Learn With Unite

Course description:

The Branch Secretary is a key player in the Unite team. The concept of this course is to develop Branch Secretaries within Unite by providing them with the knowledge and skills, and nurturing their passion, to drive forward the ideology of our union, to develop our activist base and grow and strengthen our membership. This course is designed for all new Branch Secretaries, and for those who have not attended the course recently.

The course covers:

• The administrative role of the Branch Secretary

• How the union works

• How ‘lay democracy’ starts at local branch level

• Understanding organisation procedures

• Encouraging active participation within the Unite structure

• Branch Finance

• Understanding the ‘Strategy for Growth’ and the crucial role that the branch plays

• Setting out a local ‘strategy for growth’ for recruitment, retention and participation in branch life

• Branch Portal

• Chairing and Organising Skills

Who Should Attend?

This course is designed for all elected representatives who have an interest in, or a role as, a pensions representative on behalf of their members at work.

Who should attend?

This course is designed to introduce the topics of stress, anxiety and mental ill health. It will assist reps in promoting mental health and to understand the issues faced by members at work. We encourage all reps to attend the course.

Mental Health awareness covers

• Raise awareness of mental health

• Understand the importance of mental health

• Mental Health terminology

• How mental health can impact on you

• Mental health and employment

• The role of the employer

• Creating mentally healthy workplaces

• Supporting others

• Looking after your own well being

Who Should Attend?

This course is open to those representatives who have completed the one day Mental Health Awareness course. Through this course you will gain valuable knowledge and skills that will enable you to identify the early signs of mental ill health, provide help to prevent mental ill health from getting worse and recover more quickly, and reduce the stigma of mental health problems.

The Course is accredited by Mental Health England. We can also deliver this training in your workplace at a cost to your employer. We would ask that you limit bookings to one representative per workplace for this course.

Mental Health First aid covers

On this two-day course, you will learn how to:

• Identify the early stages of a mental health problem

• Help someone who’s dealing with a mental health issue

• Help stop someone from self-harming or hurting others

• Help stop mental ill health from worsening

• Help someone have a quicker recovery

• Guide someone towards proper professional help

• Break the stigma of a mental health problem

Aims

This is a pilot course utilising a new format. The course is designed to assist reps develop knowledge and skills which will enable you to become a better rep.

Who is this course for?

To get the most from this course we suggest you have completed a stage two course either workplace reps, health and safety or ULR. We also encourage those who have attended national equalities courses to join us too. Applications for this course are particularly invited from BAEM, LGBT+, Women and Young Members'.

Course overview

You will  learn research methods and use one method to create really useful knowledge; you will work with other members in your workplace or branch to promote equality or organising through doing a research project; You will learn the principles of community based participatory research and how to apply them to your role as a rep.

Delivery format

9.30am – 11.30 on Zoom; afternoons spent in individually guided study on Litmos 12.30-4.30pm. To assist with release the course will be advertised from 9.30 - 16.30 so we suggest using the afternoon session to complete your self guided studies. If you have facilities time the course work should be completed during facilities time, otherwise it can be done at your convenience.

How often should MHFA England skills be refreshed?

Mental Health England recommend that Mental Health First Aiders and MHFA Champions attend a Refresher course every three years. Just like physical first aid, updating skills and knowledge allows people to perform this vital role confidently and safely.

The Refresher course will support existing Mental Health First Aiders and MHFA Champions by:

• Renewing their skills 
• Updating their knowledge of mental health supports 
• Giving them the chance to practice applying the Mental Health First Aid action plan 

Enabling your Mental Health First Aiders and MHFA Champions to refresh their skills, the same way your physical first aiders do, is a great way to demonstrate your organisation’s commitment to treating mental health and physical health equally. Investing in the course will give you the confidence that your Mental Health First Aiders and MHFA Champions are performing their role safely and effectively.

Who should attend?

This course is designed for senior representatives to support other Unite members who are in workplaces without access to their own representative. Ideally you should have completed workplace representatives stage two training and be able to gain release from your employer easily.

What will I learn?

The course covers a number topics including

• Understanding the rights of a companion
• Suport companion protocols
• Reporting and record keeping
• Practical Case study training

Online Retirement Seminar Agenda

Our Online Retirement Seminar is a 2 ½ hour highly informative session
focussing on all aspects to do with retirement and later life planning. As well
as a detailed insight into different types of pension schemes and the various
retirement options, the session considers the health and longevity issues
surrounding retirement planning helping delegates to think seriously about
when and how to retire.

10:00 Session 1

• Introductions and Agenda Overview
• Seeking Financial Advice – A look at the different types of adviser services and their
costs.
• The Effect of Inflation – Considering how inflation will affect future finances and
living standards in retirement.
• Budget Planning – How much will I need to live off?

10:45 15 Minute Comfort Break

11:00 Start Session 2

• The Different Types of Pension Schemes – A look at how the State Pension works,
and the type of benefits provided by different Pension Schemes.
• Pension Scheme Options – Consideration of the various income options and ways
to maximise Capital and Income benefits Tax Efficiently; Ensuring other family
members are protected and the importance of seeking advice.

12:00 Start Session 3

• Investing Wisely – How to create a personalised Savings and Investment strategy to
diversify risk and maximise potential returns in a Tax Efficient manner.
• Later Life Planning – The importance of making a Will, Appointing a Power of
Attorney and the use of Trusts for effective Inheritance Tax Planning. Meeting
Funeral expenses.

12:30 Questions & Close

Stress management and wellbeing are key issues for all our reps. Please come along and learn about what the union can do to help, and how you can monitor changes in your own and your members' stress and well being over time.

Note that this teaches you how to work with your employer to implement an organisational response to stress. It is not a course in mental health awareness.

This short training session is designed to introduce students to the topic of harmful gambling.

The session will cover the following topics and more: - 

• The Unite Gambling Charter
• The effects of harmful gambling
• Getting support

This course is for all union representatives, equality officers and other members who want to find out more about autism (including Aspergers), neurodiversity and the workplace.

To gain confidence in promoting equality in the workplace for people who are neurodiverse.

Learning Outcomes

• To evaluate myths about autistic people and others who are neurodiverse
• To describe issues that affect autistic and other neurodiverse people at work
• To describe how the law can be used to promote equality for people with autism in the workplace.

Course description:

This one day course will help you understand the needs of people with autism in the workplace and help you plan to make reasonable adjustments for them.

Who is this course by?

This course is by Britain's biggest trade union. We are experts in promoting good industrial relations and in helping employers make reasonable adjustments for those who need them.

Who is this course for?

This course is for employees or employers who wish to understand responsibilities to make reasonable adjustments for autistic people under the Equality Act 2010.

Accreditation:

This course is CPD certified for 2 hours. Learners who complete the course workbook will receive a certificate of completion.

Course delivery

The course lasts one day. The morning activities take place on Zoom, the afternoon activities may take place together on Zoom or individually on the Litmos VLE (Virtual learning environment).

Course Aims

To gain confidence in promoting equality in the workplace for people with Autism Spectrum Condition

Learning Outcomes

• To understand people with autism including the triad of impairments
• To describe issues that may affect people with autism at work and cause them stress;
• To describe possible reasonable adjustments at work for people with autism.

Course description

This course is the first step to understanding why politics is Union business!

It is also a stepping stone to the regional residential schools and the national political school held in Durham each year.

Who is this course for?

This course is for everyone, and especially for women, BAEM members, LGBT members, the young, and the disabled.

Aims

• To understand the link between political economy and trade unionism and how Unite members can become involved and influence politics at various levels.
• To prepare members and activists for leadership roles in Unite and in the wider political arena.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course learners will be able to:

1. Describe the impact of politics and economics on working men and women in Great Britain from 1918 to today.
   
2. Describe the importance of climate change on workers' lives and the need for change in workplaces and society.
   
3. Outline how decisions are made in your community.
4. Evaluate the potential for change in power relationships in your community based on collective action.

Aims

This is a pilot course utilising a new format. The course is designed to assist reps develop knowledge and skills which will enable you to become a better rep.

Who is this course for?

To get the most from this course we suggest you have completed a stage two course either workplace reps, health and safety or ULR. We also encourage those who have attended national equalities courses to join us too. Applications for this course are particularly invited from BAEM, LGBT+, Women and Young Members'.

Course overview

You will  learn research methods and use one method to create really useful knowledge; you will work with other members in your workplace or branch to promote equality or organising through doing a research project; You will learn the principles of community based participatory research and how to apply them to your role as a rep.

Delivery format

9.30am – 11.30 on Zoom; afternoons spent in individually guided study on Litmos 12.30-4.30pm. To assist with release the course will be advertised from 9.30 - 16.30 so we suggest using the afternoon session to complete your self guided studies. If you have facilities time the course work should be completed during facilities time, otherwise it can be done at your convenience.