Is it a trade union at all?

A trade union is an organisation “which consists wholly or mainly of workers…and whose principal purposes include the regulation of relationship between workers…and employers” (section 1(a), TULRCA).

In BECTU v City Screen TUR1/309/2003, entertainment union BECTU successfully challenged a sweetheart deal on the basis that the alleged “union” concerned was not a union at all. Cinema chain City Screen signed an agreement with a body consisting solely of four managers, with no source of funds other than that provided by the company. The CAC held that this was not a “trade union” but a staff association and that therefore it did not bar the BECTU recognition claim.

The principal purpose of a trade union must be a collective one, whatever other individual services it also offers. A body that only offers representation at internal disciplinary hearings cannot be a trade union (Akinosun (on behalf of General and Health Workers Union) v the Certification Officer [2013] UKEAT 0180/13/0507). This case also establishes that the test for whether or not an organisation is a trade union is based on its activities at the date of application to the certification officer, not on any planned future activities.