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Last month, the Supreme Court delivered a ground-breaking ruling in the case of Kostal v Dunkley and others. Richard Arthur examines the judgment and finds it has far-reaching implications for every unionised workplace in the UK. In the 2015/16 pay round, automotive components manufacturer, Kostal UK, made an offer to the Unite union which included pay and a Christmas bonus and which was then rejected by Unite members in a ballot. The company then attempted to bypass the union bargaining procedure by making the offer direct to employees, giving a deadline for acceptance if the bonus was to be paid. The great majority of employees accepted. Similar further offers were then made to those who had not accepted. A collective agreement was reached with Unite later in 2016. However, 57 Unite members brought employment tribunal claims that "unlawful inducements" had been made for them to give up collective bargaining rights. Section 145B Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 provides union members with the right not to have offers made to them if acceptance would have the “prohibited result”. The prohibited result is that one or more of their terms and conditions will not, or will no longer, be determined by collective bargaining. But the offers are only unlawful if the employer’s purpose in making them is to achieve the prohibited result. If the tribunal upholds such a claim, it must award a prescribed amount of compensation (currently £4,341) to each claimant, for each offer made to them.