Part Time Employees Being Treated Less Favourably

Below is a template of what you should advise a member to do if they are part time and they believe that they have been less favourably treated than a full time colleague, this template has been sent out to all reps by email.

So you’re a carer?

Like most carers you’ve probably answered ‘no’ to that question. That’s one of the things about being a ‘carer’ - you don’t really see yourself as one! Most of us just think of ourselves as a mum or dad, a son or daughter, a husband, wife, partner or friend. And yet the experience of looking after a family member, partner or friend is very common.

Click '2 attachments' / file names to download this guide as a PDF, and to download the level 1 referral form.

As a Representative you are entitled to have a Level 1 meeting with your employing manager (GSM/TOM/SCM) four times a year ie. every three months. Ensure that the GSM/TOM sticks to this schedule.

Regular Newsletter or One-Off Publication?

• A regular newsletter is, in general, more effective than a one-off publication. With a regular newsletter, you will build up recognition, interest and trust from staff. Staff become cynical if the union ignores them all year, then plies them with leaflets when there is an election or ballot coming up.
• As a workplace rep, you can improve union communication at a rank-and-file level.
  

• Headlines should attract people to read your article. For main articles it is a good idea for a headline to be a complete sentence containing a verb; to tell readers what the article is about and why it should interest them. Poor headline: This year’s pay claim. Better headline: Union demands substantial pay rise and shorter working hours. Shorter pieces can have shorter, snappier headlines.

• After every level one meeting, produce a newsletter, with a brief report on each issue that came up, what was said by each side, and what the outcome was.
• What has happened at work recently?
  An accident, injury or other safety matter?
  A clampdown on trivial uniform rules?
• What are people talking about at work? What are their complaints?
  

• Write a strong lead sentence, especially on your main article. Information most important to the reader should come first.
• Make your articles lively and interesting. Have a sense of humour.
• A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. There should then be a space before the next sentence starts.
• Names of people, places, days of the week, months and the word I start with capital letters. Other words should not. Do not start a word with a capital letter just because you think it is Really Important.
  

Here is some advice for making newsletters look attractive and easy to read.