TUC welcomes recommendation on recognition

The TUC has welcomed a recommendation by the Law Commission not to make it easier for employers to challenge statutory recognition awards, describing it as “a notable win for unions”.

The Law Commission, whose role is to review areas of the law that might need reform, had considered whether to recommend allowing appeals of Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) recognition awards to be made to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). Currently they can only be appealed through judicial review.

The TUC and a number of unions argued strongly that allowing appeals to the EAT would create uncertainty, especially for trade unions running statutory recognition campaigns. Tim Sharp, the TUC’s senior policy officer for employment rights, said: “The legal process for obtaining statutory recognition is already overly bureaucratic, lengthy and poses significant obstacles for unions seeking to represent their members.”

The Commission proposed no change to the appeals procedure, along with a number of other recommendations on employment law backed by the TUC (see page 19).

While Law Commission conclusions are not binding, the government is committed to responding in full to its proposals within a year and typically takes up two-thirds of its suggestions.

https://www.tuc.org.uk/blogs/key-law-body-backs-union-calls-employment-tribunal-reforms