Unison Dudley General Branch

21/04/2026

In March, the NJC Employers’ Side for England, Cymru and Northern Ireland made a pay offer of 3.3% on all pay points.

UNISON’s NJC Committee has now met and agreed that this pay offer falls short. The Committee have therefore decided to reject this offer on behalf of the members.

Preparations are being made for the next steps and you will hear more soon.

Read more here: https://share.google/cwuAN9hKj6ERd0Po6

15/04/2026

More than two-thirds of the Council workers who replied to our survey said their workload was unmanageable. This is often because jobs are being held vacant when people leave, and there aren’t enough staff to cover the workload.

The effect of this overwork is that workers are often forced to go sick, and services to residents suffer.

After all the cuts to local services, it’s time Dudley Council provided enough staff to deliver them.

Report says just under three quarters of staff who responded do not feel valued while many say they have unmanageable workloads

09/04/2026

When it comes to work-related stress, it's time we were all aware of our rights

Workplace stress isn’t “just part of the job.”
Stress is one of the biggest causes of poor health at work. It often comes from excessive demands, pressure, or unrealistic workloads. It’s not a personal failure.

What are your rights at work?
http://unsn.uk/stress

20/03/2026

"Staff are clearly burned out. They are struggling and we are not doing anything about it"
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/taxpayers-forking-out-nearly-7m-33588359

Some of you may have seen this media coverage of the sickness absence among Dudley Council staff. UNISON reps have been saying for years that, after decades of cuts, employees cannot be expected to deliver under-staffed services without it affecting their own health.

Next week, UNISON will be sending an anonymous survey to members working for Dudley Council. The survey will be about workload, staffing numbers, and work-related stress.

We encourage everyone to complete the survey so that we can have a clear picture of how UNISON members are affected.

If you are a UNISON member working for Dudley Council, please make sure we have an up-to-date email address for you. You can do this by emailing dudley [email protected] or by checking on MyUNISON (https://my.unison.org.uk/).

Watchdog committee told budget cuts may have left too few staff and workers are suffering from work related mental health problems

11/02/2026

Unity March & Rally, Sunday 8 March

28/01/2026

In an important case for anyone who has fallen foul of Dudley Council's punishing sickness absence policy, a UNISON member has won their appeal against a warning given for sick leave linked to their disability.

The Council worker has won praise for the work they do, but like many of us, they do this great work at the same time as managing a disability or long-term health condition.

Dudley Council’s written policy actually already says that any disability-linked absence should be taken out of the calculation of employees’ ‘Bradford Factor’ – i.e. the score than can be a trigger to punitive action by the Employer. The only exception the policy makes is when adjustments have already been made to the job so that any negative effect created by the disability is removed.

But in this case, despite not having put in place any adjustments, the Council issued a formal warning to the employee for leave they had to take which was connected to their disability.

It’s not widely known, but any Council worker who gets a warning because of sickness absence has the right to appeal against it.

In this case, the employee wasn’t willing to accept the warning without contesting it. Understandably, they felt the formal warning was unfair and went against the Council’s claim to be taking equality in the workplace seriously.

After taking legal advice, they appealed the decision. After council managers had repeatedly said they had no choice but to issue the warning, a Council hearing has now been forced to overturn its decision and remove the disability-linked absence from the calculations.

This is a credit to the determination of the UNISON member involved.

But there’s still work to do. It’s not acceptable that this employee, like many others, has to continue to work with the threat that they will receive another formal warning for taking sick leave as a result of their disability.

Many of us have long-term health conditions which should be considered as a disability under the Equality Act 2010. If you think you have something that affects your health which might be a disability, please speak to a UNISON rep, who will be happy to advise in complete confidence.

If you would like to contest the way your employer has dealt with your sickness absence, please contact the UNISON Branch.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 01384 444323

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More details about the Bradford Factor can be found on the UNISON website:https://www.unison.org.uk/content/uploads/2014/09/TowebFact-Sheet-on-the-Bradford-Factor2.pdf

More details about ‘reasonable adjustments’ can be found in UNISON’s quick guide: https://www.unison.org.uk/content/uploads/2023/05/Quick-Guide-Reasonable-Adjustments-2023.docx

31/12/2025

Our 2026 Branch Annual General Meeting (AGM) is open to all members and will be in person at the Crystal Leisure Centre in Stourbridge on Thursday 26th March. It will start at 12:30pm and tea, coffee and samosas will be provided (for those arriving by car, there is 2 hours free parking at Tesco nearby).

The AGM is an important meeting for all UNISON members. It’s a chance for you to ask questions about the work of the union, see how union finances have been used, and have your say on priorities for the year ahead. The meeting this year will feature a speaker from Black Country Stand Up To Racism.

Access Requirements

We recognise that in order to ensure all of our members can fully participate in the AGM it may be necessary to make adjustments. If you have any particular needs, please contact the Branch and we will be happy to discuss them.

Members’ Proposals to the AGM

If you would like to propose a policy position to be adopted by the AGM on behalf of the Branch (in the form of a motion), or to suggest a change in the Branch Rules, please do so by 12 noon on Thursday 22nd January 2026. Please make sure that someone attends the AGM to make the proposal.

Get Active – Join our team!

Our Branch is run by volunteers. A whole range of different roles are open to members like you, each one of which carries an important set of responsibilities. Whether you're organising members’ meetings, in negotiations with managers, representing a member in a disciplinary, or helping with a welfare claim, you’ll be helping create an effective union team. Roles can either be Branch-wide, like the Officer positions, or for your own specific workplace. All roles are open to job-share.

Branch Officer Positions

There are a number of positions which exist to represent all the members in the Branch. You can nominate yourself or other members for any of these roles. Any member in employment can nominate and/or be nominated, but please ensure you have the consent of the nominee(s) before you submit a nomination. Election of contested posts will take place by ballot. Nominations close at noon on Thursday 22nd January - please email [email protected] for a nomination form.

A Steward and/or Health & Safety Rep for Your Workplace

In UNISON, every workplace should have an elected rep. You can be nominated yourself or nominate another member to be the steward or Health & Safety Rep for your own workplace (more details of the responsibilities of these roles can be seen on this webpage). Please ensure you have the consent of the nominee. Nominations close at noon on Thursday 22nd January - please email [email protected] for a nomination form.

UNISON West Midlands

23/12/2025

We were very pleased to be one of the branches who nominated Andrea

🗳️ Andrea Egan has been elected as the next general secretary of UNISON, the UK’s largest union.

She replaces Christina McAnea who has served as general secretary since 2021.

Andrea will begin her five-year term on 22 January 2026.

UNISON general secretary elect Andrea Egan said: “I’m honoured to take up the post of general secretary at UNISON, and I’m grateful for the trust placed in me."

Read more here ⬇️
https://unsn.uk/4qizGAT

20/11/2025

Reps from our Branch and from Dudley TUC picked up the award for best campaign at last night's UNISON West Midlands Awards Evening. The award was for the Keep DB Leisure a Public Service campaign and it was presented by the UNISON General Secretary and the union's President.

Thanks to all of you who helped make the campaign a success.

14/11/2025

Standing in solidarity with Unison West Midlands members today at West Midlands Combined Authority who are taking action to secure a fair pay deal for staff.

Its these workers who are driving our region forward - time for the WMCA to get back around the negotiating table and deliver a fair pay deal.