Individual members are allocated to branches. Historically branches were organised geographically and by grade, e.g. "Liverpool; Dublin No. 1; Crewe No. 4 Technical; Crewe Management Staffs" (the separate branches for different grades of staff were so that people with grievances against their managers wouldn't find those same managers as members of their branch). In Ireland, branches are still organised on this basis, but in the UK starting in 1998 there was a reorganisation such that members of most branches are employed by a single company e.g. "Virgin Midlands" - this was required in the fragmented world of the privatised railway because the private companies would not allow access for non-employees onto their premises.