Trade union activities

An individual does not have to be a union rep for their activities to be described as trade union activities for the purposes of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA).

The facts

Mrs Hamilton was disciplined and demoted for a breach of her employer's cash regulations. She claimed that her treatment had been on the grounds of her involvement in trade union activities, and brought a claim for action short of dismissal under section 146 of TULRCA.

Hamilton had ceased to be a union rep when she took up a management position, but still took part in activities after that date.

The ruling

The EAT said the employment tribunal should have taken into account the activities that Hamilton had been engaged in after she stopped being a rep. It held that, while there is little legal authority on what amounts to trade union activities, they are not restricted to activities carried out as a formal representative of the union. The case was sent to a different tribunal for rehearing.

Hamilton v Arriva Trains Northern UKEAT/0310/04