Announcing the first AI course designed for union industrial officers
Discover if and when AI tools can help you streamline grievance handling, undertake employment law research, and strengthen collective bargaining advocacy.
This practical course helps union industrial officers understand how they can use AI to reduce administrative burdens, manage information overload, and deliver more effective member representation while maintaining strict confidentiality standards and ensuring accuracy.
It also helps them stay ahead of the changes AI brings to their work, preparing for a future where employment tribunals may increasingly incorporate AI analysis, members turn to AI for workplace advice, and employers use AI-powered systems in negotiations.
Who is this course for?
Whether you're new to AI or have some experience, this specialised training offers something for you. It addresses AI usage for industrial officers working at trade unions, including AI’s applicability for:
Grievance handling and case preparation
Collective bargaining and contract negotiation
Employment tribunal representation
Legal research and precedent analysis
Member advice and workplace advocacy
Whether you're managing high caseloads in disputes, navigating complex employment rights issues, or supporting workplace representatives, this course offers practical understanding of responsible AI applications tailored to your role.
I can't recommend [the course] highly enough... it's changed my daily working, AI is helping me in a way that's saving me time. So I've got a better work-life balance and the content that we're producing is better.
Register and start learning today
Access all course modules starting on 22 October 2025. Live sessions take place monthly from November 2025, and provide opportunities to discuss AI applications in grievance handling, tribunal preparation, and collective bargaining with fellow Industrial Officers.
Why Industrial Officers should take this course
In the coming years, industrial relations and workplace representation will undergo significant transformation through AI.
Generative AI is already changing how Industrial Officers:
Research employment law precedents
Draft tribunal documentation
Analyse collective agreements
Manage high-volume caseloads
Prepare for negotiations
This course helps you manage these changes while maintaining strict confidentiality standards and the human element essential to member representation. You'll gain hands-on experience with using AI to:
Manage case documentation: AI can be part of your workflow for writing grievance letters, tribunal submissions, and case summaries
Enhance legal research: AI can find relevant precedents and be your partner in analysing tribunal decisions across complex employment law areas
Streamline contract analysis: AI can help you seek and identify key clauses, compare agreements, and spot patterns across cases to strengthen your negotiating position
Develop member communications: AI can help you create accessible explanations of complex workplace rights tailored to different member groups
Maintain confidentiality while using AI: We’ll cover how to implement secure systems that protect sensitive member information while accessing the benefits of AI in your daily work.
Course format: self-paced online course with monthly online live sessions
Study commitment: around 2 hours per module (5 modules)
Format: Blend of self-paced learning and optional monthly live sessions.
How is the course run?
The course combines flexible online learning with live collaborative sessions:
When you register, all five modules will be available in our interactive online learning platform. Study materials and practical exercises can be completed at your own pace.
Practical exercises focus on real-world applications, with industrial officers contributing to a growing library of union-specific AI use cases for case work and member representation.
Once you join, you will also be invited to register for monthly live online sessions. These provide opportunities for discussion, sharing experiences and learning from peers.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
Apply AI appropriately: Determine when and how to use AI tools effectively in your industrial relations workflow while maintaining confidentiality and accuracy
Streamline your common work: Develop efficient approaches to grievance handling, research and documentation with AI assistance, saving time while improving quality
Build systematic approaches: Design workflows that integrate AI into your team's processes with appropriate quality controls and member data protection
Evaluate AI outputs: Critically assess AI-generated content for legal accuracy, relevance and alignment with your advocacy goals
Navigate changing workplace dynamics: Develop strategies for a future where both industrial officers and members increasingly encounter AI in workplace disputes and representation
“It was very, very good and I can appreciate how much time went into the course planning and design”
Course content
Module 1: The promise and peril of generative AI for union industrial officers
We'll explore why AI represents both an opportunity and challenge for union industrial officers. Through practical examples, you'll learn how to navigate the balance between AI's benefits and its risks for you and your union.
Module 2: Working with generalist AI assistants: prompting and collaboration
Learn effective techniques for getting high-quality, relevant outputs from AI tools like ChatGPT specifically for industrial relations tasks, from case preparation to member advice, whilst protecting confidential information.
Module 3: Specialising and automating generative AI tools
Discover how to move beyond generic tools to use and create specialist AI systems tailored to your tasks and your union's specific industrial relations needs.
Module 4: Expanding AI use to your teams and organisations
Explore what is needed to move from individual AI experimentation to team-wide implementation and how to be part of guiding your union through the change AI brings.
Module 5: The future and your role
Examine how AI will reshape industrial officer roles and member expectations, and how it may impact the future role and shape of unions.
Monthly learning and live sessions in our online community
Once you register for the course you will become part of our specialist community of industrial officers who use AI.
You will be able to participate in live monthly sessions where we share what we are using AI and what we are learning, and our tutors run through live presentations of course content (including new content as it is developed).
"I came into the course very very sceptical about AI … [the course] gave me that platform to actually use AI in a way that was useful to me and would enhance my work rather than replace it."
Training lead: Nick Scott and Becky Wright
Nick is the Director of the Centre for Responsible Union AI and brings over 20 years as a senior digital leader spanning non-profit, trade union and research organisations.
His work building a digital team at UNISON led to it being listed in the Digital Leaders 100 list in the UK, while at the ODI his digital strategy was awarded Digital Strategy of the Year at the European Digital Communications Awards.
Becky is Executive Director of Unions 21, leads all aspects of the work of Unions 21 and supports unions on strategy and organising.
Previous to her post at Unions 21, she worked as Director of the TUC’s Organising Academy and has a range of experience in roles within the trade union movement. Becky holds a BA(Hons) in Politics, an MRes as well as a Diploma in Education and has also studied Contemporary European Labour Studies at Masters level at the Universiteit van Amsterdam.
"The course was so well designed that it was really enjoyable to follow... I always found something useful, and it really helped me, as there is no way I could keep up with the latest AI developments. It's really useful to have someone doing that for me, and filtering out some of the developments."
Costs
This course costs £200 per person for a standard ticket.
Staff working at unions that provide financial support to Unions 21 get a 50% discount off the standard price. These unions are: Accord, Aegis, AEP, AHCPS, ASLEF, BFAWU, BDA, BMA, Community, CSP, Equity, FDA, Fórsa, MU, NAHT, Nautilus, NZPSA, NEU, NGSU, PDAU, Prospect, RCM, RCN, RCPod, SoR, USDAW.
Staff who have previously completed our Responsible AI Fundamentals for Union Staff course get a 25% discount off the standard price.
In addition, Unions 21 can deliver this course in-house for a union. Please contact [email protected] if you want to find out more.
Register and start learning
You will be able to access all course modules from launch on 22 October 2025 and receive invitations to forthcoming live sessions, where we will discuss AI usage, course materials and learnings with other union industrial staff.
