Public and Commercial Services Union

This page outlines the stages involved in progressing a case.

Gather all the necessary facts

It is important to ensure you are fully aware of all the facts involved with the case.

PCS has produced a personal case form (PC1) to enable you to record the necessary information.

Most cases will be simple and can be dealt with over the phone or with a single memo. In other cases you will want to meet the member to discuss the case in detail.

Usually, management provides a room for the union to use to meet members. You should make arrangements to meet the member at a mutually convenient time, and notify management.

Your manager should not turn down any reasonable request for time off to deal with personal cases. If you have trouble getting time off to deal with cases, speak to your branch secretary or a PCS group officer.

Take notes and at the end of the first contact with the member, be sure that you have a shared understanding of the issues involved, and the course of action you and the member will take next.

It is important to continue this shared understanding at every stage of the case.

Next steps

Once you have gathered the necessary information, you will need to check which personnel procedure or guide is appropriate.

Guidance on the procedures relevant to your particular workplace is available in written guides or on department intranet sites.

It is always important to check these procedures/guides, as cases can often be won simply because management have not followed their own procedures.

When you have decided on the appropriate process to use, check any deadlines or timescales and ensure you are in a position to meet them.

The member may have approached you because he or she has received a disciplinary interview or letter, with a specific timescale in which to respond.

In some cases they may have waited before seeking advice from the union, so always keep a close eye on deadlines that need to be met.

A simple 'Bring Forward' system will help you do this. Please contact Simon Elliott, PCS Personal Case Officer, telephone 0113 200 5319 if you want help in setting up such a system.

Approaching management

It is important to approach management at the appropriate level to progress your case.

It is sometimes tempting to write to the most senior manager available, but generally they will only pass the case back down to the appropriate level.

Also, you may well have to escalate the issue to a higher level of management later, so start at the appropriate place. Again details are available in your own workplace procedures.

Your approach may be by telephone, in person or in the form of a letter. In each case be clear about the facts as well as your arguments, backing them up with references to the relevant guidance.

Meetings with management

These may take place with or without the member. Employees have a legal right to be accompanied at disciplinary and grievance hearings. They can choose their companion, as long as they are a trade union official, a certified union rep or a colleague.

Meetings should be arranged to suit the employee, employee's representative and management.

Staff should not be bulldozed into a meeting with management if the representative is not available.

Legally, a worker can propose an alternative date and time, which must be reasonable and no more than five working days later than the original meeting.

Be clear what you want from the meeting before going in, and outline this to management from the start. The representative can address the meeting, confer with the member and put the member's case. You can respond on behalf of the member to any views expressed.

You can also sum up the member's case. You cannot, however, answer questions on behalf of the member. It is important that you are in full possession of the facts so there are no surprises during the meeting.

Do your best to ensure the member does not react aggressively to management during the meeting or lose his or her temper.

It is not uncommon for management to take disciplinary action against a member of staff for this alone. You are entitled to breaks or adjournments during meetings. You can use these to regain composure or to reflect on what management are saying.

Again, ensure all parties have a common understanding of what has been said during the meeting.

Seek an acceptable resolution

Following any meeting or correspondence with management, allow enough time for you and member to reflect on what has been said. Bearing in mind procedural deadlines, avoid making decisions on the spot.

Your objective is to get the best possible deal for the member in the circumstances. It is not automatically the case that there is more to be gained by pursuing the issue further.

It may be that the case does need to be escalated to a higher level of management.

You may feel that you now need to seek advice from a more experienced representative. You may believe that in all the circumstances, the member should take what is on offer from management.

Again you need to reach an understanding with the member on the course of action you have decided. If you have managed the expectation of the member from the outset, they will respect the position you have taken and value your opinion.

Remember to record details of any discussions or decisions you have reached.

What happens if the case is against another member?

It is not uncommon for this to happen, as PCS represents members of all grades. The same general rules of confidentiality and professionalism should be applied, whatever your views on the case.

Both parties can be represented by PCS. It is important to be seen to treat both parties equally in these cases. Allocate a representative for each, either from within the branch, or arrange for representation from outside the branch.

If in doubt, contact a more senior representative or PCS full time officer.