Decision

Recognition Decision

Updated 24 July 2025

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Case Number: TUR1/1449(2025)

23 July 2025

CENTRAL ARBITRATION COMMITTEE

TRADE UNION AND LABOUR RELATIONS (CONSOLIDATION) ACT 1992

SCHEDULE A1 - COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: RECOGNITION

DECLARATION OF RECOGNITION WITHOUT A BALLOT

The Parties:

Unite the Union  

and

TAC Healthcare Group Limited

1. Introduction

1)         Unite the Union (the Union) submitted an application to the Central Arbitration Committee (the CAC) dated 22 January 2025 that it should be recognised for collective bargaining purposes by TAC Healthcare Group Limited (the Employer) in respect of a bargaining unit comprising “Offshore Medics, working on the Repsol Resource UK Limited contract in the UK Continental Shelf.”  The application was received by the CAC on 22 January 2025 and the CAC gave both parties notice of receipt of the application by a letter of the same date.  The Employer submitted a response to the CAC dated 29 January 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 Ms Naeema Choudry, Panel Chair, and, as Members, Mr Alistair Paton and Mr Matt Smith OBE.  The Case Manager appointed to support the Panel was Kate Norgate. 

3)         By a decision dated 13 March 2025 the Panel accepted the Union’s application.   The parties then entered a period of negotiation in which to try and reach agreement on the appropriate bargaining unit.  As no agreement was reached, the parties were invited to supply the Panel with written submissions relating to the question of the determination of the appropriate bargaining unit.  Following a hearing held on 13 May 2025, by a decision dated 5 June 2025 Panel decided that the appropriate bargaining unit was that specified by the Union in its application.

2. Issues

4)         The next stage of the procedure required the Panel to decide whether a majority of the workers in the bargaining unit are members of the Union. Paragraph 22 of the Schedule provides that if the CAC is satisfied that a majority of the workers constituting the bargaining unit are members of the union it must issue a declaration of recognition under paragraph 22(2) unless any of the three qualifying conditions specified in paragraph 22(4) applies.  Paragraph 22(3) requires the CAC to hold a ballot even where it has found that a majority of workers constituting the bargaining unit are members of the union if any of these qualifying conditions is fulfilled.  The three qualifying conditions are:

(i) the CAC is satisfied that a ballot should be held in the interests of good industrial relations;

(ii) the CAC has evidence, which it considers to be credible, from a significant number of the union members within the bargaining unit that they do not want the union (or unions) to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf;

(iii) membership evidence is produced which leads the CAC to conclude that there are doubts whether a significant number of the union members within the bargaining unit want the union (or unions) to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf.  Paragraph 22(5) states that “membership evidence” is (a) evidence about the circumstances in which union members became members, or (b) evidence about the length of time for which union members have been members, in a case where the CAC is satisfied that such evidence should be taken into account.

3. The Union’s claim to majority membership and submission that it should be recognised without a ballot

5)         In a letter dated 5 June 2025 the Union was asked by the CAC whether it claimed majority membership within the bargaining unit and, if so, whether it submitted that it should be granted recognition without a ballot. The Union, in an e-mail dated 8 June 2025, stated that it was claiming majority membership within the bargaining unit.  The Union said that the “categories of worker in the proposed bargaining unit” document supplied by Employer confirmed that there were 18 workers in bargaining unit. There were 15 Offshore Medic members, who worked on the Repsol Resource UK Limited contract in the UK Continental Shelf.   The Union explained that membership details were previously submitted to the CAC on 13 February 2025 for the purposes of the membership check and, at the time, it was accepted by the Panel that based on the information before it, and on the balance of probabilities, that the level of union membership is more than 50%.  The Union said that “our Unite membership would give us 83% membership of the Offshore Medics, working on the Repsol Resource UK Limited contract in the UK Continental Shelf, and that we should be granted recognition without a ballot.”

4. The Membership Check

6)         To assist in deciding whether to arrange for a secret ballot under the Schedule the Panel proposed an independent check of the level of union membership within the bargaining unit. It was explicitly agreed with all parties that, to preserve confidentiality, the respective lists would not be copied to the other party and that agreement was confirmed in a letter dated 20 June 2025 from the Case Manager to both parties. The information from the Union was received on 23 June 2025 and from the Employer on 27 June 2025. The Panel is satisfied that the check was conducted properly and impartially and in accordance with the agreement reached with the parties.

7)         The Union provided a spreadsheet with the details of 15 members. The Employer provided a spreadsheet with the details of 18 workers.  According to the Case Manager’s report, the number of Union members in the bargaining unit was 12, a membership level of 66.67%.

8)         A report of the result of the membership check was circulated to the Panel and the parties on 1 July 2025.     The letter sent to the Employer also invited the Employer to make submissions in relation to the three qualifying conditions specified in paragraph 22(4) of the Schedule and set out in paragraph 4 above.

5. The Employer’s Submissions

9)         In a letter to the CAC dated 9 July 2025, the Employer said that it would like the CAC to consider that a ballot should be held in the interests of good industrial relations. The Employer said that the evidence upon which it was making its submission was based on the following:

I. Discrepancy in workforce Identification: Of the 18 workers in the bargaining unit, only 12 were confirmed as union members. This meant that 33% of the workforce were not accounted for by the Union. In a small unit, this proportion was significant and called into question the reliability of the Union’s membership data.

II. Unmatched Union Members: The Union had identified 3 individuals who did not appear on the Employer’s list. This was a notable discrepancy that raised concerns regarding the accuracy of the Union’s list, and it could lead to confusion as to which workers constitute being part of the bargaining unit.

10)       It was the Employer’s view that the discrepancies indicated a lack of full alignment between the two parties on the composition of the bargaining unit.  To avoid any ambiguity or misunderstanding, and to preserve good faith in industrial relations, a secret ballot would be the fairest and most transparent course of action.

6. Considerations

11)       The Act requires the Panel to consider whether it is satisfied that a majority of the workers constituting the bargaining unit are members of the Union.  If the Panel is satisfied that a majority of the workers constituting the bargaining unit are members of the Union, it must then decide if any of the three conditions in paragraph 22(4) is fulfilled.   If the Panel considers that any of them is fulfilled it must give notice to the parties that it intends to arrange for the holding of a secret ballot. 

12)       As stated in paragraph 7 above, the membership check conducted by the Case Manager showed that 66.67% of the workers in the bargaining unit were members of the Union.  The Panel is satisfied that a majority of the workers in the bargaining unit are members of the Union.

13)        The Panel has considered carefully whether any of the qualifying conditions set out in paragraph 22(4) of the Schedule is fulfilled.

14)       The first condition is that the Panel is satisfied that a ballot should be held in the interests of good industrial relations.  The Panel has not received any evidence that a ballot should be held in the interests of good industrial relations and is not satisfied that this condition is fulfilled.

15)    The second condition is that the CAC has evidence, which it considers to be credible, from a significant number of the union members within the bargaining unit that they do not want the union to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf. The Panel has no such evidence and the Panel has therefore concluded that this condition does not apply.

16)    The third condition is that membership evidence is produced which leads the CAC to conclude that there are doubts whether a significant number of the union members within the bargaining unit want the union to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf.  No such evidence has been produced, and the Panel has therefore concluded that this condition does not apply.

7. Declaration of recognition

17)   The Panel is satisfied in accordance with paragraph 22(1)(b) of the Schedule that a majority of the workers constituting the bargaining unit are members of the Union. The Panel is satisfied that none of the conditions in paragraph 22(4) of the Schedule is fulfilled. Pursuant to paragraph 22(2) of the Schedule, the CAC must therefore issue a declaration that the Union is recognised as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the workers constituting the bargaining unit. 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 “Offshore Medics, working on the Repsol Resource UK Limited contract in the UK Continental Shelf”. 

Panel

Ms Naeema Choudry, Panel Chair

Mr Alistair Paton

Mr Matt Smith, OBE

23 July 2025