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Check-off arrangements
[ch 5: pages 163-164]Many employers where unions are recognised have long-standing check-off payroll arrangements so that membership subs can be deducted from their pay and sent to the union. You can agree to pay your subs in this way when you become a member. You need to provide your written agreement to payment by check-off, as this is a deduction from your wages (see Chapter 4).
There is no statutory right to pay union subs through check-off, even if the union agrees to pay the full cost of check off administration, which is nominal.
The government intended to use the TUA 16 to ban all check off throughout the public sector, as well as in private and voluntary sector organisations that are mainly publicly funded. However, union campaigning led to a significant climbdown on this issue.
New regulations, the Trade Union (Deduction of Union Subscriptions from Wages in the Public Sector) Regulations 2017, came into force from 10 March 2018. Under these regulations, public sector employers (and the private sector employers listed in the regulations) can continue to operate check off as long as the union pays the reasonable costs of administration and members are given the option of paying their membership subs by other means, such as direct debit or cheque (section 15, TUA 16, section 116B, TULRCA).
The “reasonable” costs that the union must pay must be “substantially equivalent” to the actual administrative cost of running check off. In practice, these costs have been shown to be nominal.
The position in Wales is different. Under the Trade Union (Wales) Act 2017, the new restrictions on check off do not apply to devolved public services in Wales (see page 173). The TUA 16 does not apply at all in Northern Ireland.
Some members will have a contractual right to check-off. This will be express (clearly agreed, usually in writing, in the statement of employment particulars or a staff handbook) or implied (for example, based on custom and practice). For more information on contractual rights, see Chapter 3.