Our services

When you first get in touch with WRS, we will discuss with you the issue that is concerning you. We will provide you with:

• An evaluation of your case and representation needs.
• Direction on what preparation you need to make.
• Advice on how best to proceed to maximise your chances of success.
• Guidance on what you must do to remain compliant with requirements of the ACAS Code of Practice.
• Details on the types of support WRS can provide you and estimated costs.
• Confirmation of what more we will need from you, if you decide to proceed with WRS’s professional support.

Equipped with all the information you need, you can then make your choice on how to proceed. Go ahead alone – with the full benefit of the guidance we provide on our website. Or take advantage of parts or all of WRS’s high-quality, professional support.

If you are making a complaint about how you have been treated, or appealing against the outcome of an earlier hearing, you will first need to set out your concerns in writing.

Your letter will need to:

• Confirm that you are registering a formal complaint or appeal.
• Provide a summary of your concerns (ideally through a series of succinct bullets for each point).
• Explain what outcome you are seeking.
• Insist upon an independent manager being appointed to hear your case.
• Require that a meeting be arranged for as soon as possible.

Your letter must strike the right balance. It must provide enough detail for your employer to understand your concerns. But these should be described in general terms to allow flexibility for how you eventually construct your case. And without setting out your case in full, to prevent the Hearing or Appeal Manager from reaching a decision on your case before having even met you.

WRS can assist you with preparing your letter, even if you are not already a union member.

Your Written Statement will:

• Present a clear, detailed and persuasive narrative for your case.
• Control how the Hearing Manager will understand your case, by presenting your points in a structured way.
• Ensure you cover all the points you need to make.
• When you get to your Hearing, shift the emphasis away from merely answering a succession of pre-prepared questions from the Hearing Manager.  
• Put you more in control, with a better chance of convincingly putting across your own arguments.
• Make sure the Minutes record your case in full, since your Written Statement will be attached to them.

Your Written Statement should only be given to the Hearing Manager at your Formal Meeting. Not before.

A professional and well-presented Written Statement will help you to exert influence and control over the handling of your Hearing. It will help you to avoid the presentation of your case being disjointed and disrupted, whereby the Hearing Manager might otherwise ‘put you on the back foot’ with a series of questions designed to meet your employers agenda.

The most important service we provide is arranging for you to be supported by a union specialist at Formal Meetings.

You have a legal right to be accompanied by a representative of a trade union. And we can arrange this for you even if you are not already a union member.

This means you will no longer have to risk attending important meeting on your own. Your representative will:

• Balance numbers at the hearing, act as a witness and provide you with moral support. You will no longer be at risk of being bullied, intimidated, misled or ignored.
• Most effectively present you Written Statement on your behalf.
• Guide and support you throughout the Hearing – if necessary, requiring adjournments to brief you.
• Object to unfair lines of questioning.
• Ensure proceedings meet ACAS requirements.
• Present a closing statement, summing up your key points and arguments.

With such a highly-experienced and knowledgeable union specialist beside you, we can exercise significant influence and control over how your meeting is handled. And how your arguments are understood. Your case will be presented in by far the most effective and persuasive way.

If there is evidence you have been treated improperly, there is a fair chance your employer may want to reach an agreement with you to avoid time-consuming and costly legal action. Or the prospect of being forced to pay you compensation.

Finally, if you don’t receive the outcome you deserve and want to pursue your case to employment tribunal, we can provide you with the advice, guidance and support you need.