Trade union levy proceeds

The government is to go ahead with plans to introduce a levy on trade unions to pay towards the costs of the Certification Officer, despite unions’ objections that the levy is unnecessary and punitive (see Labour Research, July 2021, page 19).

The levy is contained in section 20 of the Trade Union Act 2016, which was brought in to further constrain the rights of unions to organise and represent their members.

Objections to the levy include that it will result in trade unions having fewer resources to represent their members.

The government plans to start the levy in April 2022.

Its response to the consultation, Trade Union Act 2016: certification officer’s levy — government response, is online.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/991734/certification-officer-levy-consultation-govt-response.pdf