Employment Relations Bill

Employment Relations Bill - continued	House of Lords

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	S C H E D U L E S
	SCHEDULE 1
	COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: RECOGNITION
	The Schedule to be inserted immediately before Schedule 1 to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 is as follows-
	SCHEDULE A1
	COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: RECOGNITION
	PART I
	RECOGNITION
	Introduction
	1. A trade union (or trade unions) seeking recognition to be entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of a group or groups of workers may make a request in accordance with this Part of this Schedule.
	2. - (1) This paragraph applies for the purposes of this Part of this Schedule.
	(2) References to the bargaining unit are to the group of workers concerned (or the groups taken together).
	(3) References to the proposed bargaining unit are to the bargaining unit proposed in the request for recognition.
	(4) References to the employer are to the employer of the workers constituting the bargaining unit concerned.
	(5) References to the parties are to the union (or unions) and the employer.
	(6) References to collective bargaining are to negotiations relating to pay, hours and holidays; but this has effect subject to sub-paragraph (7).
	(7) If the parties at any time agree matters as the subject of collective bargaining, references to collective bargaining are to negotiations relating to the agreed matters; but this does not apply in construing paragraph 29(3).
	(8) The meaning of collective bargaining given by section 178(1) shall not apply.
	(9) Sub-paragraphs (6) to (8) do not apply in construing paragraph 32.
	Request for recognition
	3. - (1) The union or unions seeking recognition must make a request for recognition to the employer.
	(2) Paragraphs 4 to 8 apply to the request.
	4. The request is not valid unless it is received by the employer.
	5. The request is not valid unless the union (or each of the unions) has a certificate under section 6 that it is independent.
	6. - (1) The request is not valid unless the employer, taken with any associated employer or employers, employs-
	(a) at least 21 workers on the day the employer receives the request, or
	(b) an average of at least 21 workers in the 13 weeks ending with that day.
	(2) To find the average under sub-paragraph (1)(b)-
	(a) take the number of workers employed in each of the 13 weeks (including workers not employed for the whole of the week);
	(b) aggregate the 13 numbers;
	(c) divide the aggregate by 13.
	(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(a) any worker employed by an associated company incorporated outside Great Britain must be ignored unless the day the request was made fell within a period during which he ordinarily worked in Great Britain.
	(4) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(b) any worker employed by an associated company incorporated outside Great Britain must be ignored in relation to a week unless the whole or any part of that week fell within a period during which he ordinarily worked in Great Britain.
	(5) For the purposes of sub-paragraphs (3) and (4) a worker who is employed on board a ship registered in the United Kingdom shall be treated as ordinarily working in Great Britain unless-
	(a) the ship is registered at a port outside Great Britain,
	(b) the employment is wholly outside Great Britain, or
	(c) the worker is not ordinarily resident in Great Britain.
	(6) The Secretary of State may by order-
	(a) provide that sub-paragraphs (1) to (5) are not to apply, or are not to apply in specified circumstances, or
	(b) vary the number of workers for the time being specified in sub-paragraph (1);
	and different provision may be made for different circumstances.
	(7) An order under sub-paragraph (6)-
	(a) shall be made by statutory instrument, and
	(b) may include supplementary, incidental, saving or transitional provisions.
	(8) No such order shall be made unless a draft of it has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
	7. The request is not valid unless it-
	(a) is in writing,
	(b) identifies the union or unions and the bargaining unit, and
	(c) states that it is made under this Schedule.
	8. The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument prescribe the form of requests and the procedure for making them; and if he does so the request is not valid unless it complies with the order.
	Parties agree
	9. - (1) If before the end of the first period the parties agree a bargaining unit and that the union is (or unions are) to be recognised as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the unit, no further steps are to be taken under this Part of this Schedule.
	(2) If before the end of the first period the employer informs the union (or unions) that the employer does not accept the request but is willing to negotiate, sub-paragraph (3) applies.
	(3) The parties may conduct negotiations with a view to agreeing a bargaining unit and that the union is (or unions are) to be recognised as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the unit.
	(4) If such an agreement is made before the end of the second period no further steps are to be taken under this Part of this Schedule.
	(5) The employer and the union (or unions) may request ACAS to assist in conducting the negotiations.
	(6) The first period is the period of 10 working days starting with the day after that on which the employer receives the request for recognition.
	(7) The second period is-
	(a) the period of 20 working days starting with the day after that on which the first period ends, or
	(b) such longer period (so starting) as the parties may from time to time agree.
	Employer rejects request
	10. - (1) This paragraph applies if-
	(a) before the end of the first period the employer fails to respond to the request, or
	(b) before the end of the first period the employer informs the union (or unions) that the employer does not accept the request (without indicating a willingness to negotiate).
	(2) The union (or unions) may apply to the CAC to decide both these questions-
	(a) whether the proposed bargaining unit is appropriate or some other bargaining unit is appropriate;
	(b) whether the union has (or unions have) the support of a majority of the workers constituting the appropriate bargaining unit.

Prepared 17 June 1999