Inducement to end collective bargaining

This could be an unlawful inducement to end collective bargaining under section 145B of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, if the reason your employer wrote directly to all employees was to end collective bargaining in your workplace.

As the law stands, making a direct offer to employees is only unlawful if your employer intends to cease all collective bargaining and not just opt out of a single round of pay negotiations.

This is the result of the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Kostal UK Ltd v Dunkley and ors [2020] ICR 217, which is under appeal to the Supreme Court and due to be heard on 18 May.

Even so, the difficulty you had gaining recognition, the tone of the letter stating that the offer was final “whatever the union says” and the fact that your employer did not attempt to conduct any negotiations with the union after the initial offer could all suggest your employer does not welcome collective bargaining.

This could support a section 145B claim. If successful, each employee would be entitled to an award of £4,294 in an employment tribunal.