Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Collective bargainingLatest NewsEmployment lawTrade unions

Unlawful inducements decision overturned by Court of Appeal

by Jo Faragher 13 Jun 2019
by Jo Faragher 13 Jun 2019 Initial tribunals asserted that the employer had unlawfully induced employees with a direct pay offer
Initial tribunals asserted that the employer had unlawfully induced employees with a direct pay offer

The Court of Appeal has overturned a key employment tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal decision on whether employers can offer inducements to workers to influence their relationship with unions.

In this case of Kostal UK v Dunkely & Others, automotive parts company Kostal sent letters to employees asking them to agree a pay deal that had been rejected by their trade union. The employer stated in the letters that a result of staff not agreeing to the pay deal on the table was that it would be unable to pay them their Christmas bonus that year.

Working with trade unions

Direct pay offers ‘over the heads of the union’ were unlawful inducements  

The consequences of trade union recognition 

However, Section 145B of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 prohibits an employer from making offers to members of a recognised trade union (or one seeking to be recognised), where the purpose of the offer is to cease collective bargaining.

When the case reached the EAT, it held that the employer offered unlawful inducements when it attempted to bypass collective bargaining with a trade union by making pay offers directly to the union’s members, upholding the previous decision of the Sheffield Employment Tribunal.

The tribunal decided that Kostal had breached the legislation and was liable to pay a fixed penalty (then £3,800, currently fixed at £4193.00) to each affected employee.

Kostal appealed, and the case was heard by the Court of Appeal on 22nd May. The company argued that the financial risk employers could face if such a case was brought to tribunal gave the union a de facto veto over any changes to terms and conditions proposed by the employers.

The Court of Appeal unanimously found in Kostal’s favour. Setting aside the previous decisions, it agreed that the ET’s construction of Section 145B “gives a recognised trade union an effective veto over any direct offer to any employee concerning any term of the contract, major or minor, on any occasion”.

Angela Brumpton of law firm gunnercooke, which acted for Kostal UK, said: “We have always maintained the effect of the original ET decision represented a paradigm shift in industrial relations in the UK.

“This decision will come as a relief to employers faced with a situation where collective bargaining has reached an impasse, and they wish to approach employees directly.”

Employee relations opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more Employee Relations jobs

Jo Faragher
Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

previous post
Does gender pay gap reporting legislation need more teeth?
next post
Could predictive algorithms boost staff productivity?

1 comment

Avatar
G Monk 14 Jun 2019 - 1:59 pm

Well thank goodness that at long last sense has reigned over stupidity, and for once an employer has come out on top. The pendulum has swung far too far.

Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Who is on strike and when?

22 Sep 2023

Joint doctors strikes to cause disruption ‘unlike anything...

20 Sep 2023

Plan to extend strikes minimum service level to...

19 Sep 2023

Can an employer withhold a bonus from a...

15 Sep 2023

Some firefighters receive £15,000 less maternity pay than...

15 Sep 2023

Rayner pledges employment bill within Labour’s first 100...

13 Sep 2023

BT Group union members agree pay deal

13 Sep 2023

Unions set to produce template for pay review...

13 Sep 2023

Lecturers to strike for whole of freshers’ week

6 Sep 2023

‘Good work agreements’ needed to tackle low pay...

4 Sep 2023

  • Discover the value of CIPD accreditation PROMOTED | See how the CIPD can increase your earning potential...Read more
  • What does it mean to be an HR professional in 2024? (survey) PROMOTED | The world of HR is changing rapidly...Read more
  • The Contractor Management Mastery Pack: Everything you need to manage and pay global contractors PROMOTED | Answers to cross-border...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2023

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2023 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+