Arranging for a companion


As a first step, the member should find out when their rep or companion is available. If the employer proposes a date when the companion is not free, then under section 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999 (ERA 99) the employee gets one chance to suggest an alternative date and time, which must be reasonable and no later than five working days after the date proposed by the employer. The employer must postpone the hearing to the later date. A collective agreement may allow more flexibility than this. 


The postponement request must be reasonable. For example, suggesting an alternative date when a manager is known to be unavailable is unlikely to be seen as reasonable.


The statutory duty to re-schedule due to the rep’s unavailability only applies to the first request, not to any subsequent requests. 


Under section 10 ERA 99, a worker can choose their own companion as long as they are either a full time union official (whether or not the union is recognised), a certified lay official (someone the union has trained to accompany individuals to hearings) or a workplace colleague employed by the same employer (Toal v GB Oils Limited [2013] UKEAT 0569/12/LA). 


There is more information on the right to be accompanied in Chapter 8.