Office of Public Sector Information
PART I continued CHAPTER VIII
(1) This Chapter applies to proceedings or prospective proceedings to the extent that they consist in, or arise out of—
(a) an application to the court under section 15(3) (application for order authorising member to take or continue proceedings on behalf of trade union) or any other proceedings brought by virtue of that section;
(b) an application to the court under section 16 (remedy against trustees for unlawful use of trade union property);
(c) an application to the court under section 26 (remedy for failure to maintain register of members);
(d) an application to the court under section 31 (remedy for failure to comply with request for access to trade union’s accounting records);
(e) an application to the court under section 56 (remedy for failure to comply with requirements as to election for office);
(f) an application to the court under section 62 (application for order where industrial action does not have support of ballot);
(g) proceedings brought by virtue of section 71 (restriction on use of funds for political objects) with respect to the unlawful application of the funds of a trade union;
(h) an application to the court under section 81 (remedy for failure to comply with requirements as to political ballot).
(2) This Chapter applies to proceedings or prospective proceedings in the High Court or the Court of Session (or on an appeal therefrom to the Court of Appeal or the House of Lords) to the extent that they arise out of an alleged breach or threatened breach of the rules of a trade union relating to any of the following matters—
(a) the appointment or election of a person to, or the removal of a person from, any office;
(b) disciplinary proceedings by the union (including expulsion);
(c) the authorising or endorsing of industrial action;
(d) the balloting of members;
(e) the application of the union’s funds or property;
(f) the imposition, collection or distribution of any levy for the purposes of industrial action;
(g) the constitution or proceedings of any committee, conference or other body.
The reference above to the rules of a trade union includes the rules of any branch or section of the trade union; and in paragraph (a) “office” includes any position by virtue of which a person is an official in relation to the trade union or is entitled to attend as a representative any meeting concerned with union business.
(3) This Chapter also applies to proceedings or prospective proceedings to the extent that they consist in, or arise out of such other proceedings against a trade union, an official of a trade union or the trustees of the property of a trade union as may be specified in an order made by the Secretary of State.
Any order shall be made by statutory instrument; and no such order shall be made unless a draft of it has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.
(1) An individual who is an actual or prospective party to proceedings to which this Chapter applies may apply to the Commissioner for assistance in relation to the proceedings, and the Commissioner shall, as soon as reasonably practicable after receiving the application, consider it and decide whether and to what extent to grant it.
(2) The matters to which the Commissioner may have regard in determining whether, and to what extent, to grant an application include—
(a) whether the case raises a question of principle,
(b) whether it is unreasonable, having regard to the complexity of the case, to expect the applicant to deal with it unaided, and
(c) whether, in the Commissioner’s opinion, the case involves a matter of substantial public interest.
(3) In the case of an application made by virtue of section 109(1)(c), (f) or (h) (failure to maintain register of members or to comply with requirements as to election or ballot), if—
(a) the Certification Officer has already made a declaration with respect to the subject-matter of the proceedings or prospective proceedings, and
(b) it appears to the Commissioner that the applicant would (if assisted) have a reasonable prospect of securing the making of an enforcement order in the proceedings,
the Commissioner shall grant the application to the extent he considers necessary for securing that, so far as reasonably practicable, all the steps he considers appropriate (including, where appropriate, the holding of another ballot or election) are taken by the trade union for the purpose of remedying the declared failure and of ensuring that a failure of the same or a similar kind does not occur in future.
(4) The Commissioner shall not grant an application made by virtue of section 109(2) (proceedings arising out of breach of rules) unless it appears to him—
(a) that the breach of rules in question affects, or may affect, members of the union other than the applicant, or
(b) that similar breaches of the rules have been or may be committed in relation to other members of the union.
(5) If the Commissioner decides not to provide assistance, he shall, as soon as reasonably practicable after making the decision, notify the applicant of his decision and, if he thinks fit, of the reasons for it.
(1) If the Commissioner decides to provide assistance, he shall, as soon as reasonably practicable after making the decision—
(a) notify the applicant, stating the extent of the assistance to be provided, and
(b) give him a choice, subject to any restrictions specified in the notification, as to the financial arrangements to be made in connection with the provision of the assistance.
(2) The assistance provided may include the making of arrangements for, or for the Commissioner to bear the costs of—
(a) the giving of advice or assistance by a solicitor or counsel, and
(b) the representation of the applicant, or the provision to him of such assistance as is usually given by a solicitor or counsel—
(i) in steps preliminary or incidental to the proceedings, or
(ii) in arriving at or giving effect to a compromise to avoid or bring an end to the proceedings.
(3) Where assistance is provided with respect to the conduct of proceedings, it shall include an agreement by the Commissioner to indemnify the applicant (subject only to any exceptions specified in the notification) in respect of liability to pay costs or expenses arising by virtue of any judgment or order of the court in the proceedings.
(4) Where the Commissioner provides assistance in relation to any proceedings, he shall do so on such terms, or make such other arrangements, as will secure that a person against whom the proceedings have been or are commenced is informed that assistance has been or is being provided by the Commissioner in relation to them.
(5) In England and Wales, the recovery of expenses incurred by the Commissioner in providing an applicant with assistance (as taxed or assessed in such manner as may be prescribed by rules of court) shall constitute a first charge for the benefit of the Commissioner—
(a) on any costs which, by virtue of any judgment or order of the court, are payable to the applicant by any other person in respect of the matter in connection with which the assistance is provided, and
(b) on any sum payable to the applicant under a compromise or settlement arrived at in connection with that matter to avoid or bring proceedings to an end.
(6) In Scotland, the recovery of such expenses (as taxed or assessed in such manner as may be prescribed by rules of court) shall be paid to the Commissioner, in priority to other debts—
(a) out of any expenses which, by virtue of any judgment or order of the court, are payable to the applicant by any other person in respect of the matter in connection with which the assistance is provided, and
(b) out of any sum payable to the applicant under a compromise or settlement arrived at in connection with that matter to avoid or bring proceedings to an end.
(1) Where a person is receiving assistance in relation to proceedings, there shall, if he so wishes, be added after his name in the title of the proceedings the words “(assisted by the Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members)”.
(2) The addition of those words shall not be construed as making the Commissioner a party to the proceedings or as liable to be treated as a party for any purpose; and the omission of those words shall be treated as an irregularity only and shall not nullify the proceedings, any step taken in the proceedings or any document, judgment or order therein.
(1) Where the Commissioner grants an application to a person who for the purposes of the application—
(a) has made a statement which he knew to be false in a material particular, or
(b) has recklessly made a statement which was false in a material particular,
he is entitled to recover from that person any sums paid by him to that person, or to any other person, by way of assistance.
(2) This does not affect the power of the Commissioner to enter into any agreement he thinks fit as to the terms on which assistance is provided.
(1) Nothing in this Chapter affects the law and practice regulating the descriptions of persons who may appear in, conduct, defend and address the court in any proceedings.
(2) The power of the Commissioner to provide assistance to a prospective applicant to the court under section 26, 56 or 81 (under which applications may be made either to the court or to the Certification Officer, and in certain cases to both) does not entitle the Commissioner to provide assistance with the making of an application to the Certification Officer.
(3) In this Chapter “applicant”, in relation to assistance under this Chapter, means the individual on whose application the assistance is provided.
(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make a scheme providing for payments by the Certification Officer towards expenditure incurred by independent trade unions in respect of such ballots to which this section applies as may be prescribed by the scheme.
(2) This section applies to a ballot if the purpose of the question to be asked (or if there is more than one such question, the purpose of any of them) is—
(a) to obtain a decision or ascertain the views of members of a trade union—
(i) as to the acceptance or rejection of a proposal made by an employer in relation to the contractual terms and conditions upon which, or the other incidents of the relationship whereby, a person works or provides services for the employer, or
(ii) as to the calling or ending of a strike or other industrial action;
(b) to carry out an election—
(i) provided for by the rules of a trade union, or
(ii) required by section 46 (duty to hold elections for certain offices),
or to elect a worker who is a member of a trade union to be a representative of other members also employed by his employer;
(c) to amend the rules of a trade union;
(d) to obtain a decision in accordance with Chapter VI on a political resolution within the meaning of that Chapter at a time when there is such a resolution in force in relation to the union;
(e) to obtain a decision in accordance with Chapter VII on a resolution to approve an instrument of amalgamation or transfer;
(f) any other purpose specified by order of the Secretary of State.
(3) The scheme may include provision for payments to be made towards expenditure incurred in respect of arrangements to hold a ballot which is not proceeded with but which would have been a ballot to which this section applies if it had been held.
(4) The circumstances in which and the conditions subject to which payments may be made under the scheme, and the amounts of the payments, shall be such as may be prescribed by the scheme; and the scheme shall include provision for restricting the cases in which payments are made to cases in which the ballot is so conducted as to secure, so far as reasonably practicable, that those voting do so in secret.
(5) Regulations or an order under this section shall be made by statutory instrument; and—
(a) a statutory instrument containing regulations shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament; and
(b) no order shall be made unless a draft of it has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
(1) Where an independent trade union which is recognised by an employer to any extent for the purposes of collective bargaining—
(a) proposes to hold a ballot to which this section applies, and
(b) requests the employer to permit premises of his to be used for the purpose of giving workers employed by him who are members of the union a convenient opportunity of voting,
the employer shall, so far as reasonably practicable, comply with that request.
(2) This section applies to a ballot if—
(a) as respects the purposes of the question (or one of the questions) to be voted upon, the ballot satisfies the requirements of a scheme under section 115, and
(b) the proposals for the conduct of the ballot are such as to secure, so far as reasonably practicable, that those voting do so in secret.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply where—
(a) the ballot is one in which every person who is entitled to vote must be given a convenient opportunity to vote by post; or
(b) at the time the request is made the number of workers employed by the employer, added to the number employed by any associated employer, does not exceed 20.
(4) A trade union which claims that an employer has failed to comply with a request made by the union in accordance with subsection (1), which it was reasonably practicable for him to comply with, may present a complaint to an industrial tribunal.
(5) The tribunal shall not entertain a complaint unless it is presented to the tribunal—
(a) before the end of the period of three months beginning with the date of the failure, or
(b) where the tribunal is satisfied that it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to be presented before the end of that period, within such further period as the tribunal considers reasonable.
(6) Where the tribunal finds that the complaint is well-founded, it shall make a declaration to that effect and may make an award of compensation to be paid by the employer to the union of such amount as it considers just and equitable in all the circumstances having regard to the employer’s failure and to any expenses incurred by the union in consequence of the failure.
(7) The remedy of a union for failure to comply with a request under subsection (1) is by way of complaint to an industrial tribunal in accordance with this section, and not otherwise.
(1) In this section a “special register body” means an organisation whose name appeared in the special register maintained under section 84 of the [1971 c. 72.] Industrial Relations Act 1971 immediately before 16 September 1974, and which is a company registered under the [1985 c. 6.] Companies Act 1985 or is incorporated by charter or letters patent.
(2) The provisions of this Part apply to special register bodies as to other trade unions, subject to the following exceptions and adaptations.
(3) In Chapter II (status and property of trade unions)—
(a) in section 10 (quasi-corporate status of trade unions)—
(i) subsections (1) and (2) (prohibition on trade union being incorporated) do not apply, and
(ii) subsection (3) (prohibition on registration under certain Acts) does not apply so far as it relates to registration as a company under the [1985 c. 6.] Companies Act 1985;
(b) section 11 (exclusion of common law rules as to restraint of trade) applies to the purposes or rules of a special register body only so far as they relate to the regulation of relations between employers or employers' associations and workers;
(c) sections 12 to 14 (vesting of property in trustees; transfer of securities) do not apply; and
(d) in section 20 (liability of trade union in certain proceedings in tort) in subsection (7) the reference to the contract between a member and the other members shall be construed as a reference to the contract between a member and the body.
(4) Sections 33 to 35 (appointment and removal of auditors) do not apply to a special register body which is registered as a company under the Companies Act 1985; and sections 36 and 37 (rights and duties of auditors) apply to the auditors appointed by such a body under Chapter V of Part XI of that Act.
(5) Chapter IV (elections for certain union position) only applies to—
(a) the position of voting member of the executive, and
(b) any position by virtue of which a person is a voting member of the executive.
In this subsection “voting member of the executive” has the meaning given by section 46(5).
(1) In this section a “federated trade union” means a trade union which consists wholly or mainly of constituent or affiliated organisations, or representatives or such organisations, as described in paragraph (b) of the definition of “trade union” in section 1.
(2) The provisions of this Part apply to federated trade unions subject to the following exceptions and adaptations.
(3) For the purposes of section 22 (limit on amount of damages) as it applies to a federated trade union, the members of such of its constituent or affiliated organisations as have their head or main office in Great Britain shall be treated as members of the union.
(4) The following provisions of Chapter III (trade union administration) do not apply to a federated trade union which consists wholly or mainly of representatives of constituent or affiliated organisations—
(a) section 27 (duty to supply copy of rules),
(b) section 28 (duty to keep accounting records),
(c) sections 32 to 37 (annual return, accounts and audit), and
(d) sections 38 to 42 (members' superannuation schemes).
(5) Sections 29 to 31 (right of member to access to accounting records) do not apply to a federated trade union which has no members other than constituent or affiliated organisations or representatives of such organisations.
(6) Sections 24 to 26 (register of members' names and addresses) and Chapter IV (elections for certain trade union positions) do not apply to a federated trade union—
(a) if it has no individual members other than representatives of constituent or affiliated organisations, or
(b) if its individual members (other than such representatives) are all merchant seamen and a majority of them are ordinarily resident outside the United Kingdom.
For this purpose “merchant seaman” means a person whose employment, or the greater part of it, is carried out on board sea-going ships.
(7) The provisions of Chapter VI (application of funds for political objects) apply to a trade union which is in whole or part an association or combination of other unions as if the individual members of the component unions were members of that union and not of the component unions.
But nothing in that Chapter prevents a component union from collecting contributions on behalf of the association or combination from such of its members as are not exempt from the obligation to contribute to the political fund of the association or combination.
In this Act, in relation to a trade union—
“branch or section”, except where the context otherwise requires, includes a branch or section which is itself a trade union;
“executive” means the principal committee of the union exercising executive functions, by whatever name it is called;
“general secretary” means the official of the union who holds the office of general secretary or, where there is no such office, holds an office which is equivalent, or (except in section 14(4)) the nearest equivalent, to that of general secretary;
“officer” includes—
any member of the governing body of the union, and
any trustee of any fund applicable for the purposes of the union;
“official” means—
an officer of the union or of a branch or section of the union, or
a person elected or appointed in accordance with the rules of the union to be a representative of its members or of some of them,
and includes a person so elected or appointed who is an employee of the same employer as the members or one or more of the members whom he is to represent;
“president” means the official of the union who holds the office of president or, where there is no such office, who holds an office which is equivalent, or (except in section 14(4) or Chapter IV) the nearest equivalent, to that of president; and
“rules”, except where the context otherwise requires, includes the rules of any branch or section of the union.
In this Part a “Northern Ireland union” means a trade union whose principal office is situated in Northern Ireland.
In this Part “the court” (except where the reference is expressed to be to the county court or sheriff court) means the High Court or the Court of Session.
Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992