Decision

Recognition Decision

Updated 3 November 2025

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Case Number: TUR1/1469(2025)

3 November 2025

CENTRAL ARBITRATION COMMITTEE

TRADE UNION AND LABOUR RELATIONS (CONSOLIDATION) ACT 1992

SCHEDULE A1 - COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: RECOGNITION

DECLARATION OF RECOGNITION

The Parties:

GMB

And

ASDA Stores Limited

1. Introduction

1)       GMB (the Union) submitted an application to the Central Arbitration Committee (the CAC) dated 19 May 2025 that it should be recognised for collective bargaining purposes by ASDA Stores Limited (the Employer) for a bargaining unit comprising “Salaried managers within ASDA Stores Ltd working in ASDA’s distribution network (Asda Logistics Services) across all ALS depots in the UK (these managers are also referred to as Graded or Zone managers in the Depot Managers Handbook and CSP policy document). Their job titles include but are not limited to roles such as: General Manager, Warehouse Operations Manager, Transport Operations Manager, Finance Manager, Transport Shift Manager, Warehouse Shift Manager, Warehouse Department Manager, Transport Department Manager.”^{[footnote 1]} The location of the bargaining unit was given as “23 depots across the UK.” The application was received by the CAC on 19 May 2025, and the CAC gave both parties notice of receipt of the application on 20 May 2025. The Employer submitted a response to the CAC dated 27 May 2025 which was copied to the Union.

2)         In accordance with section 263 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (the Act), the CAC Chair established a Panel to deal with the case. The Panel consisted of Mr Benjimin Burgher, Panel Chair, and, as Members, Ms Amanda Ashworth and Mr Morris Stemp. The Case Manager appointed to support the Panel was Joanne Curtis.

3)         By a decision dated 30 June 2025 the Panel accepted the Union’s application.  Following this decision, the parties reached agreement on the appropriate bargaining unit. The agreed bargaining unit was described as “workers within ASDA Stores Ltd working in ASDA’s distribution network (Asda Logistics Services) across all ALS depots in the UK with the following job titles: Finance Administrator (known in depots as Finance and Depot Administrator), Flow Analyst, Operations Support SME, Stock and Systems Shift Manger (known in depots as Stock and Systems Manager), Systems Operations Manager, Transport Department Manager, Transport Operations Manager, Transport Shift Manager, Warehouse Department Manager, Warehouse Operations Manager, Warehouse Planning Manager and Warehouse Shift Manager. This excludes the roles of General Manager and Finance Manager.” As the agreed bargaining unit differed from that proposed by the Union, the Panel was required by paragraph 20 of Schedule A1 to the Act (the Schedule) to decide whether the Union’s application was valid or invalid within the terms of paragraphs 43 to 50 of the Schedule.

4)         After a further check of membership, the Panel issued a decision dated 18 August 2025 that the application was not invalid and that the CAC would be proceeding with the application.

5)         On 18 August 2025, the Panel, not satisfied that a majority of the workers constituting the bargaining unit were members of the Union, gave notice in accordance with paragraph 23(2) of the Schedule that a secret ballot would be held. The Panel also advised the parties that it would wait until the end of the notification period of ten working days, as specified in paragraph 24(5) of the Schedule, before arranging a secret ballot. The parties were also asked for their views on the form the ballot should take.

6)         The notification period under paragraph 24(5) ended on 29 August 2025. The CAC was not notified by the Union or by both parties jointly that they did not want the ballot to be held, as per paragraph 24(2) of the Schedule.

7)       The parties had put forward two different types of ballots for the Panel to consider. The Employer argued for a postal ballot whereas the Union submitted that the ballot should be a workplace ballot. The Panel, having carefully considered the parties’ submissions, decided that, on the grounds of cost and practicality given the geographical spread of the Employer’s locations and characteristics of the workers in the bargaining unit, the appropriate form of ballot in the circumstances would be a postal ballot. This decision was communicated to the parties on 22 September 2025.

2. The Ballot

8)         On 29 September 2025 Civica Election Services Limited was appointed as the Qualified Independent Person (QIP) to conduct the ballot and the parties were notified accordingly. The postal ballot papers were dispatched on 8 October 2025 to be returned to the QIP by no later than Noon on 24 October 2025.

9)         The QIP reported to the CAC on 24 October 2025 that, of the 980 workers eligible to vote, 687 ballot papers had been returned. 441 workers, that is 64.2% of those voting, had voted to support the proposal that the Union be recognised for the purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer. 246 workers, that is 35.8% of those voting, voted to reject the proposal. The number of votes supporting the proposal as a percentage of the bargaining unit was 45%.

10)       The CAC informed the Employer and the Union on 28 October 2025 of the result of the ballot in accordance with paragraph 29(2) of the Schedule.

3. Declaration of Recognition

11)       The ballot establishes that a majority of the workers voting, and at least 40% of the workers constituting the bargaining unit, support the proposal that the Union should be recognised by the Employer for the purpose of conducting collective bargaining in respect of the bargaining unit. This satisfies the conditions under which the CAC must issue a declaration in favour of recognition in accordance with paragraph 29(3) of the Schedule.

12)       The CAC accordingly declares that the Union is recognised by the Employer as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the bargaining unit comprising “workers within ASDA Stores Ltd working in ASDA’s distribution network (Asda Logistics Services) across all ALS depots in the UK with the following job titles: Finance Administrator (known in depots as Finance and Depot Administrator), Flow Analyst, Operations Support SME, Stock and Systems Shift Manger (known in depots as Stock and Systems Manager), Systems Operations Manager, Transport Department Manager, Transport Operations Manager, Transport Shift Manager, Warehouse Department Manager, Warehouse Operations Manager, Warehouse Planning Manager and Warehouse Shift Manager. This excludes the roles of General Manager and Finance Manager.”

Panel

Mr Benjimin Burgher

Ms Amanda Ashworth

Mr Morris Stemp

3 November 2025

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1. In a separate letter dated 3 June 2025 the Union explained that due to issues with the online CAC application form it was unable to replicate the description of the bargaining unit to the one included in the schedule A1 application in its entirety. This led to the following job titles being omitted from the CAC application form: • People coordinators • Finance coordinators • Warehouse planning manager • Stock and systems manager. These were included these were included in the original schedule A1 letter dated 28 March 2025. ↩