Prospect reps: winning for members

Prospect representatives play a key role in challenging and changing the culture in the workplace.  They do this by shaping workplace policies, ensuring fairness and assisting members in personal cases.

For Reps’ Fortnight, Prospect Legal looks at the important work that reps do up and down the country and throughout workplaces.

Prospect reps regularly achieve extremely positive outcomes for members whether that be by appealing performance markings, representing members in disciplinary or grievance hearings and seeking reasonable adjustments for disabled members.

Prospect representatives regularly act as witnesses for members who have taken claims to the tribunal. In one successful tribunal case, rep David Evans was given special praise by the Judge who said that the member was lucky to have such good representation. The employer did not disclose to the tribunal any notes or transcripts from the dismissal or appeal hearings. David’s notes therefore were the only ones before the tribunal, and they recorded key parts of the meetings and were very helpful in supporting the member’s case.

When lay reps give evidence, the tribunal often sees them as expert witnesses as they are the people who know the workplace best. In a landmark equal pay case, the evidence of the Prospect rep on how long it took to be proficient in the job was preferred to that of the employer.

More generally in equal pay cases, reps play a particularly important role, doing a lot of the background work in explaining the pay structure etc. In Prospect’s successful claims against the IPO, which benefited 185 employees, two reps in particular, Ele Wade and Nick Mole undertook an excellent and tireless job preparing the case.

In a very recent case, which is only just at the start of the tribunal process, Julia Coneybeer has done an exceptional job, working with her full-time officer and the legal team, to co-ordinate and organise members.

We recognise though, that in the legal team, we only see the tip of the iceberg. Our reps work every day, on the ground to achieve results for members. For example, in a case of disability discrimination and unfair dismissal, whilst going through the tribunal process the member was represented by his local Prospect rep, Mark Reynolds at internal hearings. At the dismissal appeal hearing, the decision to dismiss was overturned and the member returned to work.

Advising members is, of course, only one part of the job. Many reps will also be engaged in activities such as: recruiting new members, preparing newsletters, consulting with members and negotiating with management. All of this – not to mention the day job – shows just how busy a rep’s life can be!