Third Time Lucky? — The Operation and Outcomes of the Statutory Recognition Procedure

Abstract

Having examined the background to the design of the 1999 statutory recognition procedure, this chapter analyses its operation over ten years, providing a review of the outcomes of applications to the CAC reported on its website, between June 2000 and March 2012. It is the basis for subsequent consideration of whether and in what circumstances the procedure provides an effective mechanism for workers seeking representation for collective bargaining. The analysis traces the level of applications; rulings on admissibility and the bargaining unit, decisions on whether to order a ballot and the proportions of statutory and semi-voluntary agreements emerging from the process. It also looks at CAC decisions over the method of bargaining following an award of recognition and the utilization of the derecognition provisions in Schedule Al. The chapter assesses how the CAC has used its discretion and starts to examine how far the parties are able to influence this. It concludes by assessing the extent to which the CAC process has had an impact, or ‘shadow effect’ on voluntary recognition claims that do not take the statutory route.

Unlike the 1970’s legislation, the CAC has not been impeded by legal challenges and has encountered them very infrequently. In fact, in some cases, for example Kwik-Fit and Ultraframe, the judgments have actually assisted the CAC…In conclusion, the experience of nearly five years of the legislation shows it to have been a carefully thought out and well-structured vehicle that has avoided many of the problems of the past by providing clear decision points and avenues by which problems can be resolved. The CAC, for its part, has concentrated on making a complex statute workable, making itself accessible, including the development of its web site on which all decisions are published, and ensuring its decisions are fair and beyond challenge. It has also stayed out of the public eye, unlike institutions previously concerned with statutory recognition, and has become an accepted feature of current employment relations. (CAC Annual Report 2004–5)