Trevor Donoghue
Duddon,Cheshire
Summary
Highly experienced IR/ER professional with 30 years representational & managerial background within the construction industry. This experience is enhanced by a further 20 years working in operative roles as a scaffolder, tunneller, supervisor & foreman. My particular focus has been upon the scaffolding industry. My role as CISRS Auditor has provided a deep insight into the issues facing our industry and the need for practical application of IR/ER management strategies & policies that are based upon sector bespoke requirements. I am an experienced case worker with an in depth understanding of trade union structures, tactics and the collective agreements that cater for the scaffolding and wider construction industry. I believe that my industry background has given me an insight into the views and mindsets of workers, supervisors, managers and trade unionists. I have found this insight to be a vital element of my case working and dispute resolution duties throughout my career.
Overview
50
50
years of professional experience
29
29
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Head of Industrial Relations
Laing O'Rourke
Dartford, Kent
03.2018 - 02.2026
- Supported industrial relations team across UK locations.
- Assisted in developing and implementing industrial relations strategies and policies for major projects such as Hinkley Point C, HS2, and Crossrail.
- Facilitated communication between trade unions and business at local and national levels.
- Managed compliance of supply chain industrial relations and upheld collective agreements with trade unions.
- Contributed to team development aligned with business needs.
Senior Employee/Industrial Relations Manager
Laing O'Rourke
Dartford, Kent
05.2008 - 04.2018
- Assisted in implementing industrial relations strategy across all business sectors within the UK & Ireland.
- Supported development and maintenance of employee management policies and procedures.
- Led team of office and labour managers in the delivery of large volumes of employee casework.
- Responsible for trade union interface and management of collective agreements.
- Led collective consultations for redundancy, TUPE & harmonisation of terms and conditions of employment.
- Supported supply chain procurement in pre evaluation and in situ compliance audits of subcontractors.
- Responsible for functional tracking, risk evaluation & reporting to senior business leaders.
Employee relations manager
Laing O'Rourke
Dartford , Kent
05.2005 - 04.2008
- Responsible for employee relations within a newly formed business with over 11,000 construction operative employees within the UK & Ireland.
- Initial work was centred around the formulation of employee relations strategy and functional management procedures such as grievance, discipline, redundancy etc.
- The direct employment of such a large number of operative employees within the construction industry was rare and the skills required to manage HR/ER/IR within this scope of works was almost non existent.
- My background as a construction worker and senior trade unionist, was seen as a vital element in the formulation, delivery and supervisory support required to manage and glean the best value from this newly acquired workforce.
- I spent the majority of my time during this period working on relations between trade unions and company managers/supervisors.
- The need for legally compliant and effective employee management procedures led to me working extensively with employment law professionals. I was able to build upon the knowledge and experience gained from my previous positions within the trade union and to this end provide the Company with a firm foundation to base their ER/IR management strategies upon.
National Trade Union Convenor
Morgan EST / Transport & General Workers Union
Rugby, Warwickshire
10.1998 - 03.2005
- Responsible for trade union organisation, election of shop stewards & safety reps at all projects within the UK.
- Member of national and regional construction committees within the Transport & General Workers Union (TGWU)
- Executive member of the European Federation of Building & Woodworkers (EFBW) based in Brussels.
- Lead TGWU member on European Working at Heights Legislation Committee.
- Member of European Social Dialogue Committee (Construction Sector) working in Luxembourg.
- Member of European Platform of Scaffolds within the EFBW.
- Trade union representative on CISRS training centre monitoring panel.
Construction Worker
Various
National , National
04.1976 - 10.1998
- 01.04.76 - Atomic Power Construction -Dungeness Power Station - Scaffolders Mate.
- 01 01 78 - Vange Scaffolding - Dungeness Power Station- Scaffold Improver.
- 01 01 81 - Vange Scaffolding - Dungeness Power Station - Scaffolder.
- 01 06 84 - Costain Civil Eng - Sidcup By Pass - Scaffolder.
- 01 10 87 - Trans Manche Link (TML) Channel Tunnel Forman Scaffolder/Tunnel Supervisor
- 01 03 94 - Balfour Beatty - Heathrow Express - Forman Scaffolder/ Yard Forman.
- 01 05 97 - SGB - Dungeness Power Station
Education
In house training - Employment Law - Safety Management - Compliance Auditing
Laing O'Rourke
Dartford, Kent 04.2005 - 02.2026
Trade Union Representation Training - Lay representation at grievance & disciplinary meetings.
University of Kent
Canterbury 05.1999 - 03.2000
GCSEs - Maths, English, History, Science, French, Geography
Folkestone Boys School
Folkestone, Kent 09.1970 - 05.1977
Health & Safety Representation - Health & Safety
University of Kent
Canterbury 05.2001 - 03.2002
Skills
- Industrial & Employee Relations Specialist
- Case Working
- Consultation
- TUPE
- Communication
- Team Leadership
- Trade Union Interaction
- Collective Agreements
- Policy & Strategy Formulation
- Compliance Management
- Employment Law
- Practical Application
- Risk Assessment
- Supply Chain Management
Timeline
Head of Industrial Relations
Laing O'Rourke
03.2018 - 02.2026
Senior Employee/Industrial Relations Manager
Laing O'Rourke
05.2008 - 04.2018
Employee relations manager
Laing O'Rourke
05.2005 - 04.2008
In house training - Employment Law - Safety Management - Compliance Auditing
Laing O'Rourke
04.2005 - 02.2026
Health & Safety Representation - Health & Safety
University of Kent
05.2001 - 03.2002
Trade Union Representation Training - Lay representation at grievance & disciplinary meetings.
University of Kent
05.1999 - 03.2000
National Trade Union Convenor
Morgan EST / Transport & General Workers Union
10.1998 - 03.2005
Construction Worker
Various
04.1976 - 10.1998
GCSEs - Maths, English, History, Science, French, Geography
Folkestone Boys School
09.1970 - 05.1977