‘The Supreme Court has handed down judgment in Kostal UK Ltd v Dunkley and others [2021] UKSC 47, an important decision for collective bargaining. It held that the employer (Kostal) was in breach of s. 145B of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (the “1992 Act”) by making offers of a change to the terms and conditions of employment directly to employees and bypassing the procedure for collective bargaining agreed with Unite the Union (“Unite”).’

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Littleton Chambers, October 2021

Source: littletonchambers.com

‘On 27 October 2021 the Supreme Court handed down judgment in Kostal UK Ltd v Dunkley & Ors [2021] UKSC 47, allowing the appeal by 57 members of Unite the Union, recognised by Kostal for collective bargaining purposes. This is the first occasion the appeal courts considered the interpretation of section 145B of the Trade Union & Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, which was introduced following the decision of the ECtHR in Wilson/Palmer v United Kingdom [2002] IRLR 568. S. 145B gives trade union members the right not to receive offers from their employer which, if accepted, would have the result that one or more terms of their employment will not (or will no longer) be determined by collective bargaining (the “prohibited result”), if (but only if) if the employer’s sole or main purpose in making the offers is to achieve the prohibited result. Where liability is established, the Employment Tribunal (ET) must make a prescribed award (currently £4,341) to each member to whom the offer is made.’

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Old Square Chambers, 27th October 2021

Source: oldsquare.co.uk