Advice on Trade Union Representation in the Workplace

This guide is for employers, trade unions and union workplace representatives. It gives advice on the provision of time off, training and facilities to enable union representatives to carry out their duties. It covers statutory and non-statutory representatives.

The guide provides advice on good practice based on the Agency’s experience working with employers and union representatives to build effective methods of communication, consultation and negotiation between management and representatives. In order to be effective in carrying out their various roles representatives need the security of knowing that they can gain time off with pay, be trained and have access to communication and other facilities. Employers, in turn need assurance that these are legitimate requests and that they will be made with due regard to business circumstances.