Recognising a trade union - the issues

Legal consequences of statutory recognition

A number of consequences flow from a Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) declaration that a union is entitled to be recognised for the purpose of carrying out collective bargaining with an employer.

If the CAC makes such a declaration the union is entitled to conduct collective bargaining on pay, hours and holidays, although the employer and the union can agree to widen the scope of recognition to include other issues.

The employer and trade union must negotiate on the method to be used for carrying out collective bargaining. Either party has the right to apply to the CAC for assistance if no agreement has been reached within 30 working days. The CAC has 20 working days from the application date to help achieve an agreement.

If no agreement is reached, the CAC will lay down legally binding terms. However, the imposed method of collective bargaining can be modified by the union and employer, providing both agree.

If these terms are not followed, either party can claim a breach of contract and apply to a court to order the other party to fulfil their side of the contract. If this order is ignored, that party will be in contempt of court, and may face a fine or even imprisonment.

Where the CAC has imposed a method for carrying out collective bargaining, the union has the right to be consulted over training at least once every six months.

If an employer fails in these obligations the union has three months to make a complaint to an employment tribunal.

If a union has become recognised by either the voluntary or statutory route, the employer must also consult and inform the union on matters such as redundancy, health and safety, the transfer of undertakings, and provide any information necessary for collective bargaining. Read about representation at work on the Acas website.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Meaning and types of trade union recognition
• Voluntary recognition of a trade union
• Statutory recognition of a trade union
• Legal consequences of statutory recognition
• Voluntary recognition within the statutory procedure
• Grounds and procedure for statutory derecognition
• Procedure where original bargaining unit is no longer appropriate
• Worker rights during recognition or derecognition

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