Review Time
Steward did not want to know about my disabilities. Attended meeting and went against me in the meeting and told lies.Contacted main office for support, lied to cover their arses. Put in a complaint, just lied repeatedly to avoid any responsibility. Their complaints process is an absolute joke.Absolute scum bag company of liars that treats disabled people like dirt and inflicts harm on them. Avoid like the plague.I would not describe them as a Union, more like a parasite.Every time I had contacted them in the past, they were generally clueless on anything.
To Edinburgh Branch-The service I received was absolutely unsatisfactory. The staff was dismissive and unprofessional. He didn’t call me at all that day, but instead sent an email claiming he had called several times without receiving an answer, which was simply untrue.Regarding the issue I raised, all he did was evade responsibility and show a clear lack of interest in helping. His responses were also rude and abrupt. In the end, he unilaterally informed me that he was closing my case without resolution.It feels like UNISON is more interested in collecting fees than in providing actual support, often brushing off its members.
As a long-time Unison member, I expected support in my time of need. Unfortunately, my experience has been deeply disappointing. When facing significant distress and workplace challenges, I turned to Unison for guidance and representation. Instead, I encountered delayed responses, vague advice, and an overall lack of meaningful support.Despite clearly expressing my desire for representation at my grievance meeting, I was advised it wasn't necessary. This left me vulnerable and without adequate advocacy. Furthermore, the guidance I received felt more like a defense of my employer's actions rather than the robust representation I expected from a union committed to protecting its members' rights.Unison's refusal to support my case at tribunal due to a perceived lack of "reasonable prospects of success" feels like a dismissal of my legitimate concerns. Instead of championing my cause and helping me navigate the complexities of employment law, I was left to fend for myself, without clear options or recourse.To add insult to injury, I was never warned that pursuing certain actions, like the ACAS/Tribunal route, could affect the level of service I'd receive. This lack of transparency further eroded my trust in the organisation.Unison's role is to support its members, particularly during difficult times. Regrettably, in my case, they have fallen short of this mission. For anyone seeking genuine advocacy and meaningful support in workplace matters, I would caution against placing too much trust in Unison’s ability to deliver when it truly counts.For those of us with Autism and ADHD, Unison’s inaction reveals an alarming lack of awareness, speaking volumes about their understanding of neurodiverse needs—something I hope disability associations and advocates would condemn.It's ironic, the only time Unison responded promptly with something they COULD actually do, was when I asked to terminate my membership.
Just like the others, if I could give unison a zero rating, I would. They clearly do not care about the employees and certainly provide no form of advice. They only care about their own pockets. They certainly speak to HR on the low and negotiate the worst outcomes for you, and act like they haven’t heard anything back, whilst HR confirms things only then Union was meant to know about. Clearly a breach of confidentiality. They provide no assistance with emails or contacting your employer. I missed out on a claim against my employers because the representatives do not know what they are doing and fail to respond to you within time!!! They then blame it on you and say you have missed the deadline or that you have no case, despite another firm and ACAS confirming there was a case but I missed out on the deadline . Unison know nothing about employee contracts and how to give proper advice when you need it most. The worst Union I have ever come across for the last 20+ years. A refund would be helpful. A huge let down to me, especially when I was at my most vulnerable and needed help the most. Also it is clear from reading the other reviews, I can tell I am not the only one who suffered such bad treatment by them. Shame on unison!!!! Steer clear if you can, unless you want to deal with rude, dismissive, illiterate waste of human beings. I’m now considering my own claim against Unison.
Leaving Unison today, They are less than useless, they have done nothing to fight for the 24/25 pay rise and have just rolled over to labour. You can’t get answers out of them, you constantly get shut down by reps. All I wanted was some transparency on the 5.5% pay rise as for band 2 it’s a mere £32 extra per month about £380 for the year yet say a band 8d would be getting £2500 a year. Staff have been voting to accept the 5.5% but once I’ve calculated what they get and tell them they then agree that they would have voted no! So I ask unison to break it down in an email and I’m flat out refused. They are really under thumb the work for labour not for members
Not even going to waste my time writing an essay about how bad these guys are!Advised me to out in a grievance and then unable to speak to anyone for over two months. Told on numerous occasions that my rep was off sick but found out he was supporting a colleague with her issue at the same time!!Literally every other day for two months I contacted them with no luck! It came to a point where the receptionist didn’t even have to ask for my membership when i call she knew it was me!!!STAY CLEAR FROM UNISON
I am so lucky and sos my wife to have a representative like Karen.She has helped my wife and I get back to work and we both feel she really cares about our emotional and physical wellbeing.Unison are a great union to join and my wife and I really want to be part of unison because we have had such a positive experience.
I signed up for this union because I thought is the most competent one as is everywhere. I needed them in January and apart of one of the reps coming to a meeting with me nothing happened. I was advised so,so wrong. Is the first time when I had problems so i trusted them knowing more than I do,but I made a big mistake trusting them.For 8 months I tried to make them do something and they said they’ve done everything. After that meeting the rep stood there and asked the manager if she knows a man that firms for a trust that has the same last name as she did so little respect for me as I was quite unhappy after the meeting.In June I was told there will be a “conflict of interest” and I asked between whom and whom and I haven’t received an answer to this day. As nobody from my local branch was able to help me in a simple case (I had screenshots and messages and you could see very clearly that there was a breach of company policy-should have been very straight forward if they wanted to help as it wasn’t a she said he said situation) I filled the complaint form on their website and Joseph McCusker answered and he sent what I’ve wrote in that form to the branch and I was contacted by one of the reps. I did not mentioned the names of the reps in that as,again,all I wanted was my problem solved. But I thought that my complaint will be dealt with by a senior member. So I went in circles and nothing happened.£11.07 per month for nothing. I don’t recommend Unison,if you are looking for a union look somewhere else.
Further to my review on 26/07/2024, it came to light that my union representative was quite literally friends with the HR business partner on Facebook.Therefore if you like being duped, hoodwinked, misled, fleeced and bank account bled dry with the monthly payments - sign up! Unison is a joke, their masters have given them offices on Trust property, why would they bite the hand that feeds? Their sole purpose is to protect their own positions and jobs (not yours), and the only way to do that is to dance with the devil/brown-nose, HR.
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