This Open Meeting is about Employment Law, its relation to architectural work, trade union organising, and how to effect change collectively!

We’ll start with a presentation on employment law by Franck Magennis, UVW case worker and barrister. Franck has extensive professional experience in successfully applying employment law; and as a trade union organiser, has a strong working knowledge of its strengths and limits to achieve structural change. The presentation will introduce the basics of employment law, focusing on elements applicable to common issues in architectural work. We’ll also explore when employment law is appropriate to our aims, and when we should go beyond it!

This will be followed by a question and answer session with Franck – bring along issues that you’ve faced, and your experiences with employment law so far.

After the break we’ll have a brief quiz, and then collectively workshop responses to cases of common architectural workplace issues. This will be a chance for us to become more familiar with the basics of employment law, highlight areas for further research, and develop practical ways in which we can put it to use!

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Are you working unpaid overtime? Do you get paid fairly? Have you faced discrimination or harassment at work? Are you stressed, depressed, anxious? Are you unable to refuse or challenge unethical projects in the office?

United Voices of the World - Section of Architectural Workers is a new trade union for all architectural workers. We fight against the harmful impacts of work both on ourselves, communities and the environment.

Through open-meetings, we collectively empower each other to re-shape the architectural profession from within. We organise against underpay, overwork, precarity, discrimination, harassment, unfair access into the profession, and unethical practice. We facilitate workshops, run campaigns, host social events and upskill each other to change the architectural sector.

Our open meetings are for all those working in the architecture industry, and will be a safe space free from bosses. Join us to re-build the profession together!