Certification Officer: general announcements and latest decisions

The applicant made two complaints under 108A (1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 that the union breached its rules relating to the disciplinary process.

Following a hearing by Video Conferencing, the Certification Officer refused both complaints.

15 December 2021

Implementation of the Trade Union Act 2016

Over the last two weeks the Government has taken some significant steps towards implementing the remaining provisions of the Trade Union Act 2016.

Last week, statutory instruments covering the powers of the Certification Officer to deal with suspected breaches of the 1992 Act, to investigate those breaches and to enforce any orders they make, were made, and these powers will come into force on 1 April 2022.

Yesterday, the Government laid in Parliament the regulations framing the power of the Certification Officer to require trade unions and employers’ associations to pay a levy and allowing her to impose financial penalties on them. Subject to parliamentary approval, these powers will also come into force from 1 April 2022.

My office has prepared some guidance (PDF, 175 KB, 14 pages), which sets out how I intend to administer these powers once they have been implemented. At this stage, the guidance is in draft form and I would be grateful for your view as to whether it is sensible, easy to understand and helpful to your organisation.

I intend to publish finalised guidance on these matters at the point at which the new powers come into force and so it would be helpful if you could submit any comments or questions you have to info@certoffice.org before 11 March 2022. I should stress that the guidance will be subject to change after that date, being continually updated to reflect my experience of using these powers in practice.

Sarah Bedwell Certification Officer

30 November 2021

Breach of Union rules decision: Meechan & Others v British Air Line Pilots Association (D/15/21-22)

Mr Meechan and Members of the Virgin Atlantic Company Council submitted three complaints of breaches of rules relating to the General Secretary election.

The Certification Officer struck out the complaints under Section 256ZA of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 on the basis that they has no reasonable prospect of success and/or were otherwise misconceived.

24 November 2021

Breach of Union rules decision: Morley v Unison (D/14/21-22)

This application was made under Section 108A(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Mr Morley made a complaint of a breach of a union rule in relation to the Lancashire branch secretary election. Mr Morley made a complaint of a breach of a union rule in relation to the Lancashire branch secretary election.

The Union conceded the breach and the Certification Officer made a declaration to that effect, however she did not consider it appropriate to make an enforcement order.

23 November 2021

Breach of Union rules decision: Embery v Fire Brigades Union (D/13/21-22)

This decision related to Mr Embery’s application under Section 108A(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Mr Embery made a complaint of a breach of a union rule in relation to the constitution or proceedings of any executive committee or of any decision-making meeting. The Certification Officer struck out the complaint under section 256ZA of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 on the basis it had no reasonable prospect of success.

16 November 2021

Breach of Union rules decision: Watkins v British Medical Association (D/12/21-22)

This decision relates to Dr Watkins’ application under 108A (1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 that the union breached its rules relating to the disciplinary process. This was originally determined by the Certification Officer on 14 October 2019. On appeal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal remitted one of Dr Watkins’ complaints back to the Certification Officer for a new decision. Following a hearing, the Certification Officer did not uphold the complaint.

8 November 2021

Breach of Union rules decision: Foden v National Education Union (D/11/21-22)

This application was made under Section 108A(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Mr Foden made three complaints of breaches of union rules in relation to disciplinary proceedings. The Certification Officer struck out the complaints under section 256ZA of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 on the basis they had no reasonable prospect of success.

26 October 2021

Breach of Union rules decision: Morley v Unison (D/10/21-22)

This application was made under Section 108A(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Mr Morley made two complaints of breaches of a union rules in relation to a branch election. The Certification Officer struck out the complaints under section 256ZA of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 on the basis they had no reasonable prospect of success.

11 October 2021

Breach of Union rules decision: Wilson v Unison (D/9/21-22)

This application was made under Section 108A(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Mr Wilson made a complaint of breach of a union rule in relation to a branch election. The Certification Officer struck out the complaint under section 256ZA of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 on the basis that it had no reasonable prospect of success.

4 October 2021

Breach of Union rules decision: Parry v USDAW (D/4-8/21-22)

This application was made under Section 108A(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Mr Parry submitted five complaints of breaches of rule relating to local branch elections. Mr Parry withdrew two complaints; the Certification Officer struck out one complaint; and the union conceded breaches of two complaints. The Certification Officer made a declaration for the two breaches conceded by the Union but did not make an Order as the Union had started election procedures to rectify the breaches.

9 August 2021

Breach of Union rule decision: Kelly v Musicians’ Union (D/3/21-2)

This application was made under Section 108A(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The Certification Officer dismissed the application upon withdrawal by the applicant.

Breach of Union rule decision: Morley v GMB (D/2/21-2)

This application was made under Section 108A(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The Certification Officer dismissed the application upon withdrawal by the applicant.

8 July 2021

Certification Officer’s Annual Report

The Annual Report of the Certification Officer, Sarah Bedwell, was laid before Parliament on 8 July 2020. The report describes the work of the Certification Officer over the year 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 and provides detailed information on all trade unions and employers’ associations. The statistical information it contains is drawn from the annual returns received during the reporting period, which relate mainly to the year ending 31 December 2020.

8 June 2021

Implementation of the remaining parts of the Trade Union Act 2016

The Government has today announced its plans to implement the remaining parts of the Trade Union Act 2016 which give the Certification Officer additional powers. These are:

• Section 17 – Increased investigatory powers and the power to act without an application
• Section 19 – Power to impose financial penalties following a finding against a Union
• Section 20 – Power to impose a levy on trade unions and employers’ associations to contribute to the costs of the Certification Office

More details about the Government’s announcement is available from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Any enquiries regarding the government plans should be sent to: enquiries@beis.gov.uk

20 May 2021

Breach of Union rule decision: McFadden v Unite the Union (D/1/21-22)

This application was made under Section 108A(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The Certification Officer dismissed the application upon withdrawal by the applicant.

23 February 2021

Breach of Union rule decision: Simpson v Unite the Union (2) (D/23-25/20-21)

The applicant made three complaints under 108A (1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 that the union breached its rules relating to the disciplinary process.

Following a hearing by Video Conferencing, the Certification Officer refused all three complaints.

7 January 2021

Breach of Union rule decision: Hussain v Communication Workers Union (2) (Part 2)(D/22/20-21)

Mr Hussain made 5 complaints of breach of union rules in relation to the elections at the South East No.5 branch of the Union. Complaints 2-5 were struck out previously (D/20-23/19-20). The Certification Officer struck out the remaining complaint under Section 256ZA of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 on the basis that it has no reasonable prospect of success and/or is otherwise misconceived previously .

23 December 2020

Political funds decision: Jennings v GMB (D/21/20-21)

The applicant made a complaint under section 72A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 for an alleged breach of Section 71(1) against the union for using £240 from its General Fund for political purposes. The Certification Officer struck out the complaint under section 256ZA of the 1992 Act on the basis that it had no reasonable prospect of success and/or is otherwise misconceived.

11 December 2020

The Workers’ Union

We have had number of enquiries relating to The Workers’ Union. The Workers’ Union is a commercial organisation offering services to members. It is not a trade union as defined by the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 Act and is not subject to the Certification Officer’s powers.

9 December 2020

Breach of union rules decision: Kidd v Musicians’ Union (D/20/20-21)

The applicant made a complaint under 108A (1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 that the union breached its rule with regards to the eligibility criteria for the election of the General Secretary.

The Certification Officer struck out the complaint under section 256ZA of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 on the basis that it had no reasonable prospect of success.

23 November 2020

Breach of union rules decision: Singh v University College Union (UCU) (D/18-19/20-21)

The applicant made two complaints under section 108A(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 that the Union had breached its rule relating to the election and removal of a workplace representative. Following a hearing on 29 October , the Certification Officer refused both the complaints.

4 November 2020

Breach

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