Kostal UK Ltd v Dunkley UKSC 47 is a United Kingdom labour law case concerning the right not to suffer detriment for joining a trade union, or inducements not to join a trade union.
Facts Dunkley and others claimed that their right not to be induced to leave a collective agreement had been violated by their employer. Kostal UK Ltd wrote to employees, re-stating a pay offer that the union had rejected and stating that if it was not accepted by 18 December, no Christmas bonus would be paid (as was in the offer). In January 2016, it wrote to the employees saying that non-acceptance could lead to dismissal. The employees claimed that this was an unlawful inducement under section 145B of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA 1992), which provides for a "prohibited result" that the workers' terms of employment "will not (or will no longer) be determined by collective agreement".
The Tribunal found that the employers' conduct was unlawful. The Court of Appeal reversed this, Singh LJ finding in the employers' favour. The employees appealed.
Judgment The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom held that the employer's offer to workers violated section 145B of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA 1992) if the workers' terms would not be determined by collective agreement, or if there was a real possibility of that outcome. This should be assumed where there was an agreed collective bargaining procedure that was not complied with.
Lord Leggatt said the following:
Lord Burrows and Lady Arden said the following.
Lady Arden and Lord Burrows, - would have gone further: an employer breached s 145B where (i) an offer, if accepted, would constitute contracting out of collective bargaining on that occasion so that the offer satisfied the "prohibited result" requirement; and (ii) the employer's main purpose was to achieve that result rather than having a genuine business purpose. On that interpretation, it did not necessarily follow that the employer escaped liability just because the collective bargaining process had been exhausted.
See also UK labour law
Notes