Decent work is a human right and while young people remain firmly in the sights of the Government, young employees need protection. That’s the bad news. The good news is that getting organised in the workplace can help – and more young people than ever before are organising. 

140,000 young members 

Unite represents 140,000 young members across all sections of society and while youth unemployment remains unacceptably high and close to one million, those finding work or sanctioned into it are more often than not forced into zero or short-hours contracts, minimum wage agreements with few opportunities to progress and little if any job security. 

Protect your future

Join a union today and protect your future. Here at Unite, we seek to give workers like you a voice on matters that affect you at work - by standing together and campaigning, we can win decent work for all… look up #DecentWork4All and #FightFor5 on social media and contact a union today.

Here are just five reasons why you’d be silly not to think about joining us… 

1.      Unite will give you visibility 
Employers listen to collective strength. By working together, Unite members give themselves a bigger voice and, in doing so, a better chance of being heard. The boss can’t sack you because he wants to give your job to his son’s girlfriend, if everybody knows your name. 

2.      Unite will give you security 
Members of trade unions are more likely to stay in their jobs longer – on average, five years longer – than non-members. Remember that benefits such as holidays, sick pay and pensions often didn’t (or still don’t) exist without a union voice.   

3.      Unite will give you strength 
The sizeable majority of zero-hour contracts are given to students between 16 and 25. Flexible working often just means insecurity and forced zero and short-hours contracts need to stop - we can achieve this by organising and campaigning together. 

4.      Unite will give you options 

It’s not just the money (though union members do earn, on average, 10% more than non-members), Unite members can utilise free legal representation and advice about holiday entitlement, maternity and paternity leave, redundancy rights and training and development. 

5.      Unite will give you dignity 
Union members don’t have to tip-toe around in fear of incompetent managers and outdated rules. Sure, you can still lose your job for a substandard work performance, but the backing of Unite equips you with a level of expertise that makes bosses behave as they should.