Decision

Recognition Decision

Updated 7 December 2022

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Case Number: TUR1/1276(2022)

7 December 2022

CENTRAL ARBITRATION COMMITTEE

TRADE UNION AND LABOUR RELATIONS (CONSOLIDATION) ACT 1992

SCHEDULE A1 - COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: RECOGNITION

DECLARATION OF RECOGNITION

The Parties:

Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB)

and

The Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce

1. Introduction

1) IWGB (the Union) submitted an application to the CAC dated 8 June 2022 that it should be recognised for collective bargaining purposes by RSA (the Employer) for a bargaining unit comprising “all staff members of the RSA (including permanent, temporary and fixed-term staff and paid interns), apart from the Senior Management Team (consisting at time of writing of the Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer, incoming Chief Impact Officer and the eight directors).” The location of the bargaining unit was given as The Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce, 8 John Adam Street London, WC2N 6EZ. The application was received by the CAC on 9 June 2022 and the CAC gave notice of receipt of the application to the parties that day. The Employer submitted a response to the CAC dated 16 June 2022 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 Tariq Sadiq, Panel Chair, and, as Members, Mr Martin Kirke and Mr David Coats. The Case Manager appointed to support the Panel was Joanne Curtis.

3) By a decision dated 30 June 2022 the Panel accepted the Union’s application. The parties then entered a period of negotiation in an attempt to reach agreement on the appropriate bargaining unit. On 9 September 2022 the parties notified the CAC that they had reached an agreement as to the appropriate bargaining unit and this was: “all staff, including casual staff (but only those who are engaged by the employer as employees) and excluding Heads of Teams, the HR team (HRBP and HR Coordinator) and Staff at Director level and above.” As the agreed bargaining unit was different from that proposed by the Union in its application, the Panel was required by paragraph 20 of the Schedule A1 to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (the Schedule) to determine whether the Union’s application was invalid within the terms of paragraphs 43 to 50 of the Schedule. By a decision dated 3 October 2022 the Panel determined that the application was not invalid, and that the CAC would proceed with the application.

4)On 10 October 2022, the Panel, not being 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 it intended to arrange for the holding of a secret ballot in which the workers constituting the bargaining unit would be asked whether they wanted the Union to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf. The parties were advised that the Panel would wait until the end of the notification period,^{[footnote 1]} as specified in paragraphs 24(2) to (7) of the Schedule, before arranging for the holding of a ballot. The parties were also asked for their views on the form the ballot should take.

5) The notification period described in the preceding paragraph elapsed without the Union, or the Union and the Employer jointly, informing the CAC that a ballot was not required.

6) In a letter to the CAC Manager dated 11 October 2022 the Union stated that it would prefer a postal ballot. In a letter to the Case Manager dated 12 October 2022 the Employer also confirmed that it would prefer a postal ballot.

2. The Ballot

7) On 28 October 2022 Mi-Voice 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 14 November 2022 to be returned to the QIP by no later than Noon on 25 November 2022.

8) The QIP reported to the CAC on 25 November 2022 that, of the 90 workers eligible to vote, seventy-eight (78) ballot papers had been returned; there was one ballot paper that was found to be spoiled or otherwise invalid. Sixty-six (66) workers, that is 85.71% of those voting, had voted to support the proposal that the Union be recognised for the purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer. Eleven (11) workers, that is 14.29% of those voting, voted to reject the proposal. The number of votes supporting the proposal as a percentage of the bargaining unit was 73.33%.

9) The CAC informed the Employer and the Union on 28 November 2022 of the result of the ballot in accordance with paragraph 29(2) of the Schedule.

3. Declaration of Recognition

10) 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.

11) 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 “all staff, including casual staff (but only those who are engaged by the employer as employees) and excluding Heads of Teams, the HR team (HRBP and HR Coordinator) and Staff at Director level and above”.

Panel

Mr Tariq Sadiq, Panel Chair

Mr Martin Kirke

Mr David Coats

7 December 2022

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1. The “notification period”, in relation to notification by the union, is the period of 10 working days starting with the day on which the union receives the CAC’s notice under paragraph 23(2) or such longer period as the CAC may specify; in relation to notification by the unions and the employer, the period of 10 working days starting with the day on which the last of the parties receives the CAC’s notice or such longer period as the CAC may specify: paragraph 24(5),(6). ↩