Trade unions and trade union recognition

New and updated

• Labour disputes

  Type:

  Indicators

  Updated to include official statistics from the ONS for April 2018 on days lost to labour disputes and the number of stoppages. The next ONS release date is 17 July 2018.

• The consequences of trade union recognition

  Type:

  Employment law manual

  Updated to refer to government guidance on the requirement to publish facility time and the government website on which the data must be published.

• The consequences of trade union recognition: local authority

  Type:

  Employment law manual

  Updated to refer to government guidance on the requirement to publish facility time and the government website on which the data must be published.

• Court of Appeal rules on employer liability for third-party harassment

  Date:

  7 June 2018

  Type:

  Law reports

  In Unite the Union v Nailard, the Court of Appeal held that the union was liable for the acts of its lay officials because they were acting as its agents, but that the union was not liable for failures by its employed union officials to prevent discrimination by third-party lay officials.

• Strikes reach lowest level since records began

  Date:

  31 May 2018

  Type:

  News

  The number of labour strikes reached an all-time low last year, along with the number of workers involved in disputes, according to new ONS figures.

• Trade union recognition agreement

  Type:

  Policies and documents

  Updated to highlight the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation, in force from 25 May 2018, on this document.

• Acas conciliators strike over workload concerns

  Date:

  11 May 2018

  Type:

  News

  Staff at conciliation service Acas are striking today (11 May) over concerns about their workloads, following the decision to abolish employment tribunal fees last year.

• Unions react to sweeping BT job cuts

  Date:

  10 May 2018

  Type:

  News

  BT today announced plans to cut 13,000 jobs over the next three years - 13% of its global workforce - and substantially reduce its management presence in London.

• Collective bargaining: Letters sent directly to employees sought "prohibited result" of ending collective bargaining

  Date:

  2 May 2018

  Type:

  Law reports

  In Kostal UK Ltd v Dunkley and others [2018] IRLR 428 EAT, the EAT held that the employer made unlawful inducements when it sent letters to employees asking them to agree a pay deal that had been rejected by their trade union. The employer had sought the "prohibited result" that - for the following year at least - the employees' terms would no longer be determined by collective agreement, even though the employer had no intention of actually derecognising the union.

• Compensation - collective rights

  Type:

  Quick reference

  Updated to reflect an increase in the limits applying to employment tribunal awards, with effect from 6 April 2018.