Lancaster’s Workplace Essentials: Issues in union representation

The right to provide representation is a crucial component of a union’s obligation to its members. The right extends to workplace investigations, where union representatives play a crucial part in ensuring fairness. Employers, unions, and workers should be aware of the extent of the union’s right to provide representation during workplace investigations, and how it intersects with an employer’s obligations.

In this webinar, leading experts will discuss the following:

• Does an employee have a guaranteed right to union representation during a workplace investigation? At what stage in the investigation process is this right triggered? Does the right extend to witnesses, as well as the parties involved?

• What are the essential elements of a union’s right to provide representation during a workplace investigation? What is the source and scope of this duty?

• Can an employee insist on the presence of a union representative at a disciplinary meeting, even if there is no provision in the collective agreement allowing for a support person? Does this extend to non-disciplinary meetings which are part of a workplace investigation?

• How is a union’s representation during a workplace investigation impacted when the parties and witnesses involved in a complaint are all members of the union? How can a union avoid a conflict of interest in these circumstances?

• What are an employer’s obligations and responsibilities when it comes to a union’s right to provide representation during a workplace investigation?

• What are the consequences if an employee is denied union representation? Is the discipline nullified, or can the statements given not be relied upon? What recourse do employees and/or unions have if they believe the union has not been allowed to exercise its right to give representation during a workplace investigation? Are there any limitations to this recourse? What are an employee’s and/or union’s responsibilities in these circumstances?

• What policies and procedures can employers develop to ensure that the union is allowed to exercise its right to provide representation during workplace investigations?