Doing something different

Sainsbury’s rep Sandra Gair jumped at the challenge of being a stand-down rep so she could put her recruitment skills to the test in different workplaces.

“I’ve been a rep for six years in the Silksworth Lane store in Sunderland,” said Sandra, 44. “Membership in my store is steady, well over 50 per cent at the moment. I work well with fellow rep Ray Taylor and we’ve worked hard to build up membership. Things are going well in store, staff are comfortable knowing the union’s there for them.

“My area organiser first suggested I think about being a stand-down rep. I jumped at the chance to concentrate solely on recruitment and I was curious to see how I’d do in other stores.

“I surprised myself. It’s been a great experience. There are ups and downs, with some visits more successful than others, but on the whole it’s been very rewarding.

“It also gave me the opportunity to do a stint on the night shift in my own store. I’ve never found the time to do this before and it really paid off with a new rep signing up as well as new members.

“When Sainsbury’s bought the Jackson’s and Bells convenience stores in the north east there was great potential for Usdaw. We invited the staff along to my store, which is a training store, to have their inductions.

“This worked very well with nearly everyone signing up and best of all we enlisted the support of a rep for each store. “My time as a stand-down rep was brilliant. Being taken out of your own store and out of your comfort zone is a bit scary at first, but it was a great learning curve and something I can’t wait to repeat.”

Usdaw has an agreement with Sainsbury’s to request up to 13 weeks release for union reps to carry out stand-down recruitment.

The agreement allows for one rep per store to be released at any time so long as it does not interfere with the stores’ busiest trading times. Your area organiser will write to your store manager to ask for your release and Usdaw will pay your wages. Speak to your area organiser if you would like to get involved with stand-down.

What does being a stand-down rep mean for you?

• You are seconded to the union for a set period of weeks or months, depending on your agreement, working on a variety of projects.


• You are provided with all the necessary training and support and your wages and expenses are paid.


• It doesn’t matter if you work full or part-time.

Usdaw already has national stand-down agreements with Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Poundland and the Co-op as well as local agreements with Woolworths, Boots, Wincanton and Asda Northern Ireland.

“Our stand-down reps played a massive role in helping to boost membership through the 357,000 barrier last year, its highest level for 18 years,” said deputy general secretary Paddy Lillis. “We’re hoping to do even better this year with more stand-down reps than ever recruiting and organising in hundreds of workplaces across the UK.

The bigger the membership the stronger the voice so why not play your part and ask your area organiser about stand-down opportunities in your division.”

Is your workplace well organised with good levels of membership?

Ask yourself . . .

Do you have a proven track record of recruiting and organising? Would you like the chance to organise other workplaces and increase membership?

If the answer is ‘yes’ then you could be a candidate to work as a stand-down rep.

Contact your local area organiser for more details.

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