TBU Representation Terms and Conditions

By submitting a TBU Performance Questionnaire you will be treated as confirming your request to be represented by TBU in your Performance case and set out below are the terms and conditions on which we will support your case. Please read these terms and conditions carefully.

Increasingly, individual representation is having to take place in a very complex legal environment and even apparently straightforward cases can involve very considerable amounts of work and costs. Some may reach the Employment Tribunal and for that reason alone we have to work in a very careful way from the earliest stages of cases. What can appear to be a simple case of ventilating a grievance or dealing with an apparently trivial disciplinary issue can have very significant legal implications for members in the medium or longer-term.

Although taking cases to the Employment Tribunal is not the norm, it is often a possibility and it’s important to understand that even though we will work with care and professionalism we cannot guarantee any particular outcome. To help achieve the fair outcomes we want, both we and members need to work in close partnership in a very disciplined way.

In particular we need members to heed and act on our advice (which we will explain) at all times and this is a fundamental condition of our support. If you do not follow our advice we will withdraw from your case.

We will make it as easy as possible for you to work with us and we will keep you informed of any material developments in your case. Sometimes, however, there may be periods of time when there is nothing to report and particularly with Tribunal cases it may look as though your case has been forgotten! You can rest assured however that we will contact you as needed during the process and there will be no need for you to ‘progress chase’ your case. At every stage we will explain the next steps and the likely timescales involved.

In contrast, there may be times when there is considerable activity and it’s critically important that you respond to communications from us promptly so the preparation of your case is not delayed. 

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Representation Agreement – Terms and Conditions

Definitions

The Union, we or us means TBU.

Your employer means TSB Bank plc.

Your case means a case or dispute concerning your performance at work, in existence at the date you accept these terms and conditions.

Adviser means a person or organisation other than the Union asked by you to provide advice to You on any aspect of your case whether on a paid or unpaid basis.

Pre-existing issue means a dispute with your employer or concerns with your performance, the origins of which lay in the period before you joined the Union most recently.

Early Conciliation means a process managed by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) that is a compulsory precursor to the submission of an Employment Tribunal Claim.

Parties
This agreement is between the Union and You

Purpose
This agreement sets out the basis on which the Union will represent you in your case with your employer/ex-employer and the limits to that representation.

In particular this agreement explains the circumstances in which the Union may restrict or withdraw the support it provides to you.

Compliance With These Conditions
The Union’s representation and support is conditional on you acting in complete compliance with these terms and conditions at all times and may be withdrawn at any time if the Union decides in its absolute discretion that you have breached the terms of this agreement.

Pre-existing Issues
The Union has a strict policy of not representing members in pre-existing issues. A pre-existing issue is one whose origins lie in the period before a member joined the Union so that a member must have known that he or she would require representation at some stage on that specific issue. If it becomes clear that your case involves a pre-existing issue, we will explain this to you before we withdraw from advising or representing you. By signing this agreement you warrant that your case does not involve a pre-existing issue and confirm that you understand that if it becomes clear that your case involves a pre-existing issue, we will withdraw from advising or representing you. If you have any doubt as to whether we are likely to treat your case as pre-existing please accept these terms and conditions but speak to us immediately.

Communications
You give your consent to the Union using email as its principal means of communication with you during the representation of your case. Where certain highly confidential documents need to be transmitted you give your consent to our using an alternative, secure means of transmission such as ShareFile.

You undertake to maintain a working email account throughout the course of our representation of your case and to check that account (including your email application’s spam folders) for emails from us throughout the course of each day, including during evenings and at weekends.

You further undertake to respond promptly to email or other correspondence from us. If you fail to do so the Union reserves the right to withdraw immediately from your case without further notice.

Occasionally email accounts, particularly ‘free’ accounts, can reject perfectly valid emails from bona fide organisations. If this happens, we will receive a ‘bounce’ notification and in that case we will try to contact you by text message or telephone. If we don’t receive a bounce notification, we will assume that an email sent to you has been delivered.

Full Disclosure
You will disclose to us all facts and documents material to your case and respond to questions from us promptly, fully and honestly.

Confidentiality
You undertake not to communicate on or discuss with your employer/ex-employer or any of its employees or representatives or any other party save for members of your close family any matter relevant to your case without the Union’s prior written approval while we are representing you.

You undertake not to copy any correspondence from us relevant to your case to any other party at any time without the Union’s prior written approval.

Exclusive Adviser Status
Your representation is conditional on you accepting that we will be your sole adviser on your case unless you confirm in writing that you have decided to discharge us or we withdraw our representation or support.

You understand that if you engage or act upon the advice of an alternative adviser at any time during our representation of your case, we will be entitled to withdraw our support immediately without further notice.

Employment Tribunal Claims
In some cases we may agree with you that it is necessary and appropriate to pursue a claim at the Employment Tribunal or begin a process called Early Conciliation. Whether a claim is appropriate is often a complex consideration and the Union may in its absolute discretion decide that your case is not one in respect of which it can support a Tribunal claim. You accept that the Union will review your case on an ongoing basis in light of the evidence produced by your employer and any additional documentation and information that becomes available. We will continually assess the merits of your case and advise you of any change in our assessment.

You accept that, if our view of the merits of your case changes, we may – at our complete discretion – withdraw our support for your Employment Tribunal Claim. We will of course explain the reasons behind any change in our assessment of your case and/or the support we are able to provide but our decision will be final.

Following Our Advice
Whether or not representation is successful in resolving a case can often depend on precise actions and timing, to ensure the prosecution of the case is not jeopardised. The rules governing Employment Tribunal claims are particularly strict. We need your co-operation in that area.

Your representation by us and our support for your case is conditional on you following our advice completely at all times and responding to requests from us without delay.

You understand that if you fail to act upon our advice at any time during our representation of your case or act other than in consultation with us /without our agreement we will be entitled to withdraw our support from your case without further notice.