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Collective bargaining

Where a trade union and an employer agree to bargain about terms and conditions, the employer is said to ‘recognise’ the trade union. Once a trade union is recognised in a workplace, the negotiations they have with an employer on terms and conditions of employment are called ‘collective bargaining’.

A trade union that is not recognised, but has strong support, can make an application under a statutory procedure to the Central Arbitration Committee for a declaration that it must be recognised. Where a trade union is granted statutory recognition in this way, it has a legal right to bargain with the employer about pay, hours and holidays.

Where recognition is voluntary, it is up to the trade union and employer to decide what they bargain about. They may decide to bargain about a wider range of issues than pay, hours and holidays.

• Trade union recognition

How collective bargaining works

For collective bargaining to work, your trade union and employer will need to agree on how the process will operate, for example:

• who will represent the workers, or a particular group of workers (known as the ‘bargaining unit’) in negotiations
• which workers are included in the bargaining unit
• how often meetings will take place
• which issues, including which terms and conditions, they will discuss
• how failures to agree will be resolved
• how discussions will work if more than one trade union is recognised
  

Collective agreements

In most cases, collective bargaining will lead to an agreement, for example a pay increase. These agreements are called ‘collective agreements’ and they often result in a change to your employment terms and conditions.

You may be covered by a collective agreement in your workplace even if you are not a member of a trade union, as trade unions often negotiate on behalf of all of the workers employed in a specific group. This group is known as a ‘bargaining unit’.

If your employer recognises more than one trade union, or one trade union is recognised to negotiate for more than one bargaining unit, your employment contract may set out which collective agreements cover you.

Useful contacts

• Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service)

• Citizens Advice Bureau

• Community Legal Advice