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Have you got an issue at work?

Been invited to a meeting? or simply want to seek guidance in complete confidence?

How can we help you?

The demands of modern working life are not getting easier.  No one wants to find themselves subject to anything going wrong, but sadly, issues at work arise from time to time in all sorts of areas like:

Disciplinary Investigations

Most unions cannot provide direct support during an investigation by attending with you at a fact find. Advance Union have negotiated for our representatives to attend with you if you are asked to participate in an investigation. We also provide accredited consultants with many years of experience in representing members. We hope you never need our support for this, but we can only represent existing members, which is one of the reasons why people join unions.

Risk of Redudancy

There is nothing as constant as a change in the financial services sector. Roles are removed or changed when appropriate. Advance Union are consulted before any announcements, and Advance are actively involved in ensuring our members get an outcome right for them when these changes occur. We also provide a fair and robust consultation to ensure the proposal protects our members' interests, as the union Santander recognises for most sites in the UK. Non-recognised trade unions are not involved in any consultation.

Changes to your working life

Advance Union are consulted on many proposals that impact your role. We are always keen that the business consult effectively and have agreed on reasonable approaches when these changes occur. If you are a member and are worried about any proposal on your role, don't hesitate to get in touch with us as we can often resolve many matters.

Feeling discriminated against

Advance strongly opposes discrimination both in the workplace and outside. It plays no place in our lives. Advance has a strong track record of supporting our members when they feel discriminated against to ensure any discrimination is addressed. Santander also has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of discrimination and is very supportive of creating an inclusive culture. Unfortunately, even with this approach, life isn't always perfect.

Your Health & Safety

Health and Safety are both critically important to all of us. All our representatives take Health & Safety as a priority. We play a crucial role in helping Santander to be the best in class for Health & Safety, both physical and mental health. Recently our feedback helped Santander respond when steps were needed to keep our members safe as government guidance quickly changed through the pandemic.

Reward & Recognition

Advance Union wants to ensure everyone feels their efforts and achievements are recognised. We actively listen to our members and try to work to ensure everyone feels treated fairly. One of Advance Union's most essential duties is negotiating with senior management to reach a pay agreement each year that helps everyone's overall recognition.

Bullied or Harassed

No one wants to come to work and feel bullied. However, we recognise this cannot be easy to address. Santander has a zero-tolerance approach to bullying. If you are subject to unwanted behaviour, you can speak to our helpline in complete confidence so we can provide full guidance and support. Advance fully endorse a zero tolerance approach and fully endorses Santander's approach to this.

How to access support

Depending on the type of support you need, we have many ways we can offer help. We’ll be there when you need someone by your side.

Request support online

For some members, it may be more accessible due to work commitments to complete our online form. This allows you to make the request in your own time and for us to ensure we send it to the persons best placed to assist you.

Request representation

All members with at least three months of membership can request formal representation if needed. It's probably easier and quicker to call our helpline on 01442 891122. Alternatively please complete the form below so we can allocate the most appropriate consultant to your case.

Call our helpline on 01442 891122

Our helpline is the first line of support for most queries. Open Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, with an emergency out-of-hours service. Our helpline deals with most queries as the first point of contact. So for free, confidential advice, speak to the helpline with someone employed by Advance. They can also help find the most appropriate person to deal with any complex matter or a caseworker should you formally meet with your employer, such as a disciplinary.
Call us on 01442 891122

Your local reps

Have a chat with your Advance representative! Our local representatives that work within your area or site are always happy to help and provide a listening ear. They can help with simple queries and signpost how best you can resolve any concerns you may have. Most importantly, they can represent your views inside Advance Union and ensure we consider it along with that of all our members.

Who will support you?

Advance Union Consultants provide a dedicated resource for helping individual members. They are fully accredited to represent you at formal hearings such as disciplinary, performance or attendance meetings. They also support members in resolving workplace issues. You can speak to a consultant in total confidence; they will listen to your concerns and provide advice on how to deal with your situation. Advance Union will not contact anyone at Santander to discuss your issue without your consent.

If you have a hearing, your consultant will support you throughout the process. They completely understand their role and have many years of experience. They can thoroughly discuss with you what to expect and help assess the implications of any decisions you may need to make whilst leaving you to decide what’s right for you. They will, if necessary, help you submit an appeal.

Support is provided for Members only

We provide support for members only and can only offer formal representation for members with at least three months of membership before any issue occurs, although we will provide initial advice to new members.