As a student, am I able to join a trade union?

Everyone has the right to join a union if they want. The law gives you freedom of choice to join a union or not, and protects you against discrimination on those grounds.

This means that it would be unlawful to treat you less favourably on account of your union membership, or non membership in the following circumstances:

• on applying for employment
• during employment, e.g. promotion or training courses
• on termination of employment, including selection for redundancy

Dismissal relating to union membership, or non membership, is an automatically unfair dismissal.

Some unions also have special lower rates for student members, or for part-timers, which can be a big help when you’re not earning a lot from your job. Use our interactive unionfinder to check which is the most relevant union for you, and find their contact and website details.