Become a union representative

As a union representative, you will have ample opportunity to develop personally and professionally, and to expand your CV.

You will be able to

• Exert influence
• Be a person your colleagues turn to
• Be closely involved in the big decisions
• Be trained in leadership
• Develop and boost your career
• Get access to completely new networks
• Train your negotiation skill

The qualifications and experience you gain as a union representative are in high demand in the labour market, both within and outside the financial sector. Your experience as a union representative will thus be a major asset in your future career. If you develop a real passion for union work, there are great opportunities to build a career in Finansforbundet.

Although there are no formal requirements, you should be keen to

• Find good solutions
• Be closely involved in decision-making
• Get cooperation to work

What are the tasks of a union representative?

Your tasks include

• Building bridges between employees and management
• Contributing to psychosocial well-being at the workplace
• Supporting your colleagues in discussions with management
• Cooperating with management on personnel matters
• Serving as a sounding board for management
• Negotiating terms and conditions

The union representative is a coach and negotiator
The modern union representative’s role is to be a coach and negotiator As a union representative, you will build bridges between employees and management in order to ensure a good working atmosphere. This is a matter of creating good relationships with both colleagues and management, laying the foundation for sound cooperation. More and more terms and conditions are negotiated and agreed out in the individual companies, where the union representative also plays an important role as negotiator.

Finansforbundet will support you, and you will be trained to tackle the challenges you will meet. The union representative training will earn you ECTS credits, which you can build on later. The training will cover such topics as:

• Negotiation skills
• Coaching
• Communication
• Leadership
• Employment law
• Understanding collective agreements

Working as a union representative may seem a bit like a management job, but obviously you are primarily your colleagues’ representative.

There is no doubt that union representative tasks take time. And you can be sure that this time will be available.

You are entitled to full pay while you take Finansforbundet’s union representative training. You are also entitled to be allowed time for your union representative duties during working hours. This is laid down in the collective agreement.

A union representative must be free to voice his or her opinion and to challenge the management. For this reason, union representatives are given special protection. This means that a union representative may not be dismissed by the employer, unless there are compelling reasons to do so.

On the contrary, you can make active use of the union representative training, and the experience you gain, in your ongoing career. As a union representative, you will be required to take responsibility, take decisions, engage in dialogue with decision makers, and negotiate and mediate between managers and colleagues. These are skills and qualifications that are in high demand in the labour market – both within and outside the financial sector. Once you have gained a footing in the system, there are ample opportunities for a career in Finansforbundet.

You need to fulfil certain formal conditions to be eligible for election as a union representative:

• You must be a member of Finansforbundet
• At the time of the election, you must have been employed for at least one year at your workplace
• You may not be a department manager
• You may not have received notice of termination
• You may not be a trainee

You can download posters and flyer to print yourself.

Material in Danish
Download posters to print in Danish

Download flyers to print in Danish


Material in English
Download posters to print in English

Download flyers to print in English

 If you want to receive the material in print, please send an email to tv@finansforbundet.dk