Labour Research October 2014

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Law Queries

Incentives for new contracts

Q. Where I work, there is a recognised union and our terms and conditions, including pay, are negotiated by the union through collective bargaining. Our employer wants to withdraw from collective bargaining and has offered an incentive payment of £300 to every employee who agrees to end their employment contract and replace it with a set of individual terms and conditions. Can they do this?

A. No. The law says that any worker who is a member of a recognised and independent trade union has the right not to be made an offer by their employer for the purpose of getting them to give up collective bargaining in favour of individual contract terms. This law is found in section 145B of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act 1992.

Claims can be brought in the employment tribunal, and the remedy is a declaration and a fixed award of £3,500 for every worker who receives the offer.

Earlier this year, members of the UNISON public services union won an important victory against the London Borough of Bromley relying on this provision (see Labour Research, September 2014, page 23).

Council workers had been offered a one-off bonus payment of £200 to accept “localised” i.e. individual contract terms, in place of having their terms collectively negotiated. The tribunal ruled that the council had breached section 145B and ordered it to pay more than £64,000 to 18 council workers who were UNISON members.

www.unison.org.uk/news/tribunal-orders-council-to-compensate-workers-offered-cash-to-sign-away-rights


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