|
FAO all BT members January 2009
Re BT Attendance procedure – level 2 review meetings
More and more members are finding themselves invited to level 2 review meetings as part of the BT Attendance procedure, and sadly the Branch is dealing with an increasing number of dismissals for sick absence.
Accenture have been advising line managers that members are not legally entitled to union representation at level 2 review meetings - whilst this is technically true, these meetings can be very formal in nature, extremely stressful and lead quite quickly to the next stage which is consideration of termination of contract. Having a union rep there can provide moral support, assist in presenting mitigating factors to your manager and hopefully prevent matters from escalating to the next stage.
Following a recent point-blank refusal to allow us to attend a level 2 meeting with a member, the Branch robustly challenged this approach and escalated it to senior level in the CWU and BT.
We are now pleased to report that the advice to managers will now be changed to include the following statement: “There is no legal right to representation at this meeting however managers should not unreasonably refuse a request for representation where made by the individual.”
I would urge all members who find themselves at this stage of the procedure to contact us straight away for further detailed advice and guidance.
Catherine Henderson
BT Assistant Secretary
|
