“Our company disciplinary policy provides for representation in the form of a work colleague only and our company does not recognise trade unions. Can I refuse to allow an employee to bring their trade union representative to meetings held in the course of a disciplinary process?”

Jennifer O'Sullivan writes:

Many employer policies specifically provide for representation in the form of a work colleague only. This is particularly the case where companies chose not to recognise trade unions. It is an integral part of the right to fair procedures, however, that an employee is given the opportunity to have a representative in any disciplinary process. Does this infer, however, that the employee is entitled to have a trade union as a