LRD guides and handbook July 2020

Law at work 2020 - the trade union guide to employment law

Chapter 5

Statutory recognition

[ch 5: page 146]

In addition to voluntary recognition, since 1999 a statutory mechanism has enabled unions to gain recognition even if the employer is opposed.The rules governing statutory recognition are set out in a lengthy and complicated schedule to TULRCA (Schedule A1: Collective bargaining, Recognition, Part V1; TULRCA).

The statutory recognition procedure has many limitations and is generally regarded by unions as unfit for purpose. The way the procedure works is intended to incentivise the negotiation of voluntary recognition agreements, which can be reached at any stage. The CAC calls agreements reached once a union has invoked the statutory procedure “agreements for recognition” to distinguish them from wholly voluntary recognition agreements. An agreement imposed by the CAC after the parties have failed to reach agreement is known as a “statutory recognition agreement”.

The CAC has produced guidance for unions and employers on the recognition process, available on the CAC website. This sets out in detail the steps in the statutory recognition process. What follows is a summary of the key points.

CAC, Trade union recognition: how to apply to the CAC (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/trade-union-recognition-how-to-apply-to-the-cac)

CAC, Trade union recognition and derecognition: application and response forms (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/trade-union-recognition-and-derecognition-application-and-response-forms)