Unite the Union Reviews 

I was left speechless yesterday when I called the north London switchboard at 3:30pm to ask about employment rights. The woman was angry, kept cutting me off and wouldn’t let me speak. The call lasted 3 minutes during which time I repeatedly asked her if she could let me speak. She said she’d pass on my query to a union officer, without taking any of my details then hung up on me.

I’ve never called Unite before but if this is how they operate, then I would be better off with the £17pm and just call ACAS instead for free advice.

I cancelled my membership, the woman was just so rude and nasty.

What are Unite doing,joining protest in UK
Should do what members need by looking after Thier jobs and welfare

Why does this vile organisation pick its battles( that is high profile employers) and leave other members to rot.And why are they helping with the vile redundancy points system?I tell you because they are as corrupt as they come it makes me vomit when I see them marching with there pathetic flags.You would be cheaper taking out legal cover than giving it to this kid on big tough union.I will despise them forever.

I have to say my rep who travelled miles to represent me is a stand alone individual because as a rule my experience with unite is as follows
A dysfunctional uninspiring rabble with limited reps and little or no interest ,abhorrent admin staff and management structure that isn't capable of supporting itself let alone members ,money clearly isn't put back into providing services for members and in my workplace because of a rep that caused massive problems ,demostrated clear bias and no interest in members reaching out for help in my sector (Leeds/ Bramley) ,no flyers or advertising paperwork stayed on boards long before it was ripped down and in the bin ,everyone is aware of this at their regional office but seemingly no one cares ,nasty little uncaring individuals in financing office and benevolent fund in London don't even speak to you let alone support one of the unite members offered their support.
All in all ,don't bother wasting money on this uninspiring chippy outfit with little or no interest in its members .judging by the lack of response to concerned ex members ,the union couldn't give a hoot anyway.
Oh and to the legal rep that started my grievance process off then disappeared irrespective of calls and emails ,having a conflict of interest ,cheers fella ,just added tp the list of Disgraceful failings for this circus act organisation !

Have been member for many years and useless service and reps who dont have time. waste of money. avoid.

They started off alright but then were of no use. I only re-joined for the legal helpline, even though I once called and knew the so-called "expert advisor" was just reading something from the internet.

There's no point at al joining as a community member unless you have a particular purpose for the legal helpline - which is all it is, a helpline, no support nor signposting nor representation.

It's sad to see that there's also no point joining if you're employed. With the way Unite advertises (and Unison, for that matter), they make it seem like it's really important to join a union, but then both unions have got terrible reviews saying the same sort of stuff about reps being useless and complaints not being dealt with fairly.

Their website pages are also not updated - it currently has 3 pages with different rates listed for the same (community) membership - 55p a week, then a link to a PDF that says it's 50p a week, but if you actually join it's 60p a week. It also lists the same person as regional coordinator of the North West (of England) when she hasn't been answering e-mails for years.

By the way, unions are not above the law - if they took your money under false pretences, threaten legal action.

And you don't have to contact a company - which is what Unite really is, a company making money while pretending to be a union - to cancel a direct debit - you can do and it's nice to, but never trust them if they say it's cancelled; check with your bank and cancel it.

Despite paying a subscription fee along with several other employees over the past few months, the union has not provided any assistance and seems to be merely collecting our donations. It feels like a waste of time and money.

nhs rep was useless

Unite Union London. witnessed (online) auditor experiencing aggressive employee
Serious need of retraining

I wouldn’t give a star if that was an option. They don’t even provide a service or listen to their members.
I paid for 8 years, used once and needed legal cover. They said ‘we don’t believe you will win, so won’t provide it.’
I got a solicitor myself and won! It was a clear cut case. Avoid avoid avoid! When I complained they got the vile ‘lady’ I complained about to handle the complaint. Enough said really.

Sad I only read all these reviews now. I would have save a lot in useless membership costs over the years, and not wasted months listening liars or incompetent peoples.

Never ring back , don't waste your money , pointless

Wrote to me about working for a bank that I’d been made redundant from 5 months previously .

Only contacted me during redundancy period when I cancelled my subscription and stopped lining their pockets. Often discusssed standing in solidarity with Amazon workers and dpd by email and in monthly meetings even though my line of work was banking and 100’s of job losses announced.

All the senior staff will be on ridiculous wages paid for by your monthly subscription aka cash cow.

Seriously cancel your subscription put the savings toward a lawyer

They are stealing a living from your membership fees.

I had been a union member all my working life. I had a serious work issue which led to my dismissal. The local rep was way out of his depth and they would not even consider a tribunal. I have mental health issues and although they promote how caring and supportive they are, they are not. I am very ashamed to say that I wasted my time and money on an uncaring, uncapable setup.

Worst union ever. My Union Rep didn’t help me at all, she was there for the Manager and Human Resources. Them 3 made me write a letter as if I wanted to leave the job. I asked her for the right information, but she acted clueless, No comunication with me at all in all the process. DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY. They aren’t interested in the workers. And after that, I was overcharged when I already left my job place. Money grabbers, that’s what they are. I gave 1 star because I can’t put ZERO

I had to threaten the Unite with legal action because they refused to represent me in Tribunal and provided unprofessional solicitors to handle my Personal Injury claim, which I ultimately won over 3 years after requesting help from Unite with different solicitors. They still refused to handle my Tribunal claim and stated that my employers did nothing wrong. Did I mention I was the only Union Rep on site at the time? They won't respond to complaints and they have barred my number from the helpline for complaining.
Unite will also force you to pay more money for your dues than advertised. Maximum price with no reimbursement. No information given regarding getting onto the proper rates and no prompt. But when you do get someone to change it, you need 3 months of wage slips which you most likely already provided while signing up. I also found that Unite was forcing members to pay into their political fund without OPTING IN. For members who joined after 2018 April your consent MUST be sought on this regard, explicitly in writing if you're a Northern Irish member. Rule 23.20 - 23.30. Avoid Unite the union, they have not reported their member numbers since 2021 and this is because of the huge number they have lost, this is in breach of regulation. Unites strike fund has been decimated and current spending forecasts Unite to run out of strike funds within a year. This is an very unstable union and I would recommend Unison if you're desperate.

Unite overcharged me for months, Even though I complained they continued to take the money!

Refused to refund me
Ignored my case
Ignored my complaints

I found out my employer had been chasing them to settle with me, but they sat on it and did not bother to tell me. I found this out after doing a data request.

Upon doing a data request to my shock and disbelief I found there were documents I had never seen, where my signature had been typed in. They just shrugged it off!

I cancelled my membership and made a formal complaint and they refused to answer my complaint as I am no longer a member!

Avoid at all costs, with overcharges and loss of a settlement that they hid from me they have cost me thousands of pounds!

Absolutely time and money wasters!!! I came to make an 3mployment law claim and they didn't even bother to refer it to the solicitors. Their trade union reps just sit there and make an assessment of your application themselves so that they can avoid paying legal fees!!! How are they trade unions, they are bloody SCAMMERS!!! AVOID! SCUMS!!!

I was appalled by the standard of service received. They were not interested in speaking to me and were both undermining and disrespectful.

If I could give zero stars I would, just spoke with the receptionist at Salford Unite named Julie and she sighed and huffed and puffed as I didn't know my member number. I was them told my membership had lasted and its not Unites job to manage my account its my responsibility solely, if she hadn't have said this in a condescending and derogatory way i would have signed back up. Julie is a receptionist and not an agent 🙄 remember your place and if you don't have customer service skills you shouldn't work in a customer facing role. EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING and I hope UNITE speak with staff about how they interact with people.