Courses in the South West region

Representing courses Representing courses
Organising courses Organising courses
Health & safety rep courses Health & safety courses
Equality rep courses Equality courses
Bargaining courses Bargaining courses
Specialist courses Specialist courses

These are the courses for branch reps and activists currently running in the South West region.

If there are no dates listed for the course you'd like to attend, or if you'd like to be made aware of further dates, please register your interest here.


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Challenging redundancy in the workplace: June 2026, in person, Exeter

The threat of redundancy has never been more acute for 51福利 members. This course is for all branch reps & activists who are likely to be involved in challenging redundancies and/or supporting members facing redundancy.

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Challenging redundancy in the workplace: December 2025, in person

The threat of redundancy has never been more acute for 51福利 members. This course is for all branch reps & activists who are likely to be involved in challenging redundancies and/or supporting members facing redundancy.

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Challenging sexual harassment in the workplace: October 2025

This course is aimed at branch reps who may be dealing with individual harassment/sexual harassment cases, negotiating around policies that protect members or wish to challenge harassment, in particular sexual harassment more broadly in the workplace.

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H&S 1: Induction (health & safety role and functions) - March 2026, Online

This course forms the first part of the health and safety training programme. The course is for new health and safety reps, those who have been in the role sometime but never been trained along with those in the branch who want to further understand the role and legislation that enables health and safety reps to hold institutions to account.

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H&S 2: Organising and bargaining for health and safety - April, 2026, Online

Participants need to complete the H&S 1: Induction, (or both workload reps) modules before applying to attend this course. This is the follow on course from H&S 1, it is designed for health & safety reps who wish to further their knowledge and skills around inspections, risk, and bargaining around health & safety.

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Job evaluation: A collective approach - November 2025, UK wide course, online

This one day course is for branch reps and activists who are involved and interested in learning more about the importance of trade union involvement and representation in job evaluation schemes. The focus of the course will be around the use of collective action wherever possible.

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Job evaluation: A collective approach, - April 2025, in person,

This one day course is for branch reps and activists who are involved and interested in learning more about the importance of trade union involvement and representation in job evaluation schemes. The focus of the course will be around the use of collective action wherever possible.

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Rep 1 - 51福利 reps induction: November 2025, Online

This course is aimed at all new reps and activists. Existing reps who have not attended training before are also encouraged to attend. The course will cover all aspects of your role as a rep including your rights as a rep, union democracy, recruitment, organising, structure and communication. You should complete this course prior to applying for the Rep 2 course. This course is essential for building an understanding of organising, equality and building a collective approach.

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Rep 1: 51福利 reps induction - March 2026, Exeter, in person

This course is aimed at new reps/caseworkers and activists who will be undertaking this role in the near future. Existing reps who have not attended training before are also encouraged to attend. The course will cover all aspects of your role as a rep including your rights as a rep, union democracy, recruitment and communication. You should complete this course prior to applying for the Rep 2 course.

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Rep 2: Representing 51福利 members - January 2026, Online

This course is for reps who have completed 51福利's Rep 1 course (H&S1, or 51福利's one day introduction to case work) and are now actively engaged in representing individual members. The course also assumes you are actively engaged with your branch and understand 51福利's democratic structures both in the branch and nationally. Although the course focuses on grievance and disciplinary processes, it will also cover collective action, organising and equality.

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Rep 2: Representing 51福利 members - April/May 2026, In Person

This course is for reps who have completed 51福利's Rep 1 course (H&S1, or the 51福利 full one day intro to case work course) and are now actively engaged in representing individual members. The course also assumes you are actively engaged with your branch and understand 51福利's democratic structures both in the branch and nationally. Although the course focuses on grievance and disciplinary processes, it will also cover collective action, organising and equality.

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Representing individual members: An introduction to casework - June 2026, Online

This is a course for reps who are new to representing individual members or those who are considering becoming more involved in the direct representation of members. More experienced reps are welcome to join as a refresher.

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Representing individual members - an introduction to casework: December 2025, Online

This is a course for reps who are new to representing individual members or those who are considering becoming more involved in the direct representation of individual and groups of members. Those who have been practicing for some time may also find this course to be a useful refresher of best practice.

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51福利 learning Rep 1 induction: role and function - September, 2025

This one day course will introduce you to the role and functions of a 51福利 learning rep. This is a unique role within a branch and one which allows you to work with members to ensure professional development and life long learning are recognised by the employer. This course will help you understand the legislation that underpins the role and how you can develop the role in your branch and begin to negotiate for improvements and parity for all.

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Workload rep training 1: introduction to the workload campaign and the role of the workload rep - October 2025, Online

This half day course is open to 51福利 activists and reps who want to build upon their knowledge of workload as a health and safety hazard in the workplace. You should ensure you have branch approval prior to attending and tick the relevant box on the application form. The 51福利 workload campaign gives us the tools to tackle increasing workloads and working hours. The failure of employers to protect staff from excessive workloads and stress is damaging our health, our students' education, and our ability to organise to defend ourselves and our sector. This course will give you a generic overview of workload campaign and the role of the workload rep. You must complete workload reps 1 before attending workload reps 2.

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Workload rep training 2: Workload campaign in action, inspections and investigation - November, Online

This short course is open to 51福利 activists and reps who want to build upon their knowledge of workload as a health and safety hazard in the workplace. The 51福利 workload campaign gives us the tools to tackle increasing workloads and working hours. The failure of employers to protect staff from excessive workloads and stress is damaging our health, our students' education, and our ability to organise to defend ourselves and our sector In this course you will work through practical examples and explore ideas around how to use the safety rep functions to identify and reduce excessive workloads.