Picket supervisor




Under section 10, TUA 16, the union must appoint a picket supervisor, who must be an official or other member of the union and must be “familiar” with the Picketing Code (section 220A(3), TULRCA). Where more than one union is involved in the picketing, each union must appoint its own picketing supervisor.
Unions need to provide training to ensure the necessary level of familiarity in order to avoid liability.




Failure to comply with any of the statutory requirements linked to the appointment of a picketing supervisor will make the whole picket unlawful. This is regardless of whether that failure prejudiced the employer in any way, or whether the pickets are themselves at fault (section 219(b), TULRCA).




The union or the picket supervisor must take reasonable steps to tell the police the picket supervisor’s name, the planned location of the picketing, and how to contact the picket supervisor (section 220A(4), TULRCA).




There is nothing in the TUA 16 to limit what police can do with these names and contact details, but data protection laws will apply (see Chapter 15). Concerns have been raised about the chilling effect of this new obligation, especially given the risks of blacklisting and union victimisation outlined in Chapter 5.





https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/594788/Code_of_Practice_on_Picketing.pdf