State

Pension

The

earliest

you

can

get

your

State

Pension

is

when

you

reach

your

State

Pension

age

You

’ll

have

to

wait

to

claim

your

State

Pension

if

you

retire

before

you

reach

that

age

The

amount

you

’ll

get

The

amount

you

’ll

get

depends

on

your

National

Insurance

record

and

when

you

reach

State

Pension

age

You

’ll

claim

basic

State

Pension

and

Additional

State

Pension

if

you

reached

State

Pension

age

before

April

You

’ll

claim

the

new

State

Pension

if

you

reach

State

Pension

age

on

or

after

April

Personal

and

workplace

pensions

When

you

can

take

money

from

your

pension

pot

will

depend

on

your

pension

scheme

’s

rules

but

it

’s

usually

after

you

’re

You

may

be

able

to

take

money

out

before

this

age

if

either

you

’re

retiring

early

because

of

ill

health

you

had

the

right

under

the

scheme

you

joined

before

April

to

take

your

pension

before

you

’re

ask

your

pension

provider

if

you

’re

not

sure

Some

companies

offer

to

help

you

get

money

out

of

your

pension

before

you

’re

This

could

be

an

unauthorised

payment

If

it

’s

unauthorised

you

pay

up

to

tax

on

it

The

pension

pot

that

you

build

up

will

probably

be

smaller

if

you

retire

early

because

it

’s

had

less

time

to

increase

in

value

Taking

your

pension

early

because

of

ill

health

You

might

be

able

to

get

higher

payments

if

you

need

to

take

your

pension

early

because

of

a

health

condition

Check

with

your

provider

If

your

life

expectancy

is

less

than

a

year

You

may

be

able

to

take

your

whole

pension

pot

as

a

tax

free

lump

sum

if

all

of

the

following

apply

to

you

you

’re

expected

to

live

less

than

a

year

because

of

serious

illness

you

’re

under

you

do

not

have

more

than

the

lifetime

allowance

of

in

pension

savings

If

you

’re

over

you

’ll

pay

Income

Tax

on

the

lump

sum

Check

with

your

pension

provider

Some

pension

funds

will

keep

at

least

of

your

pension

pot

for

your

spouse

or

civil

partner

Benefits

The

amount

of

money

you

get

from

any

income

related

benefits

could

be

affected

if

you

take

your

pension

early

such

as

money

you

get

from

Housing

Benefit

Income

Support

income

based

Jobseeker

’s

Allowance

income

related

Employment

and

Support

Allowance

Pension

Credit

Universal

Credit

Benefits

if

you

retire

early

because

of

ill

health

If

you

retire

early

because

of

ill

health

you

may

be

entitled

to

other

benefits

Use

a

benefits

calculator

to

check

Get

help

Pension

Wise

has

information

about

how

taking

a

personal

or

workplace

pension

early

can

affect

your

benefits

You

can

also

get

help

from

Citizens

Advice

the

Money

Advice

Service


About

workplace

pensions

A

workplace

pension

is

a

way

of

saving

for

your

retirement

that

’s

arranged

by

your

employer

Some

workplace

pensions

are

called

occupational

works

company

or

work

based

pensions

How

they

work

A

percentage

of

your

pay

is

put

into

the

pension

scheme

automatically

every

payday

In

most

cases

your

employer

also

adds

money

into

the

pension

scheme

for

you

You

may

also

get

tax

relief

from

the

government

Joining

a

workplace

pension

All

employers

must

provide

a

workplace

pension

scheme

This

is

called

automatic

enrolment

Your

employer

must

automatically

enrol

you

into

a

pension

scheme

and

make

contributions

to

your

pension

if

all

of

the

following

apply

you

’re

classed

as

a

worker

you

’re

aged

between

and

State

Pension

age

you

earn

at

least

per

year

you

usually

ordinarily

work

in

the

UK

read

the

detailed

guidance

if

you

’re

not

sure

When

your

employer

does

not

have

to

automatically

enrol

you

Your

employer

usually

does

not

have

to

automatically

enrol

you

if

you

do

not

meet

the

previous

criteria

or

if

any

of

the

following

apply

you

’ve

already

given

notice

to

your

employer

that

you

’re

leaving

your

job

or

they

’ve

given

you

notice

you

have

evidence

of

your

lifetime

allowance

protection

for

example

a

certificate

from

HMRC

you

’ve

already

taken

a

pension

that

meets

the

automatic

enrolment

rules

and

your

employer

arranged

it

you

get

a

one

off

payment

from

a

workplace

pension

scheme

that

’s

closed

a

winding

up

lump

sum

and

then

leave

and

rejoin

the

same

job

within

months

of

getting

the

payment

more

than

months

before

your

staging

date

you

left

opted

out

of

a

pension

arranged

through

your

employer

you

’re

from

an

EU

member

state

and

are

in

a

EU

cross

border

pension

scheme

you

’re

in

a

limited

liability

partnership

you

’re

a

director

without

an

employment

contract

and

employ

at

least

one

other

person

in

your

company

You

can

usually

still

join

their

pension

if

you

want

to

Your

employer

can

not

refuse

If

your

income

is

low

Your

employer

does

not

have

to

contribute

to

your

pension

if

you

earn

these

amounts

or

less

a

month

a

week

over

weeks

What

happens

when

you

’re

automatically

enrolled

Your

employer

must

write

to

you

when

you

’ve

been

automatically

enrolled

into

their

workplace

pension

scheme

They

must

tell

you

the

date

they

added

you

to

the

pension

scheme

the

type

of

pension

scheme

and

who

runs

it

how

much

they

’ll

contribute

and

how

much

you

’ll

have

to

pay

in

how

to

leave

the

scheme

if

you

want

to

how

tax

relief

applies

to

you

Delaying

your

enrolment

date

Your

employer

can

delay

the

date

they

must

enrol

you

into

a

pension

scheme

by

up

to

months

In

some

cases

they

may

be

able

to

delay

longer

if

they

’ve

chosen

either

a

defined

benefit

pension

a

hybrid

pension

a

mixture

of

defined

benefit

and

defined

contribution

pensions

that

allows

you

to

take

a

defined

benefit

pension

Your

employer

must

tell

you

about

the

delay

in

writing

let

you

join

in

the

meantime

if

you

ask

to

What

your

employer

can

not

do

Your

employer

can

not

unfairly

dismiss

or

discriminate

against

you

for

being

in

a

workplace

pension

scheme

encourage

or

force

you

to

opt

out

What

you

your

employer

and

the

government

pay

The

amount

you

and

your

employer

pay

towards

the

pension

depends

on

what

type

of

workplace

pension

scheme

you

’re

in

whether

you

’ve

been

automatically

enrolled

in

a

workplace

pension

or

you

’ve

joined

one

voluntarily

opted

in

Use

the

Money

Advice

Service

’s

contributions

calculator

to

work

out

how

much

you

and

your

employer

will

put

in

Tax

relief

The

government

will

usually

add

money

to

your

workplace

pension

in

the

form

of

tax

relief

if

both

of

the

following

apply

you

pay

Income

Tax

you

pay

into

a

personal

pension

or

workplace

pension

Even

if

you

do

not

pay

Income

Tax

you

’ll

still

get

an

additional

payment

if

your

pension

scheme

uses

relief

at

source

to

add

money

to

your

pension

pot

If

you

’ve

been

automatically

enrolled

You

and

your

employer

must

pay

a

percentage

of

your

earnings

into

your

workplace

pension

scheme

How

much

you

pay

and

what

counts

as

earnings

depend

on

the

pension

scheme

your

employer

has

chosen

Ask

your

employer

about

your

pension

scheme

rules

In

most

automatic

enrolment

schemes

you

’ll

make

contributions

based

on

your

total

earnings

between

and

a

year

before

tax

Your

total

earnings

include

salary

or

wages

bonuses

and

commission

overtime

statutory

sick

pay

statutory

maternity

paternity

or

adoption

pay

Workplace

pension

contributions

The

minimum

your

employer

pays

You

pay

Total

minimum

contribution

From

April

These

amounts

could

be

higher

for

you

or

your

employer

because

of

your

pension

scheme

rules

They

’re

higher

for

most

defined

benefit

pension

schemes

In

some

schemes

your

employer

has

the

option

to

pay

in

more

than

the

legal

minimum

In

these

schemes

you

can

pay

in

less

as

long

as

your

employer

puts

in

enough

to

meet

the

total

minimum

contribution

If

you

’ve

voluntarily

enrolled

in

a

workplace

pension

Your

employer

must

contribute

the

minimum

amount

if

you

earn

more

than

a

month

a

week

over

weeks

They

do

not

have

to

contribute

anything

if

you

earn

these

amounts

or

less

How

your

take

home

pay

changes

Joining

a

workplace

pension

scheme

means

that

your

take

home

income

will

be

reduced

But

this

may

mean

you

’re

entitled

to

tax

credits

or

an

increase

in

the

amount

of

tax

credits

you

get

although

you

may

not

get

this

until

the

next

tax

year

mean

you

’re

entitled

to

an

income

related

benefit

or

an

increase

in

the

amount

of

benefit

you

get

reduce

the

amount

of

student

loan

repayments

you

need

to

make

Payments

using

salary

sacrifice

You

and

your

employer

may

agree

to

use

salary

sacrifice

sometimes

known

as

a

SMART

scheme

If

you

do

this

you

give

up

part

of

your

salary

and

your

employer

pays

this

straight

into

your

pension

In

some

cases

this

will

mean

you

and

your

employer

pay

less

tax

and

National

Insurance

Ask

your

employer

if

they

use

salary

sacrifice

Protection

for

your

pension

How

your

pension

is

protected

depends

on

the

type

of

scheme

Defined

contribution

pension

schemes

If

your

employer

goes

bust

Defined

contribution

pensions

are

usually

run

by

pension

providers

not

employers

You

will

not

lose

your

pension

pot

if

your

employer

goes

bust

If

your

pension

provider

goes

bust

If

the

pension

provider

was

authorised

by

the

Financial

Conduct

Authority

and

can

not

pay

you

you

can

get

compensation

from

the

Financial

Services

Compensation

Scheme

FSCS

Trust

based

schemes

Some

defined

contribution

schemes

are

run

by

a

trust

appointed

by

the

employer

These

are

called

trust

based

schemes

You

’ll

still

get

your

pension

if

your

employer

goes

out

of

business

But

you

might

not

get

as

much

because

the

scheme

’s

running

costs

will

be

paid

by

members

pension

pots

instead

of

the

employer

Defined

benefit

pension

schemes

Your

employer

is

responsible

for

making

sure

there

’s

enough

money

in

a

defined

benefit

pension

to

pay

each

member

the

promised

amount

Your

employer

can

not

touch

the

money

in

your

pension

if

they

’re

in

financial

trouble

You

’re

usually

protected

by

the

Pension

Protection

Fund

if

your

employer

goes

bust

and

can

not

pay

your

pension

The

Pension

Protection

Fund

usually

pays

compensation

if

you

’ve

reached

the

scheme

’s

pension

age

compensation

if

you

’re

below

the

scheme

’s

pension

age

Fraud

theft

or

bad

management

If

there

’s

a

shortfall

in

your

company

’s

pension

fund

because

of

fraud

or

theft

you

may

be

eligible

for

compensation

from

the

Fraud

Compensation

Fund

Contact

one

of

the

following

organisations

if

you

want

to

make

a

complaint

about

the

way

your

workplace

pension

scheme

is

run

the

Pensions

Advisory

Service

the

Pensions

Ombudsman

Managing

your

pension

Your

pension

provider

will

send

you

a

statement

each

year

to

tell

you

how

much

is

in

your

pension

pot

You

can

also

ask

them

for

an

estimate

of

how

much

you

’ll

get

when

you

start

taking

your

pension

pot

What

you

see

on

your

payslip

You

do

not

need

to

do

anything

to

get

tax

relief

at

the

basic

rate

on

your

pension

contributions

There

are

types

of

arrangements

net

pay

relief

at

source

Check

with

your

employer

or

pension

provider

which

arrangement

your

workplace

pension

uses

This

determines

what

you

’ll

see

on

your

payslip

Net

pay

Your

employer

takes

your

contribution

from

your

pay

before

it

’s

taxed

You

only

pay

tax

on

what

’s

left

This

means

you

get

full

tax

relief

no

matter

if

you

pay

tax

at

the

basic

higher

or

additional

rate

The

amount

you

’ll

see

on

your

payslip

is

your

contribution

plus

the

tax

relief

You

will

not

get

tax

relief

if

you

do

not

pay

tax

for

example

because

you

earn

less

than

the

tax

threshold

Relief

at

source

Your

employer

takes

your

pension

contribution

after

taking

tax

and

National

Insurance

from

your

pay

However

much

you

earn

your

pension

provider

then

adds

tax

relief

to

your

pension

pot

at

the

basic

rate

With

relief

at

source

the

amount

you

see

on

your

payslip

is

only

your

contributions

not

the

tax

relief

You

may

be

able

to

claim

money

back

if

you

pay

higher

or

additional

rate

Income

Tax

you

pay

higher

or

top

rate

Income

Tax

in

Scotland

Tracing

lost

pensions

The

Pension

Tracing

Service

could

help

you

find

pensions

you

’ve

paid

into

but

lost

track

of

Nominate

someone

to

get

your

pension

if

you

die

You

may

be

able

to

nominate

choose

someone

to

get

your

pension

if

you

die

before

reaching

the

scheme

’s

pension

age

You

can

do

this

when

you

first

join

the

pension

or

by

writing

to

your

provider

Ask

your

pension

provider

if

you

can

nominate

someone

and

what

they

’d

get

if

you

die

for

example

regular

payments

or

lump

sums

Check

your

scheme

’s

rules

about

who

you

can

nominate

some

payments

can

only

go

to

a

dependant

for

example

your

husband

wife

civil

partner

or

child

under

whether

anything

can

change

what

the

person

gets

for

example

when

and

how

you

start

taking

your

pension

pot

or

the

age

you

die

You

can

change

your

nomination

at

any

time

It

’s

important

to

keep

your

nominee

’s

details

up

to

date

Sometimes

the

pension

provider

can

pay

the

money

to

someone

else

for

example

if

the

person

you

nominated

can

not

be

found

or

has

died

Taking

your

pension

Most

pension

schemes

set

an

age

when

you

can

take

your

pension

usually

between

and

In

some

circumstances

you

can

take

your

pension

early

The

earliest

is

usually

Some

companies

offer

to

help

you

get

money

out

of

your

pension

before

you

’re

Taking

your

pension

early

in

this

way

could

mean

you

pay

tax

of

up

to

If

the

amount

of

money

in

your

pension

pot

is

quite

small

you

may

be

able

to

take

it

all

as

a

lump

sum

You

can

take

of

it

tax

free

but

you

’ll

pay

Income

Tax

on

the

rest

How

you

get

money

from

your

pension

depends

on

the

type

of

scheme

you

’re

in

Defined

contribution

pension

schemes

You

’ll

need

to

decide

how

to

take

your

money

if

you

’re

in

a

defined

contribution

pension

scheme

Defined

benefit

pension

schemes

You

may

be

able

to

take

some

money

as

a

tax

free

lump

sum

if

you

’re

in

a

defined

benefit

pension

scheme

check

with

your

pension

provider

You

’ll

get

the

rest

as

a

guaranteed

amount

each

year

Changing

jobs

and

taking

leave

If

you

change

jobs

Your

workplace

pension

still

belongs

to

you

If

you

do

not

carry

on

paying

into

the

scheme

the

money

will

remain

invested

and

you

’ll

get

a

pension

when

you

reach

the

scheme

’s

pension

age

You

can

join

another

workplace

pension

scheme

if

you

get

a

new

job

If

you

do

you

might

be

able

to

carry

on

making

contributions

to

your

old

pension

combine

the

old

and

new

pension

schemes

Ask

your

pension

providers

about

your

options

If

you

move

jobs

but

pay

into

an

old

pension

you

may

not

get

some

of

that

pension

’s

benefits

check

if

they

’re

only

available

to

current

workers

If

you

worked

at

your

job

for

less

than

years

before

you

left

If

you

were

in

a

defined

benefit

pension

scheme

for

less

than

years

you

might

be

able

to

either

get

a

refund

on

what

you

contributed

transfer

the

value

of

its

benefits

to

another

scheme

a

cash

sum

transfer

This

depends

on

the

type

of

defined

benefit

scheme

and

its

rules

Check

with

your

employer

or

the

pension

scheme

provider

Paid

leave

During

paid

leave

you

and

your

employer

carry

on

making

pension

contributions

The

amount

you

contribute

is

based

on

your

actual

pay

during

this

time

but

your

employer

pays

contributions

based

on

the

salary

you

would

have

received

if

you

were

not

on

leave

Maternity

and

other

parental

leave

You

and

your

employer

will

continue

to

make

pension

contributions

if

you

’re

getting

paid

during

maternity

leave

If

you

’re

not

getting

paid

your

employer

still

has

to

make

pension

contributions

in

the

first

weeks

of

your

leave

Ordinary

Maternity

Leave

They

have

to

carry

on

making

contributions

afterwards

if

it

’s

in

your

contract

Check

your

employer

’s

maternity

policy

Unpaid

leave

You

may

be

able

to

make

contributions

if

you

want

to

check

with

your

employer

or

the

pension

scheme

provider

If

you

become

self

employed

or

stop

working

You

may

be

able

to

carry

on

contributing

to

your

workplace

pension

ask

the

scheme

provider

You

could

use

the

National

Employment

Saving

Trust

NEST

a

workplace

pension

scheme

that

working

self

employed

people

or

sole

directors

of

limited

companies

can

use

You

could

set

up

a

personal

or

stakeholder

pension

You

can

get

help

with

your

workplace

pension

options

If

you

want

to

leave

your

workplace

pension

scheme

What

you

do

if

you

want

to

leave

a

workplace

pension

depends

on

whether

you

’ve

been

automatically

enrolled

in

it

or

not

If

you

have

not

been

automatically

enrolled

Check

with

your

employer

they

’ll

tell

you

what

to

do

If

you

’ve

been

automatically

enrolled

Your

employer

will

have

sent

you

a

letter

telling

you

that

you

’ve

been

added

to

the

scheme

You

can

leave

called

opting

out

if

you

want

to

If

you

opt

out

within

a

month

of

your

employer

adding

you

to

the

scheme

you

’ll

get

back

any

money

you

’ve

already

paid

in

You

may

not

be

able

to

get

your

payments

refunded

if

you

opt

out

later

they

’ll

usually

stay

in

your

pension

until

you

retire

You

can

opt

out

by

contacting

your

pension

provider

Your

employer

must

tell

you

how

to

do

this

Reducing

your

payments

You

may

be

able

to

reduce

the

amount

you

contribute

to

your

workplace

pension

for

a

short

time

Check

with

both

your

employer

and

your

pension

provider

to

see

if

you

can

do

this

and

how

long

you

can

do

it

for

Opting

back

in

You

can

do

this

at

any

time

by

writing

to

your

employer

They

do

not

have

to

accept

you

back

into

their

workplace

scheme

if

you

’ve

opted

in

and

then

opted

out

in

the

past

months

Rejoining

the

scheme

automatically

Your

employer

will

automatically

re

enrol

you

in

the

scheme

They

must

do

this

either

every

years

from

the

date

you

first

enrolled

or

they

can

choose

to

do

it

sooner

They

’ll

write

to

you

when

they

do

this

When

you

do

not

rejoin

automatically

If

you

no

longer

qualify

for

the

scheme

you

will

not

be

automatically

re

enrolled

If

you

chose

to

leave

the

scheme

in

the

months

before

the

date

you

would

have

been

re

enrolled

your

employer

does

not

have

to

automatically

re

enrol

you

But

they

can

choose

to

re

enrol

you

Get

help

For

questions

about

the

specific

terms

of

your

workplace

pension

scheme

talk

to

your

pension

provider

or

your

employer

You

can

get

free

impartial

information

about

your

workplace

pension

options

from

the

Money

Advice

Service

the

Pensions

Advisory

Service

Pension

Wise

if

you

’re

in

a

defined

contribution

pension

scheme

You

can

get

impartial

advice

about

workplace

pensions

from

an

independent

financial

adviser

You

’ll

usually

have

to

pay

for

the

advice

For

general

questions

on

workplace

pensions

contact

the

DWP

Workplace

Pension

Information

Line

Only

use

the

information

line

if

you

’re

a

worker

employers

should

contact

The

Pensions

Regulator

Problems

with

being

automatically

enrolled

Contact

the

The

Pensions

Regulator

if

you

have

concerns

about

the

way

your

employer

is

dealing

with

automatic

enrolment

The

Pensions

Advisory

Service

may

also

be

able

to

help

you

If

you

’re

already

paying

into

a

personal

pension

Check

whether

it

’s

better

for

you

to

carry

on

with

just

your

personal

pension

stop

paying

into

your

personal

pension

and

join

your

workplace

pension

keep

paying

into

both

If

you

’re

saving

large

amounts

in

pensions

You

may

have

to

pay

a

tax

charge

if

your

total

savings

in

workplace

pensions

and

any

other

personal

pension

scheme

go

above

your

lifetime

allowance

annual

allowance

usually

the

lowest

out

of

or

of

your

annual

income

If

you

start

taking

your

pension

pot

your

annual

allowance

could

drop

to

as

low

as

If

your

pension

scheme

is

closing

This

can

happen

if

your

employer

decides

they

do

not

want

to

use

a

scheme

anymore

or

they

can

no

longer

pay

their

contributions

What

happens

to

the

money

you

paid

in

depends

on

the

pension

scheme

you

’ve

joined

If

you

’ve

been

automatically

enrolled

your

employer

can

not

close

a

pension

scheme

without

automatically

enrolling

you

into

another

one

If

you

’re

getting

a

divorce

You

and

your

spouse

or

partner

will

have

to

tell

the

court

the

value

of

each

of

your

pension

pots

You

then

have

different

options

to

work

out

what

happens

to

your

pension

when

you

get

a

divorce


Overview

You

can

complain

to

the

Certification

Officer

about

a

trade

union

if

you

’re

a

member

You

might

also

be

able

to

complain

if

you

’re

not

a

member

of

a

trade

union

for

example

you

’re

a

candidate

in

an

election

run

by

a

union

What

you

can

complain

about

You

can

complain

if

you

think

the

trade

union

has

broken

its

own

rules

for

example

about

holding

elections

or

ballots

broken

laws

on

running

trade

unions

for

example

not

holding

a

proper

ballot

on

a

proposed

merger

of

trade

unions

or

not

providing

access

to

accounting

records

You

can

also

complain

about

trade

union

funds

being

used

illegally

or

in

a

way

that

breaks

the

financial

rules

of

the

union

known

as

financial

irregularities

You

do

not

have

to

be

a

member

of

a

trade

union

to

complain

about

financial

irregularities

The

make

a

complaint

guidance

has

a

full

list

of

the

complaints

you

can

make

to

the

Certification

Officer

What

you

can

not

complain

about

You

can

not

complain

about

what

a

union

does

for

you

for

example

representing

you

if

you

’re

unfairly

dismissed

You

should

get

legal

advice

instead

Complain

to

your

trade

union

first

Talk

to

your

trade

union

and

try

to

resolve

the

problem

with

them

before

taking

it

to

the

Certification

Officer

You

can

take

your

complaint

further

if

you

’ve

been

through

all

the

steps

in

your

trade

union

’s

complaints

procedure

and

you

’re

still

not

satisfied

Complain

to

a

court

You

might

be

able

to

take

your

trade

union

to

court

for

example

for

breach

of

contract

if

it

breaks

its

own

rules

You

should

seek

legal

advice

before

you

do

this

You

can

not

complain

to

the

Certification

Officer

and

the

courts

about

the

same

problem

Complain

to

the

Certification

Officer

Make

a

complaint

Attend

a

hearing

Get

a

decision

Make

a

complaint

Email

or

call

the

Certification

Officer

to

talk

about

your

complaint

before

you

make

a

complaint

in

writing

The

make

a

complaint

guidance

has

information

on

how

to

make

a

complaint

and

when

you

can

make

it

The

financial

irregularities

guidance

has

information

on

how

to

make

a

complaint

about

the

illegal

or

improper

use

of

funds

in

trade

unions

and

employers

associations

the

Certification

Officer

might

appoint

an

inspector

to

investigate

the

complaint

the

Certification

Officer

makes

a

decision

and

how

they

’ll

tell

you

this

Use

the

complaint

form

Download

and

fill

in

the

registration

of

complaint

form

Email

the

registration

of

complaint

form

to

the

address

on

the

form

Make

an

anonymous

complaint

You

might

be

able

to

make

your

complaint

anonymously

if

you

feel

your

complaint

would

put

you

in

danger

Use

the

registration

of

complaint

form

to

make

your

complaint

and

do

both

of

the

following

tell

the

Certification

Officer

that

you

want

to

make

an

anonymous

complaint

explain

why

you

want

your

identity

kept

secret

from

your

union

If

the

Certification

Officer

agrees

they

will

keep

your

identity

secret

from

the

trade

union

You

can

retract

your

complaint

if

the

Certification

Officer

does

not

think

your

complaint

can

be

made

anonymously

You

should

tell

them

in

writing

that

you

want

to

retract

your

complaint

Attend

a

hearing

You

’ll

usually

get

the

chance

to

attend

a

hearing

with

the

Certification

Officer

to

have

your

complaint

heard

You

’ll

get

a

letter

from

the

Certification

Officer

asking

you

to

confirm

what

your

complaint

is

about

for

example

what

rule

you

think

has

been

broken

Your

complaint

will

be

sent

to

your

union

they

can

disagree

with

any

allegation

you

’ve

made

Provide

documents

for

your

hearing

You

and

your

union

must

send

certain

documents

by

a

date

specified

by

the

Certification

Officer

These

include

copies

of

all

the

documents

that

relate

to

your

complaint

written

statements

from

anyone

that

’s

going

to

give

evidence

at

the

hearing

written

draft

arguments

copies

of

any

legal

evidence

that

backs

up

the

draft

arguments

Get

a

date

for

the

hearing

You

’ll

get

a

letter

from

the

Certification

Officer

that

sets

a

date

for

the

hearing

when

both

of

the

following

have

happened

your

union

has

replied

to

the

Certification

Officer

about

your

complaint

you

and

your

union

provide

the

Certification

Officer

with

all

the

necessary

documents

You

or

your

union

can

ask

for

the

hearing

to

be

postponed

if

either

of

you

ca

n’t

attend

the

hearing

on

the

date

given

The

hearing

guidance

tells

you

how

you

or

your

union

might

be

able

to

change

the

date

of

the

hearing

what

happens

at

the

hearing

Get

a

decision

without

a

hearing

You

can

also

get

a

decision

from

the

Certification

Officer

on

your

case

without

having

to

attend

a

hearing

for

example

if

both

you

and

the

union

agree

that

either

the

union

’s

own

rules

or

the

law

has

been

broken

You

’ll

still

need

to

provide

the

Certification

Officer

with

all

the

details

about

the

case

so

they

can

decide

what

should

happen

next

Get

a

decision

You

wo

n’t

get

a

decision

about

your

complaint

at

the

hearing

You

’ll

be

told

at

the

end

of

the

hearing

when

you

might

get

your

decision

You

’ll

get

a

decision

in

writing

with

the

reasons

for

it

from

the

Certification

Officer

Appeal

against

a

decision

You

can

appeal

to

an

employment

appeal

tribunal

if

you

think

the

Certification

Officer

made

a

decision

that

was

legally

wrong