favor
    • The ballot is conducted independently and typically takes place at the workplace

  7. After recognition:

    • If successful, the union gains the right to collective bargaining on pay, hours, and holidays
    • A formal agreement is established setting out the recognition details

Important considerations before reaching this stage:

  • Build beyond the minimum: Aim for well beyond 10% membership – ideally 50%+ to avoid needing a ballot
  • Prepare for scrutiny: The company may challenge the proposed bargaining unit
  • Ready your case: Gather evidence of common interests among the proposed bargaining unit
  • Anticipate management response: Be prepared for the company to run an anti-union campaign during the ballot period
  • Have a communication plan: Ensure all members understand the process and importance of voting

The union you’re working with will guide you through this process, as they have significant experience with recognition procedures. They’ll likely advise building substantial membership before formally seeking recognition to maximize your chances of success.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Usdaw might be slightly more retail suitable, but unite are unite.

not everyone that works for the company is permanently resident in the UK, though they are employed by a UK company, pay UK taxes etc. Would those people still be eligible to join?

Yes, those employees would still be eligible to join a union. Employment status with a UK company is what matters here, not residency status or citizenship.

Here’s what’s important:

Employment relationship: If someone is employed by a UK-based company (on a UK employment contract) and pays UK taxes, they generally have the same workplace rights as UK residents, including the right to join a union.

Remote workers: Many UK unions have adapted to represent remote workers, including those based abroad who work for UK companies.

Bargaining unit considerations: When defining your bargaining unit (the group of employees the union would represent), you can include all employees of the UK entity regardless of where they physically work.

Practical considerations: For non-UK resident members, think about:

How they’ll participate in meetings (virtual options)

Communication channels that work across time zones

Any country-specific employment regulations that might affect them

Union-specific policies: Some unions might have specific approaches to international members, so this is a good question to ask when you speak with union representatives.

The key is that these colleagues are part of the same workforce with presumably similar working conditions and concerns. Including them can actually strengthen your organizing effort by increasing your potential membership numbers and demonstrating solidarity across the entire workforce.

For statutory recognition purposes, what matters is the proportion of eligible employees who are members, so including all eligible employees regardless of residence status would be appropriate and beneficial to your organizing efforts.

So our best course of action would be for a bunch of us to quietly join the union independently, then once we've got the numbers in place to cover a decent enough percentage of the workforce, we'd let management know, have I got that right?And then one of us would volunteer/be elected as the rep for the company?

Yes, you’ve got the general strategy right. Here’s how the process typically unfolds:

Quiet joining phase:

Colleagues join the union individually and discreetly

You build membership steadily without making it known to management

The union provides guidance and support behind the scenes

Building critical mass:

Aim for significantly more than the 10% minimum - ideally 40-50% of the workforce

Create a strong core group across different departments and roles

Develop clear priorities based on workplace concerns

Going public/Recognition request:

Once you have substantial membership, the union typically sends a formal recognition request

This is usually handled by the union’s professional representatives, not individual employees

The timing and approach will be strategic decisions made with union guidance

Workplace representatives:

Yes, you’ll need workplace reps who are employees of the company

These could be elected or volunteer from among union members

Often there are multiple reps to cover different departments/shifts

The union will provide training for these reps

The workplace rep role is crucial - these individuals become the day-to-day point of contact between members and the union. They’re typically involved in:

Recruiting new members

Representing members in meetings with management

Communicating union information to members

Collecting and relaying workplace concerns

Most unions provide substantial training and support for workplace reps, so people don’t need prior experience. The ideal rep is someone respected by colleagues, good at communication, and committed to fairness in the workplace.

Remember that while you’re building membership, the union can still provide individual support to members even before formal recognition is achieved.

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