Trade union representative or staff association

This page is for safety advisers, safety representatives and full time union employees who represent staff

Your role in the Management Standards

• Experience of working with organisations using the Management Standards approach has demonstrated that there are a number of key stakeholders who need to be active in the process for it to be successful; union and employee representatives are one such key group.
• The full range of activities that make up the Management Standards approach are to some extent dependent on the specific structure of the individual organisation. There are however, some activities which are central to the approach and require key stakeholders such as HR, line managers and people such as you to work together to deliver the desired outcome.
• Effective communication in the broadest sense of the word is a key factor in the delivery of any programme to improve employee and organisational performance. Effective communication with employees throughout the Management Standards process is a key component in the success of the approach.
• In the context of the Management Standards approach, communication is not a one-off activity but a continuous one that runs through the core of the approach. To be effective, communication needs to be multi-channel, rich in content, and two way - as well as informing employees, you need to listen to them and their views.
• As a union or employee representative you have an important role to play as a conduit for communication, facilitating a bi-directional exchange of information and views. This role is particularly important within the Management Standards approach as you can ensure the involvement of hard to reach groups in the process.
• Lessons drawn from case studies of organisations using the Management Standards approach show the importance of effective communication to a successful outcome.

Your role with individuals

• You will be aware that some employees feel more comfortable approaching their union or employee representative about work-related health issues. Although the Management Standards approach is aimed at tackling the causes of work related stress at an organisational level, the health or performance of individuals is ultimately affected.
• In such circumstances it may be appropriate to employ a holistic approach that includes primary, secondary and/or tertiary interventions to deal with individual cases of work related stress. The links below provide access to additional advice and resources that will help you in this aspect of your role:

• Free tools
• Further links

Exercises for health and safety representatives

• Simple exercises are now available to help Health and Safety Representatives, both unionised and non-unionised, understand their role in tackling stress at work using the Management Standards approach.
• Five exercises take you through the signs and symptoms of stress and ask what you can do as a workforce representative to help reduce and prevent stress.  You can also read some ‘typical’ answers to get some helpful tips.
• Once you’ve completed the exercises, your answers can be saved and printed in PDF form.

• Work-related stress exercises for health and safety representatives