Resource type: Guides

A6 Booklet – new ‘Worker What??!! A Short Introduction to worker cooperatives’

Launching the Worker Co-op booklet, ‘Worker What??!! A Short Introduction to worker cooperatives’ (digital and print). During Co-op Fortnight we were excited to finalise a new worker co-op resource in the form of a 12 page pocket sized booklet which we hope will be versatile.

This booklet was designed to be an educational resource to non-coperators about worker co-ops. It can be stocked in worker co-op shop floors, handed out to customers, or given to new co-op members. The aim is to make the system of worker co-ops more accessible.

Members can request print copies by filling out this form or emailing order details to solidarity at workers.coop. They will in near future be available to non-members to order online.

Specs: A6, colour, 12 pages (pocket sized)

workers.coop Style Guide

We are sharing our workers.coop branding Style Guide as a resource. Members looking at developing their marketing, visuals, creating branding or developing style guides for their co-op may view as an example or use it as a template. Members can use the text about worker co-ops or the federation as boilerplate and use the workers.coop logos.

This has been created by the workers.coop Communications working group. If you are interested in joining, read more here.

Calverts workers handbook

This example of an internal handbook is from Calverts. There’s also a general profile of this co-op in our case studies resource.

Contents

1 Introduction
2 Calverts as a workers coop
3 Employees becoming Members
4 How we organise and manage Calverts
5 Co-op meetings
6 Your Employment Agreement
7 Hours of work and timekeeping
8 Our environment, and working safely
9 Time off
10 Other benefits
11 Disciplinary procedure
12 Grievance procedure
13 Loss of Membership

1 Introduction

1.1 This handbook is to help new people get familiar with working at Calverts, and remind Members what they signed up for. It contains information about Calverts policies and procedures.

1.2 The handbook is given to all workers, and it gets updated from time to time. Along with your job offer letter, job description and individual Employment Agreement, it forms part of the contract between Calverts, its workers and Members. We are individually and collectively bound by the policies set out here, or otherwise agreed by the Members.

2 Calverts is a workers coop

2.1 Calverts is like any other firm in some ways, and different in others. From the outside, it may look like any other company. Unlike most other companies, we are a cooperative. A co-op is a group of people organising to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs, through a jointly-owned and democratically owned enterprise.

2.2 We’re a workers coop. Most firms exist to provide profit for the owners. Calverts exists to provide decent work. By that we mean jobs that are well paid and secure, with equality, dignity and respect, the opportunity to develop peoples’ skills and aptitudes, and to collectively self-manage our working lives.

2.3 There are other kinds of coops, providing housing, financial services, shops, shared services and so on, for their Members. Coops around the world have agreed on a basic set of values. The co-op values are self-help, self-responsibility, equality, equity and solidarity.

2.4 We put these values into action using the seven co-op principles:

• open and voluntary Membership
• democratic control
• Member economic participation
• autonomy and independence
• Member and public co-op education
• cooperation between cooperatives
• care for community

2.5 What these values and principles mean for a worker co-op in practice, are set out in a booklet called the Worker Co-op Code. You can read or download the Code at https://www.workers.coop/resource/workercode/

2.6 Calverts is committed to equal opportunity policies in relation to recruitment, employment and training practices. You can read our Equality and diversity policy at [internal link]

2.7 In short, a worker co-op is a firm that is owned by, controlled by, and for the benefit of, its worker Members and the wider community. The Members of Calverts collectively own and control the coop. They direct its activity, sharing the benefits and management responsibilities that membership brings.

3 Employees becoming Members

3.1 As a Calverts employee, you have the same legal rights and responsibilities as you’d have in any other job. Your tax and national insurance status treatment the same. You have legal rights to a safe working environment, to paid time off, to join a union, and so on. When you become a Member of the coop, this doesn’t change – it’s just that Members are also co-owners, with the special legal powers and responsibilities that come with being a Director.

3.2 Only people employed by Calverts under an open-ended Employment Agreement to work 14 hours a week or more, can become co-op Members. There is an induction process for these workers, to get the understanding and co-op skills they will need over and above the specific job skills they were recruited for. In general, it takes about 9 months from when you first take a job at Calverts, to the point when you’ll be invited to join. It takes new people time to ‘get’ the Calverts culture and learn co-op skills. It also takes time for us to be sure you’ll make an effective Member.

3.3 During the 9 months, you’ll get support and advice to help you gain an understanding of Calverts’ financial management, what co-op Membership means on the day-to-day level, and what being a Director involves. If possible, we’ll send you on at least one external co-op event.

3.4 As a Member, you will be expected to put yourself forward to carry out one or more of the special roles and tasks needed to run the co-op – for instance co-op secretary, health and safety officer, personnel officer, environmental manager, meeting facilitator, co-op chair or co-op treasurer.

3.5 Other than a symbolic £1 share, it doesn’t cost anything to become a Member. When you leave, your Membership finishes and you don’t get to take away your ‘share’ of the value of the coop. In other words, the co-op belongs collectively to whoever the Members are at any point in time. As people arrive and leave, that ownership and control is passed on.

4 How we organise and manage Calverts

4.1 No Member of Calverts is any other Member’s boss, and every Calverts Member is paid the same. In most firms, there are line managers whose job it is to make all the important decisions, tell people what to do, to hire and fire.

4.2 At Calverts, we have collective self-management in the way we govern the co-op. On the day-to-day level, our productive work is managed by production co-ordinators. This co-ordination is a business process, rather than something that confers special status or power. This way of working means that Members must show a high level of personal and collective responsibility – using their skills and capacities productively, for the development of the coop; upholding the coop’s policies; positively contributing to the coop’s culture; treating their colleagues respectfully and as equals; being honest, open and accountable to each other; and complying with any reasonable work or support request made by another Member or by the coop.

4.3 We work in overlapping departmental team circles. Each team is responsible for making sure its department works well, and has a lot of say in how it is run. Team Members are accountable to each other, and each team is accountable to the other teams, so that decisions don’t get made that go against the interests of the co-op as a whole – or make other peoples’ jobs more difficult.

5 Co-op Meetings

5.1 Co-op policies, or major issues affecting everyone, are discussed and decided by the whole co-op at regular Monthly Meetings. This is when Members receive and review formal reports on things like Calverts financial and sales performance.

5.2 Attendance at the Monthly Meetings is mandatory for all co-op Members. It’s a key part of Membership. The only reason for a Member not to be at a Monthly Meeting is if it coincides with pre-booked leave, if they are ill, or if they have a personal emergency. If a Member does not plan to be at a meeting, they should normally send a formal apology to the co-op Secretary, with a reason for the absence. In any case, Members must attend at least 9 Monthly Meetings out of 12 in a calendar year, unless a dispensation has been requested by the Member concerned, and agreed by the other Members.

5.3 From time to time, Calverts has a longer special meeting. These are often held away from the office, to give time and space to work on complex issues or long-term strategy. These meetings are also mandatory for Members.

5.4 Check-in meetings are held between Monthly Meetings, to keep track of progress and deal with anything urgent. Anyone working at Calverts office when a check-in meeting is held, is normally expected to attend – but it is not mandatory.

5.5 We also form special circles or groups as needed, to work on particular aspects of the co-op such as marketing, finance or strategic planning. These circles report back to the whole coop.

5.6 Mostly, Calverts makes decisions by consensus or consent. Sometimes, we need to record a formal vote. All workers, whether they are Members or not, can have their say; but only Members have a vote.

6 Your Employment Agreement

6.1 Within one month of starting at Calverts, you’ll receive this Handbook, your individual job description and an Employment Agreement. The Employment Agreement contains information about your starting date, wages, holidays, entitlements to paid sick leave, and notice period. Together with the Handbook and your job description, it is part of your contract with Calverts, and you’ll be asked to sign it.

6.2 If you’re new at Calverts, you will receive a fixed-term contract to cover the period of your expected induction for Membership of the co-op – normally 9 months – plus a further month to make a decision about joining, or in lieu of notice. Part of your job requirement will be to work towards Membership, including receiving peer support, training and information to help you make an informed decision and be ready to take up the benefits and responsibilities of co-op Membership.

6.3 If you are invited to become a Member after successfully completing the induction period, and accept, you will receive a new, open-ended contract that is similar to the initial contract, but also includes your Member responsibilities and rights.

6.4 If you choose not to become a Member, or if you do not complete the induction period, your fixed term contract and employment with Calverts will end.

7 Hours of work and timekeeping

7.1 A standard full-time working week at Calverts is 35 hours. All workers are hourly paid. Pay rates are reviewed and agreed by co-op Members from time to time.

7.2 You will be paid monthly, and your pay is calculated on the total hours you worked during the previous pay month – taking into account any time worked under or over your contracted hours. Any variation from your contracted hours may be factored in to your pay calculation for the month, or carried over from one month to the next.

7.3 Your pay is calculated on the basis of the standard hourly pay rate, together with any premium or special rate for overtime or unsocial hours working. These rates are set and agreed by the Members from time to time. The current policy on overtime pay is as follows:

“Overtime will be paid at single time up to 37.5 hours per week, calculated over the monthly pay period. Over 37.5 hours, it will be paid at 1.5 time. All overtime must be requested or agreed in advance by a production coordinator. Workers are encouraged to use ‘time in lieu’ to even out their hours over the pay period, to avoid overtime.” (Policy agreed 23rd January 2018).

7.4 Basic policy on working hours and pay are the same for all workers, but actual working days and hours for each job role, team or employee vary. This allows the co-op to maximise efficiency, while taking account of the individual needs of workers and responding flexibly to individual requests.

7.5 To start with, your hours and working pattern are set out in your employment agreement. After six months, you have the right to request to vary them. Any variation or change in your contracted hours or working pattern must be negotiated with your colleagues, then agreed at a Members’ meeting. This does not affect your legal right to request to flexible working.

7.6 Except in cases of health or family emergency, or factors beyond your control, you are contracted to carry out all the duties set out in your job description, according to your agreed hours and working pattern. This includes complying with any reasonable work or support request from a colleague, whether or not it is included in your job description.

7.7 You are required to maintain and submit an accurate daily and weekly record of your working hours and breaks, using both:

i) the premises signing-in book, which also serves as a building security and safety log. You must sign in when you enter the building, and record the time when you leave.

ii) any app-based or other system as may be agreed from time to time. You can use this to report hours worked both on and off Calverts premises. This submission, checked against your ‘on premises’ hours as reported in the signing-in book, is used to calculate your paid hours and holiday entitlement.

8 Our environment, and working safely

8.1 Calverts has a duty to ensure that its employees have a safe working environment. It is the responsibility of all workers to be familiar with the current policy and to comply with its provisions. New employees will receive appropriate training and information. Our Health and Safety policy is available at [internal link].

8.2 In particular, compliance with safe working practices around machinery such as printing presses and guillotines is vital. For instance, no employee should operate printing or finishing machinery when they are alone on Calverts premises. Members should be prepared to comply with any reasonable request to provide safety cover.

8.3 Calverts is one of the UK’s leading ‘green’ design and print agencies. We have an environmental management system, which we run under the ISO14001 standard. You will be familiarised with the policy and system and what it means for your work. Complying with the system requirements is an important requirement of working at Calverts.

9 Time off

9.1 Holiday leave: your starting holiday entitlement is equivalent to 6.6 weeks per year, pro rata, including bank holidays and the period when Calverts closes between Christmas and New Year. This rises by one day per year for Members after their second full year of Membership, rising to a maximum 7.60 weeks.

Holiday or other leave of up to one day, including time off in lieu, must be agreed with the production co-ordinator in consultation with other people in your work team. All other leave must be agreed by a check-in meeting.

9.2 Family leave: employees are entitled to time off for urgent family reasons, and to parental leave in accordance with the statutory scheme for the time being in force. This is unpaid.

9.3 Compassionate leave: Members of the co-op may request up to one week’s compassionate leave per working year pro rata. An example of grounds for requesting compassionate leave is close family bereavement. Any such request must be agreed by the coop. Compassionate leave may be taken as additional unpaid leave, and any such request will be considered sympathetically. Exceptionally, the co-op may agree to treat compassionate leave as additional paid leave, but this is at the Members’ discretion and is not a right.

9.4 Extended and sabbatical leave: A Member of the co-op who has been a Member for more than three years may request unpaid leave for a period of up to one year. Such a request will be considered sympathetically by the coop, but can only be granted on a case-by-case basis, and is not a right.

9.5 Public duties: Employees are entitled to time off for public duties such as jury service, in accordance with the statutory scheme for the time being in force.

9.6 Maternity leave and pay: you are entitled by law to take time off to have a baby and to be paid, provided that you have given the correct notice. Please ask the Personnel Officer for details, or read: https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave

Above and beyond your statutory rights, a full-time employee who is absent from work due to pregnancy is entitled to full pay for the first 16 weeks of maternity leave, including your statutory entitlement.

9.7 Paternity, maternity support or shared parental leave: your rights to take paternity, maternity support, adoption or shared leave is provided for by law. Please ask the Personnel Officer for details, or read:
https://www.gov.uk/paternity-pay-leave/pay
https://www.gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay
https://www.gov.uk/adoption-pay-leave

9.8 Health Care: After completing 3 months service, employees are entitled to six preventative visits (pro rata) in total to doctors/dentists/opticians/family planning clinics etc. per year, in paid working time.

10 Other benefits

10.1 Pension: Calverts uses the Peoples Pension scheme to automatically enrol employees, as required by law. Please ask the Personnel Officer for details about how this affects to you.

10.2 Eye Tests: Any Member working on a screen or whose job involves close scrutiny work is entitled to an eye and sight test once a year, paid for by the Co-op, as well as £35 towards the cost of their prescription.

10.3 Child Care Vouchers: Child Care Vouchers to cover childcare costs are available. This is a salary sacrifice scheme, the voucher value being deducted from your gross salary. Please ask your Personnel Officer for details.

10.4 Season Ticket Loan: A season ticket loan to pay for travel costs to work is available, within Transport for London Zones 1-6. All loans are repayable on termination of employment. Please ask the Personnel Officer for details.

10.5 Training and development: In line with the 5th co-op principle of Education and Information, Calverts encourages Members to develop and broaden their skills and capacities through on- and off-the job training, as well as deepen their practical understanding of the cooperative way of working.

Employees who are working towards Membership will be given information to help them understand the way the co-op works, including understanding our financial management and co-op culture.

The co-op will also consider sympathetically any request from a Member for support, in the form of subsidised training costs or flexible working arrangements, to enable them to develop skills and aptitudes that are not directly related to their job at Calverts.

11 Disciplinary procedure

11.1 If a problem is perceived to arise with the performance or behaviour of a Member, and it cannot be resolved through honest and open communication between colleagues, it should be referred to the Personnel Officer or an alternate, uninvolved Member if the Personnel Officer is the subject of the referral. The Personnel Officer, or an alternate Member agreed by the Personnel Officer, may:

i) Make a preliminary investigation.

ii) Convene an investigatory meeting with the Member who is the subject of the issue, in the presence of a Note Taker. The Member who is the subject of the issue will not be entitled to be accompanied at such a meeting.

iii) Convene a disciplinary panel of three co-op Members. The Panel will be appointed by the Personnel Officer, or an alternative Member, from the full list of Members – Members being required when requested to serve in this capacity, unless they are personally involved in the issue under investigation. Where possible, Panel members will be drawn from different work teams, and be appointed in rotation. The Disciplinary Panel will be delegated full authority to carry the disciplinary procedure through to a resolution, including implementing and escalating any necessary measures that are fair and proportionate, in line with law and best employment practice. The Panel will be authorised to seek such professional advice as they may need to fulfil its role. The Personnel Officer, or alternate Member, will attend any disciplinary meetings as an advisor and note taker.

iv) A minimum of one week’s notice of a Disciplinary hearing will be given to the employee or employees concerned. A pro forma complaint sheet will be prepared and presented to the employee. The Panel will decide and notify the employee in writing of any improvement that may be required, and on what timescale. This will constitute a first warning, and it will remain in force for 6 months, regardless of the agreed timescale for improvement.

v) The Panel, assisted by the Personnel Officer or an alternate Member, will monitor and record the employee’s performance during the agreed period.

vi) If there is insufficient improvement within the required period, or if the conduct that led to the hearing is repeated within 6 months, a further meeting will be called with the personnel officer in attendance, and procedure followed as above. This constitutes a second warning, and it will remain active for 12 months, regardless of the agreed timescale for improvement.

vii) If there is insufficient improvement within the required period, or if the conduct that led to the hearing is repeated within 12 months, the Panel may issue the employee with a written dismissal notice.

viii) Within 7 days of receiving either a formal warning or a dismissal notice, an employee who is the subject of the warning or notice may appeal against the Panel’s decision. The appeal will be heard as soon as possible by a full meeting of Members, not to include the members of the Disciplinary Panel that issued the warning or notice. The employee may choose to attend, or not attend, the appeal in person. In the case of a dismissal notice, the employee will be suspended on full pay until the appeal has been granted or refused. If the employee does not appeal within 7 days, dismissal will take effect immediately.

ix) An employee who is required to attend a disciplinary or appeal hearing has the right to be accompanied and advised by a person of their choice.

x) In a case of serious misconduct, the above warnings and timescale will not apply. Any Member who believes an employee to be guilty of serious misconduct may request that employee to immediately surrender their access to Calverts premises and accept gardening leave, pending investigation. Examples of serious misconduct may include:

• intoxication due to drink or drugs
• fighting or other physical abuse
• theft
• dishonesty
• sabotage
• serious breaches of health and safety rules
• offensive behaviour such as discrimination, harassment, bullying or abuse
• unreasonable refusal to work or to comply with a request from a colleague
• accepting or offering bribes
• misusing co-op information or setting up a competing business
• repeated failure to meet the obligations of Membership
• deliberately damaging Calverts reputation and good standing

12 Grievance procedure

12.1 A grievance complaint may be initiated by any employee or group of employees, concerning another employee or group of employees. Initially, any such complaint should be addressed to the Personnel Officer or to an alternate Member if the Personnel Officer is the subject of or closely involved with the grievance.

a) If the Personnel officer or alternate believes that the grievance needs further investigation, an investigatory meeting involving all parties will be held as per 11 (ii) above.

b) If the grievance cannot be resolved this way, a Panel of three Members will be convened to consider the case as per 11 (iii) above. The Personnel Officer or alternate Member may involve an external mediator, and each party has the right to a representative or advisor of their choice.

c) If the grievance is upheld, the Panel will direct a remedy and timescale, and monitor further. If the grievance is still not resolved, the Panel may initiate disciplinary action.

13 Loss of Membership

13.1 Taking an active part in the running of the co-op is a contractual obligation for Members. This includes attendance and participation in the governance and day-to-day management of the coop’s business, including from time to time taking on specific governance and management roles such as Treasurer, Secretary, Health and Safety Officer, Environmental Policy Manager, Personnel Officer, Chair or such other roles as the Members may create; and participating in working groups of Members. Members will receive such information and training as may be necessary to take up these roles.

13.2 A Member could be liable to lose their Membership, and be removed as a Director, if they fail to fulfil their obligations as a Member. This might include consistently failing to positively engage as respectful equals with colleagues, or pursuing individual or factional agendas that run counter to cooperative values and principles, or co-op policies.

a) A Member may be expelled by a resolution carried by the votes of 75% or more of the Members present and voting at a general meeting of the coop. The meeting must be called giving the Member sufficient notice and details of the complaint. Proxy votes are not permissible, as Members would need to hear the evidence before making a decision.

b) Not less than 28 days before the meeting the Member threatened with expulsion must be sent, in writing, a complaint of conduct detrimental to the interests of the coop. The complaint must contain full particulars of the misconduct. The Member must be invited to answer the complaint in writing within 14 days of him/her receiving it. The answer must be given to the personnel officer, who will distribute it to Members.

c) The Member must be invited to attend the meeting and must be allowed to take part even if the Member has not answered the complaint prior to the meeting. At the meeting the Members must consider the evidence in support of the complaint and such evidence as the Member may wish to place before them. If the Member’s evidence is only placed before them on the day of the meeting the other Members may decide to adjourn the meeting to another day not more than 10 working days after the day of the meeting. Should this occur, the Member who is the subject of the potential expulsion shall be suspended on half pay until the hearing is resumed.

d) If, after due notice the Member fails to attend without due cause the meeting may proceed in his or her absence.

e) A person who has been expelled from Membership shall not be readmitted except by a resolution carried by the votes of at least three quarters of the Members present and voting at a general meeting of which due notice has been given.

f) If the meeting fails to vote for expulsion, but it is felt that there is still a problem, a grievance complaint may be initiated by any Member.


Updated September 2023

Quick guide: setting up a new worker co-op

What do you need to consider first, if you’re thinking of setting up a new worker co-op? Here’s a really short introduction.

Find the right people

Since the worker co-op system is not well known – at least in the UK – it’s important to test your founding group’s expectations, particularly if you come from a background in the private, voluntary or state sector. For instance how would you feel about working in a business where everyone has equal rights and voice? Would you be happy with sharing ownership and control? What do you feel about people having equal wages and in-work benefits?

Be realistic about your capacity – and keep track

In the start-up process, it’s useful to set yourself a timeline, keep a register of decisions, and track how many hours you’re spending on it all. The members of your founding group will have different limits on how much unpaid work they can do, even if you plan to compensate yourselves through ‘sweat equity’ when the co-op can afford it.

Test the concept

Before writing a long business plan, test your basic business idea. What would be your products and/or services? Is there an effective market? In other words, while you may believe there is a need for it, will people pay for it? If so, who are they and how much? Does it stack up? At this stage it’s important to pitch your idea to potential customers, suppliers and critical friends.

Define the membership model

In a worker co-op, the primary beneficiaries are the workers. So how do your workers become members? What does membership mean in practical terms, and how exactly will the members benefit from the activity of the co-op? Worker control and worker benefit should not be at the expense of your local community, wider social causes, or environmental action. Most worker-led businesses are also responding to wider social needs and aspirations.

Work out how you will make decisions

Small co-ops often have a flat management structure, but there’s a range of democratic models and tools you can use, based on the changing needs of the business and its members. While ‘collective management’ might be right for a small organisation, you may decide to adopt elements of sociocracy or even ‘democratic hierarchy’ as you grow. Check out some of the different models worker co-ops use, in our Worker Co-op Code.

What will you do with your surplus?

You’ll also need to decide if you constitute yourself as ‘for-profit’ or ‘not-for-profit’. In other words, can the workers receive an annual bonus? Or will it all be reinvested back into the business? How much – if any – money will be set aside to support external causes?

Pick a legal structure 

If you decide to legally incorporate your co-op in the UK, you can use one (or more) of several legal structures. You can incorporate as a Co-op Society – the most traditional form; a Company Limited by Guarantee or Shares – the most common; or even a Partnership. The choice of legal form will depend on your financial and trading model.

You will also need to create your governing document. This is a constitution for an unincorporated body, ‘articles of association’ for a company, ‘rules’ for a Society, or ‘agreement’ for a partnership. Then you’ll need to create ‘secondary rules’ and policies that set out in detail how your high level governing principles are going to be applied in practice.

Fundraising & finance

If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll need some level of start-up money to pay for premises, wages, supplies, or other business costs while you’re waiting for sales revenue. In some cases, your founding group may be able capitalise the business through member shares or loans from their own savings, or even be able to crowdfund. But quite likely you’ll need your business plan to convince a bank, loan provider or grant-giver to support these early costs. 

Talk to as many people and co-ops as possible

Take the opportunity to talk to as many people as possible doing the same thing as you. Whether this is other co-ops in the same industry or small businesses with similar ethos, the more examples of ways of doing things you can garner the better. This will help you think through how you want to run your co-op, what things you’d do the same or differently. Contacting by phone or email is helpful, but visit in person if you can. You’ll pick up tips from others doing the same thing, for example what to expect with suppliers or typical spends on staff wages, that will feed into your profit loss projections.

Write the plan

Start by looking at the business plans of organisations you like. Whatever your sector, you’ll find inspiring blueprints from others, which you can adapt. A business plan is your ‘manifesto’ – to yourselves, your community and to potential partners and investors. The plan should set out the co-op’s goals, its composition and structure, your products, services and marketing strategy; ‘inputs’ and ‘outputs’; short and longer-term projections for your income and expenditure. You’ll also set out your staffing and recruitment model, identify your potential supply chain, and outline your initial financial needs.

This short guide is adapted from a piece we originally wrote in collaboration with our member Stir to Action, which is published in their ABCs of the New Economy. Let us know if you think it could be improved.

Give us a case study

We are building a bank of case studies of worker co-operatives to inspire more people to start or convert to a worker co-op. This is a quick guide on how to write a case study for us.

TLDR: Just fill in this form

Why a structured case study

We think providing a libary of structured case studies will make it easy both for individuals to write one if they have never done it before. But also following a set structure will make it easer for people reading them to compare and contrast between the different case studies.

How to write a case study for workers.coop

We created a form here to make it easy for both you to fill in the info but also for us to convert it into a resource. We’ve done an example case study on worker.coop, I’m sure you can do something better!

First the Quick facts

Before you submit make sure you have some basic info to hand these will appear in a quickfacts table

  • Name of co-op
  • Email contact – this will not be published but to check details and request a photo/image
  • Website
  • When was your co-op founded
  • Industry – there is a drop down list, just go with the closest match
  • Turnover – no need to be specific, the aim is to give people a sense of your size
  • Number or workers – include everyone you deem a worker, whether they are employees, self-employed of volunteers
  • Number of members
  • Who are your members – drop down list, just pick the closest match
  • Governance
    • Collective – All members are Directors
    • Elected Directors – Traditional Membership Electing a Board / Management Committee
    • Sociocracy – Although you may have a Board of Directors they are within a sociocratic structure
    • Other – please do explain!
  • Pay
    • Equal pay – All members on the same hourly rate
    • Variable pay – typical market based pay
    • It’s complicated – Variable pay but not typical market based pay
  • Legal form
    • Company
    • Co-operatives Society
    • Limited Liabillity Partnership

Tell us a story

The rest of the case study is set-out in paragraph form so give as much or as little detail as you want. You can always come back to this case study in the future and update it with us

  • Who are we? – Give us a quick intro into your co-op, where are you based
  • What do we do? – What products and services do you sell, why people should do business with you etc.
  • How do we operate? – Expand on the quick facts, do you have a Board, how are they elected, do you have managers, or how do you make decisions etc
  • Where did we come from? – What’s your origin or founding story, why did you start, how did you start.
  • Why are we a co-op? – Share something that makes you different, achievements or impacts you have made, why you are proud to be a co-op
  • Lessons learned – Share something you did badly that you have learnt from, or something you would do differently if doing again, or a top tip for someone just starting out on their journey

That’s it!

Just submit the form and we will be in touch.

Other Content:

Alongside the case study if you are willing to provide anything else just email us: solidarity@

  • Your logo
  • A photo of your shop/office/members
  • Do you have any guides, how-to, internal policies you’re willing to share?

Run your own Local Co-op Meetup

workers.coop co-host, encourage and support others to host Local Co-op Meetups in their town, city or region. This is in line with our commitment to promote worker co-operatives and run different types of events. So far there is the Glasgow Co-op Meetup, Edinburgh Co-op Meetup and Leeds Co-op Meetup, which are organised locally.

While aimed at worker co-operators, we have found that these meetups work brilliantly as open events to bring together different co-operative and community-based audiences, allowing mutual support and networking.

If you’re a worker co-op, employee-owened enterprise, large organisation or charity who wants to support democratic and worker-controlled business by co-hosting, organising or providing funding towards an event, get in touch. Particularly cooperators in Birmingham, Manchester and Suffolk, where meetups are in the pipeline!

Below we outline key elements from what has worked best in our members’ experience, some practical things to consider as well as suggested formats for running the event.

Key elements

Open

Local Co-op Meetups are aimed at worker co-operators and employee-owned enterprise members, but we have found them to be most successful when open to other types of co-operative such as housing, multi-stakeholder, consumer, society, CIC, etc. We’ve found this helps to ensure numbers of attendees, increases knowledge and experience in the room, strengthens local connections and increases opportunities and networking.

Knowledge pool

Running an open, free, public event and including all types of co-operatives has shown us that this often results in a wide level of knowledge and experience amongst participants, who are then able to answer questions. We have found those attending are able to direct, signpost, and advise those attending who are new to co-operatives or looking to start a co-op, without requiring paid staff or a facilitator.

One off or Recurring

Whether you run a one-off event or recurring event will depend on your circumstance. For recurring events, members have found that choosing a recurring consisent time aids attendence and enables drop-in. For example, the Glasgow co-op meetup takes place on the third Friday of every month, whilst the South Birmingham Co-op Meetup used to reccur every 3 months. Most meetups take place in the evening on a workday, so people can drop by after work.

Practical considerations

Event promotion

We can promote your Local Co-op Meetup on our Events listing on our website, just give us the details, and we can include it in our Newsletter that is sent to our mailing list.

Location

Where else to host a co-op meetup than in a local worker co-op cafe or event space? Other options might include approaching a large local housing co-operative, as the one in Edinburgh does, or hosting it in a cafe, community building or hall that has bookable room space. The more central location the easier it will be to get to on public transport, but this will entirely depend on your context and could rotate. This will also depend on your local group’s capacity for room hire, or whether you’d want to ask participants for a donation to put toward this.

Funding

It might be worth approaching local organisations in your area that you know might have some funding available for supporting co-operative activities! This could be spent on room hire, refreshments or food for the meetup, etc. We sadly can’t provide this ourselves due to our very limited resources in our first year. However, currently local groups are organising their local meetups without financial support that we know of, if you meet up in a cafe or bar for instance you can buy drinks there to use the space.

Worker Co-op Codes

If you’d like a stack of Worker Co-op Codes to have at the event, email <sion@principlesix.coop>, or download and print yourself.

Suggested formats

Worker cooperators have differed in how they have organised local meetups. This could be a loose, informal and conversational event, or one with an agenda or more structured format. We will upload suggested formats in due course, but briefly:

  • Informal

Attendees turn up, tend to be more milling around and speaking with whoever is there, conversation and networking is unstructured and played by ear.

  • Structured

Instead, the group might like to prepare and share an agenda ahead of time with a plan of what will be discussed during the meetup, with people sitting around a table. Alternatively, there might be no agenda as such but an organiser who has planned a schedule and contents, such as a go around and introductions from attendees, or conversation around a particular matter. This is how the South Birmingham co-op meetup was run, for instance.

For help to organise an event in your area email sam@workers.coop, or if you are in Scotland louise@mediaco-op.net.

Using our digital platforms

Welcome to this explainer on our digital platforms. This guide will tell you how to register for our member Single Sign-on making it easier to access all our different platforms. We will also explain what these platforms are and how we use them.

workers.coop aims to be transparent in what we do and how we do it, so all files are stored centrally in NextCloud and all members discussions take place on Discourse. Check out our Communications Policy for more information.

Single Sign On (SSO)

We believe in open source technologies and our SSO makes it easier to link all these different platforms together. So you only need to remember one password!

We recommend sticking with one email address across platforms. NB if you’re having any trouble, check which email you’re using!

Step 1: All new members are sent a special link to create an SSO account and this can be shared with all members of your co-op. If you cannot find this link please contact John or Sam and they will send it you.

Step 2: Click on the link, it will take you to: auth.workers.coop where you can fill in you details and once submitted you will receive an email which you must click on to confirm.

Step 3: When you click on the email button to confirm or whenever you log-in to auth.workers.coop you will see our “applications” we may add more of these in the future.

Step 4: All our platforms or “applications” have similar processes, if you do not already have accounts when you click on the icon’s you will be taken to that platforms home page.

forum.workers.coop (Discourse)

Click on the orange “sign-up” button usually in the top right, don’t create a new account, Login “with Members SSO.

www.workers.coop (website)

Click on the black “sign-in” button usually in the top right, don’t create a new account (you seeing a pattern). Click on the Login “with Open ID Connect”.

office.workers.coop (NextCloud)

Click on “Login with Members SSO”

What do we use all these platforms for?

The Forum (Discourse) 

is our online space. Some is accesible by anyone other bits are member only. Its where most of our communication and organising take place. So if you are not sure what is going on, log-in and check it out.

Looking at the left hand side you will see all the different categories:

  • Member discussion – This is where we ask for feedback, share member only content and working groups organise their work and make decisions between meetings.
  • News and annoucments – These are public facing annoucements, lots of events posted here
  • Jobs and P6 – A place check if you are looking to share job vacancies or trade with other worker co-ops.
  • Questions – Whether questions about workers.coop or questions about worekr coops post them here
  • Peer Networks – This is a members only space to learn, share and commiserate with people in similar roles or co-ops.
  • Messages and Personal Chat – For group and personal messaging
  • Groups – To access our different working groups, and if you don’t see all this content you may not have been set as a member, if so request access via the Member Group.

NextCloud

This is where we store all our shared files, its like Google Drive or Dropbox. All members can access certain files from the Group folder “member”. Some however are restricted to particular working groups and can only be accessible if you are a member of that group. See this guide for how to use Nextcloud.

  • The ‘Guides and Handbook’ folder contains our How Tos, Guides, Policies and Templates.
  • The ‘Logo and Visual ID’ folder contains logo artwork.
  • Meeting minutes and agendas can be found in the ‘Meetings’ folde, we are very open and transparent in our decision making.

If all this is a lot to take in or you get stuck, Sam is very happy to walk you through the process so book in a chat anytime book here.