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Voluntary recognition of a trade union
[ch 5: page 135]Many of the statutory rights and protections for trade unionists explained in this Chapter depend on the union being “recognised” by the employer. A union is recognised when it negotiates agreements with the employer on pay and other terms and conditions on behalf of a group of workers, called a “bargaining unit”. This is the process known as collective bargaining.
In the UK, most trade union recognition is based on voluntary agreement with the employer, formalised into a written recognition agreement. In addition, since 2000 a statutory mechanism has been in operation enabling unions to gain recognition even when the employer is opposed.
The statutory recognition procedure is designed to strongly encourage the negotiation of voluntary recognition agreements, which can be reached at any stage after invoking the procedure. Most recognition is voluntary.
Recognition is about negotiating and bargaining, rather than simply consulting or discussing, as this case shows:
An employer failed to consult the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) over collective redundancies and PCS claimed a protective award (see Chapter 11). There was no formal recognition agreement, so the claim could only succeed if PCS could prove that it was the recognised trade union. There was a prior history of consultation and discussion with PCS in relation to past redundancies but this was not enough, said the EAT, to demonstrate recognition. Instead, PCS had to show a pattern of past involvement in negotiating collective agreements on behalf of the workers for whom the union wanted to claim a protective award. It could not do this, so the claim failed.
Working Links v Public and Commercial Services Union [2012] UKEAT/0305/12/RN