Taking Responsibility
Lots of readers have been in touch recently to say that they were given poor advice by their trade unions on the subject of equal pay.
In some cases the readers say that they were discouraged from pursuing equal pay claims and told, in no uncertain terms, that they were wasting their time.
Now I obviously don't know what was actually said, when things were said or by whom such advice was given.
So what I would do is to write to the union concerned setting out exactly what happened and whether or not any other people, such as other union members, were involved who may have witnessed these alleged events.
If poor or negligent advice has been issued, then I would expect any union worth its salt to compensate members for any financial loss that has been suffered, as a result of following the union's advice.
And if the union concerned does not respond in a reasonable or satisfactory way, having regard to all the available evidence, I would seek legal advice on the possibility of brining a claim for negligence.
Because the bottom line is that union members should not be expected to lose out for doing what the union tells them to do - over equal pay or anything else.
Dropping the Ball (26 March 20140
A reader contacted me the other day to say that his union had taken up an equal pay claim several years ago, but only recently told him that it had made some kind of 'mistake' and that, as a result, the case could not now proceed.
Apparently, the nature of the 'mistake' has not been properly explained and the member says that the union refuses to discuss the situation with him or to provide a more detailed response.
But from the information shared with me that looks highly likely and the member has letters from both the union and the union's lawyer to say that his case was being taken up.
And if the union's lawyers has been have been involved as the member suggests, then there could be another potential complaint to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission which as an an independent referee in disputes between lawyers and their clients.
All I would say is that if a large and well resourced organisation like a trade union has indeed 'dropped the ball', an individual member should not be expected to pay the price for that mistake.
