Supreme Court rules in favour of union over offer made to employees sidestepping ballot decision

In the case of Kostal UK Ltd v Dunkley and others, which was heard at the Supreme Court, the employer had been negotiating with the trade union, of which all of the Claimants were members, in respect of certain terms and conditions of the employees’ contract of employment.

In the case of Kostal UK Ltd v Dunkley and others, which was heard at the Supreme Court, the employer had been negotiating with the trade union, of which all of the Claimants were members, in respect of certain terms and conditions of the employees’ contract of employment.

It then decided to contact the employees directly, making 2 offers on 2 separate occasions, thereby circumventing the collective bargaining process, which, in the Employment Tribunal’s view, breached section 145B of the 1992 Act.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld the Employment Tribunal’s (ET) decision. The employer appealed, arguing principally that the majority of the EAT and the ET erred in their interpretation of “prohibited result”, and they should have held that “prohibited result” means that the terms after acceptance by the worker will not (or will no longer) (i.e. in the future) be determined by collective agreement negotiated by or on behalf of the union.

However, the Supreme Court has maintained that employers can make direct offers to employees if the collective bargaining process has been exhausted, making it clearer when direct engagement is permitted for employers changing terms and conditions.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “With the support of their union the workers stood firm. Now they have won an historic case that creates a legal precedent for every union member across the UK. It means that employers cannot subvert or bypass union collective bargaining processes by offering their workforces inducements of one type of another to abandon union mandates. That is momentous.”

Read more

Latest News

Read More

How to foster a culture of learning

27 November 2024

Newsletter

Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

Latest HR Jobs

Human Resources Manager Cammell Laird This is a key HR role supporting leadership and managing day to day HR operations for our large Birkenhead based

Human Resources Manager Up to £42,000 per annum benefits (including 25 days annual leave and pension) Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7TW. Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity is

University of Greenwich – HRSalary: £45,163 to £55,295 per annum, plus £5400 London weighting pro rata per annum This provides summary information and comment on

Universities UK – Human ResourcesSalary: £21,441 to £24,474 per annum pro rata, dependant on experience This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE