Re Update: UNITE Financial Investigation & Annual Returns
Certification Officer: UNITE Financial Investigation & Annual Returns
In June 2025 the interim Certification Officer commissioned an investigation into alleged financial irregularities from 2019 in UNITE the union. The Certification Officer has now received the appointed independent investigator’s final report, dated 14 August 2026.
The Inspector has found that UNITE failed, during the year ended 31 December 2021, to establish and maintain a satisfactory system of control of its accounting records, cash holdings, receipts and remittances, contrary to s.28(1)(b) TULRCA 1992. He did not find that such a breach arose from refusal nor wilful neglect.
The Certification Officer also notes that UNITE has since taken substantial steps to remedy its control failures, including significant strengthening of its finance functions.
Accordingly, the Certification Officer shall now be reviewing the statutory requirement for annual returns in response to the Unite investigation and will produce new guidance shortly.
Finally, the Certification Officer will be recommending that the Executive Committees/Boards of trade unions and employer associations undertake financial awareness and compliance training to further ensure that they can effectively scrutinise financial information and evaluate their financial control systems.
STEPHEN HARDY
The Certification Officer
20 August 2026
~ends~