Validity of trade union recognition: sub‑21, non‑UK employers (TULRCA 1992)

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The process whereby a trade union can seek to be recognised by an employer for the purposes of collective bargaining comprises elements of both voluntarism and compulsion.

At the outset, recognition is settled through negotiation between the employer and the relevant union or unions, including whether recognition is granted, for which purposes and at what organisational level. This is known as ‘voluntary recognition’. Where recognition rests purely on a voluntary basis, the employer may reverse its position and withdraw that recognition at any time. Such a step can have industrial relations ramifications, but there is little the union can achieve in law to stop it, unless the recognition agreement is a binding contract, which is highly unusual. For further detail, see Practice Note: Trade union recognition, under the section headed ‘Voluntary recognition where no request for statutory recognition’. If the employer is not prepared to concede recognition immediately and refuses voluntary recognition, the union may commence the statutory recognition process and seek to persuade the employer by submitting a request for recognition under the relevant statutory provisions—see also, below, ‘Initial request procedure for statutory recognition’...

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Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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