Representative / Union Meeting Checklist

Send documents early

Your representative cannot help properly if they only see the documents minutes before the meeting.

• Send the meeting invite as soon as you receive it.
• Send the allegation, investigation report, evidence bundle or outcome letter.
• Send the relevant employer policy or procedure if available.
• Send your short factual chronology.
• Clearly flag any deadlines or urgent risks.

Agree the main points before the meeting

Do not wait until the meeting to discover your representative has misunderstood the case.

• Agree the key facts you want raised.
• Agree the evidence you believe is missing or ignored.
• Agree what you accept, dispute or need clarified.
• Agree the outcome you are asking for.
• Keep the agreed points short and structured.

Ask what they intend to say

Your representative should not surprise you in the room.

• Ask what opening points they intend to make.
• Ask whether they believe any evidence is missing.
• Ask whether they think the process is being followed correctly.
• Ask whether there are any points they think should not be raised yet.
• Make sure they do not concede something you dispute.

Agree when they should intervene

Representatives are often most useful when they stop the meeting drifting into unfairness or confusion.

• If the allegation is unclear.
• If you are being asked to answer without seeing evidence.
• If the meeting moves beyond the stated purpose.
• If you need a break to check notes or documents.
• If notes are being taken inaccurately.

Check they understand the aviation context

Aviation employment cases often involve context a general workplace representative may miss.

• Rosters, report times, standby, positioning duties and fatigue context.
• Safety reporting, speak-up culture and operational pressure.
• Training, checking, recurrent performance or line manager context.
• Security, licence, medical or airport access implications where relevant.
• The difference between workplace conflict and safety-critical facts.

Check they understand deadlines

Missed deadlines can damage options. Do not assume someone else is tracking them.

• Meeting date and preparation time.
• Appeal deadline.
• Deadline for submitting evidence or written comments.
• ACAS, tribunal or legal time limits where relevant.
• Any deadline for responding to meeting notes or outcome letters.

Make sure they take notes

Do not rely only on the company’s version of what happened in the meeting.

• Ask your representative to take their own notes.
• Ask them to record questions asked and answers given.
• Ask them to note any missing documents or process concerns raised.
• Ask them to note any promises made by the employer.
• Compare their notes with the company notes afterwards.

Questions to ask your representative

Use these before the meeting so everyone is clear.

Review the record immediately

The first hour after the meeting matters. Write it down while it is fresh.

• Ask your representative for their notes.
• Write your own note of what happened.
• Record any documents requested or promised.
• Record any next steps or deadlines.
• When company notes arrive, check them carefully and correct inaccuracies in writing.

Use the case-intake form if you need support

If you want BlackBox Crew to check eligibility and review the case-preparation route, use the case-intake form. Submission does not confirm eligibility for enhanced member case-review support.

Enhanced support is only available for qualifying new issues after three continuous months of paid membership, subject to scope, fair-use limits and BlackBox Crew terms.