Young professionals: the deal in Prospect
At the start of your career it's natural to have mixed feelings: hopes for what you'll get out of your job and what you can put into it, but worries too, from housing costs to shopping bills, career prospects to repaying your student loan.
Prospect can provide the support you need to stop those worries getting in the way of your career, and to help you achieve your aspirations for a rewarding life at work.
Read on to find out how we:
- protect your employment rights
- fight for pay rises that don't squeeze student loan repayments
- provide free legal advice
- support career development and lifelong learning
- help you manage your debts
- are trialling a mortgage service tailored for young professionals
- campaign on bigger issues like corporate social responsibility and climate change
- enable members under 30 to discuss the issues that matter to them through our young professionals network.
Employment rights
You need sound advice on how to handle any employment issues that may arise. This is particularly important for new entrants, because you don't get full legal protection rights until you've worked for your employer for 12 months. You may also need help if you have a personal problem or want to work flexibly.
We have a network of trained representatives and full-time staff, familiar with the workplace agreements at your employer, such as your right to claim unfair dismissal. They're also experts at negotiating better pay and conditions on your behalf.
Our reps can explain about your pension choices, represent you to the employer and call on the union's full-time specialists for advice.
Paying back your loan
You're a professional and you've got prospects. But right now you need to get by. Student debt is a major burden on new graduates, so we provide special low subscription rates for anyone earning less than £20,000 a year.
The great injustice: every graduate earning more than £15,000 a year loses 9% of their monthly pay packet to repay their student loan. So pay progression and the annual pay rise Prospect negotiates are really important to you.
We challenge employers who try to impose basic pay rises in line with the consumer price index (CPI) rather than the retail price index (RPI). For several years this has been government policy across the public sector. Yet the government charges interest on student loans at a rate directly linked to RPI, normally 1-2% higher than CPI because it includes housing costs.
Only fair pay rises can prevent your earnings being squeezed by these double standards. Together in Prospect we can protect living standards and campaign to change things for the better.
Hotline to the law
Housing problems are a real issue for thousands of young people. Unscrupulous landlords, getting back your deposit, fees charged by rental agencies - you're lucky if you never bump up against at least one of these hurdles.
Prospect has a 24-hour legal helpline. Trained legal advisors will answer your call at any time of day or night. They specialise in property issues but they're also dab hands at consumer law, neighbour disputes and family law. What's more, their services come free to you as a Prospect member.
Learning at work
Training and development don't stop because you've got a degree. In today's world of work most people know they need to constantly update and expand their skills.
Prospect is committed to advancing your personal and career development.
Our network of union learning reps advises and supports members who want to develop their careers and life-long skills through workplace learning. To enable this to happen, they negotiate learning agreements with employers.
Our negotiators press employers to:
- allow adequate time off for staff to take study leave
- accredit their own training to higher levels
- invest more in training.
Within Prospect we run our own education programme for reps and members, delivering over 100 courses and seminars a year.
Your own credit crunch
Repaying your student loan can cause real hardship when you're starting out on a new career. If your finances get into trouble there may come a time when you need independent advice from a source you can trust.
Whether you need basic budgeting help or a serious debt management plan, Prospect can put you in touch with a free debt counselling service staffed by experts whose one aim is to get you back on your feet and out of the red.
Mortgage help
You want the chance to live in decent accommodation and get on the property ladder. For many that means a mortgage but these days they can be hard to get - and expensive.
Prospect is about to trial a special mortgage package for recent graduates. Our expert providers will scan the market for a mortgage that can be tailored to fit your specific needs. The standard £399 arrangement fee will be waived, and applicants will receive £200 towards legal fees or survey costs.
We are still settling the final details with our mortgage provider, and the scheme will initially only be available in our AWE, QinetiQ and MOD branches. These areas have sizeable graduate intake programmes so we can roll out the scheme in a controlled way and monitor its takeup. If it's successful we'll extend it to other areas.
A campaigning union
You want to be part of a campaigning organisation that is active beyond the workplace as well as in it. One that works for a sustainable world as well as social justice.
Prospect campaigns on the issues that matter to our members. These go beyond our fight for fair pay, jobs and a better life at work. For instance:
Climate change
With their scientific and professional expertise, many Prospect members are well placed to help combat the dangers of climate change through their jobs - in places like the Met Office, research councils, the Environment Agency, the energy sector. Our reps press employers to improve their environmental performance and take action in the workplace, such as support for cycle to work schemes. Our guide to greening the workplace offers practical advice on making positive changes to the way people work.
Through joint initiatives like the TUC's Green Workplaces project, many Prospect members are working in partnership with employers. Any member can join our environment network.
Corporate social responsibility
With support from the TUC and government, Prospect is pressing to make international development a workplace bargaining issue. Our reps influence workplace practices in order to make employers more socially responsible.
We are working with employers to implement CSR policies linked to the eight millennium development goals. We also:
- encourage employers to sell fairtrade products at work
- organise the collection of scientific equipment for developing countries
- campaign for ethical supply chains in the workplace
- give direct support to War on Want and Oxfam.