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Hi All] Very sound advice and I concur with this. I would be hesitant at advising any employee to discuss this with their union for the reasons given below. Where I work, we do not have any unions so there are no issues. Regards Jane ________________________________ From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of JANE COOMBS Sent: 29 August 2009 08:36 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [OCC-HEALTH] Union Advice Hi All Just to put the cat amongst the pigeons.....! I don't think it particularly helpful to either the individual, the company or managment to suggest that employees go to their unions for advice - it can provoke conflict which doesn't help, plus the employee often goes around saying 'Occupational Health said I should talk to the union'. But if we do make the suggestion then I believe we should be transparent in our reporting back to management - the same as we would with any other work advice we give. I used to work in a place where some of the Occ Health Advisers suggested that employees took out a grievance if they didn't resolve stress/management issues with the Manager and, to me, this is a detrimental step, even though it is legitimate advice. The company had a culture of aggression and long term unresolved issues and high absence - mainly because any type of consultation/mediation into this sort of thing prolonged the situation which resulted in even worse health affects such as anxiety/depression for the poor employee (let alone the Managers involved). I think we, as Occupational Health Advisers, underestimate the power we have when we make suggestions/offer diagnosis's and solutions. In most companies where I have worked - what is said by myself is taken very literally and employees tend to trust what I say implicitly (research supports this) - passing comments have often come back to bite me on the bum. For those starting out in Occ Health -take my advice and think carefully about advice you give and why you give it - you may have to defend your stance in the future - not just to management/courts but to the individual you are advising. Jane Coombs OH Manager ________________________________ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:22:44 +0100 From: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [OCC-HEALTH] Union Advice To: [log in to unmask] Dear all, I happily advise employees to contact their union for support when it may be useful for them. Within my own organisation, management, HR and OH have good relationships with the unions and we find that it is often mutually beneficial for employees to make their cases known to the unions. I do not usually document this in my report to the manager though as it often has no direct relevance to my recommendations to them. Paul Paul D'Arcy Clinical Nurse Leader Occupational Health Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust 2nd Floor Hammersmith House Hammersmith Hospital Du Cane Road London W12 0HS UK's first Academic Health Science Centre incorporating St Mary's and Hammersmith Hospitals, in partnership with Imperial College London ________________________________ From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Roberta Hanlon Sent: 27 August 2009 11:47 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [OCC-HEALTH] Union Advice Yes.. I would advise them to consult with their union if I felt it was warranted. I would also document that I had done so. I'm not aware of any specific protocol for this but I have never had any problems. Roberta ----- Original Message ----- From: Huguenel, Tracy <mailto:[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 11:40 AM Subject: [OCC-HEALTH] Union Advice Have an interesting one, if you saw a client who was having employment issues, would you advise them to seek input from their union? Would you document this is the report back to the manager, subject to the case specifics? What is your departmental protocol on providing this advice? Many thanks, Tracy Tracy Huguenel, RGN, SCPHN (OH) Deputy Head of Occupational Health 0845 155 3111 Ext 3982 / 3591 Fax 01268 534127 ******************************** Please remove this footer before replying. OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSING EDUCATION http://www.aohne.org.uk ******************************** Please remove this footer before replying. OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSING EDUCATION http://www.aohne.org.uk ________________________________ Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust notice: The contents of this e-mail are confidential to the ordinary user of the e-mail address to which it is addressed and may also be privileged. If you are not the addressee of this e-mail you may not copy, forward, disclose or otherwise use it in any form whatsoever. If you have received this e-mail in error please telephone the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust on +44 (0)20 3311 3311 and ask for the person who sent you the email. Please also delete the message from your computer. [end] ******************************** Please remove this footer before replying. OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSING EDUCATION http://www.aohne.org.uk ******************************** Please remove this footer before replying. OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSING EDUCATION http://www.aohne.org.uk ******************************** Please remove this footer before replying. OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSING EDUCATION http://www.aohne.org.uk