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Voluntary recognition
Where UK employers recognise a trade union for collective bargaining purposes, this is usually based on a voluntary agreement between the parties. In addition, since 2000 a statutory mechanism has been in operation enabling unions to gain recognition even when the employer is opposed to it.
A recent case looked at what amounts to voluntary recognition, giving the union the right, for example, to be consulted in the context of collective redundancies:
The PCS brought a claim against non-governmental organisation Working Links, a contractor on the government’s Work Programme, for failure to consult over collective redundancies. To be entitled to be consulted, the union had to show it was a recognised trade union for the purposes of collective bargaining. The EAT said that PCS had not been recognised by Working Links. There had been a history of discussion and consultation between the two sides, for example in connection with previous redundancies, but this was not enough. In the absence of a written recognition agreement, the union had to show a pattern of previous involvement in the negotiation of collective agreements. Past discussion on other matters, such as redundancies, was not enough to prove voluntary recognition.
Working Links v Public and Commercial Services Union [2012] UKEAT/0305/12/RN