Britain’s leading equality organisation, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has warned the government that its Brexit plans reflect a lack of ambition for equality and human rights standards.
The law says that unions cannot request statutory recognition if there is an agreement in force allowing another union to collectively bargain on behalf of the relevant workers. In Pharmacists’ Defence Association Union (PDAU) v Boots Management Services Ltd the Court of Appeal held that if the relevant workers want to be represented by the non-recognised union, the onus is on them to bring the bargaining arrangements with the recognised union to an end.
Although employers can dismiss an employee fairly for failing to abide by a clause in their contract, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held in Kellog, Brown and Root (UK) Ltd v Fitton & Ewer that employers still have to act reasonably when instructing an employee to abide by, in this case, a contractual mobility clause.