By Claire Mansell - 1 Nov 2018
Since the new government came into power 12 months ago,
Unions have been particularly active. Nurses, teachers and court
staff have all taken strike action this year.
Anecdotally, Unions have been more
active in smaller work places as well. We are aware of many clients
who are suddenly finding that Unions are taking an interest in
their work place for the first time. This has meant that employers
who have never had any dealings with Unions before are having to
navigate what can be a tricky area of law.
Unions are granted special rights to access the workplace. A
representative of a Union is entitled to enter a workplace for any
purpose relating to the employment of its members or the purpose
relating to the Union's business. This includes discussing Union
business with Union members, seeking recruitment of new Union
members and providing information about the Union to any employee
on the premises.
The representative from a Union must obtain consent to enter the
workplace beforehand and an employer must not unreasonably withhold
consent. However, the Employment Relations Bill currently before
Parliament amends this requirement and would allow a Union
representative to access the workplace without the Employer's
consent. The Union representative would still need to act
reasonably when accessing the workplace and must comply with any
health and safety requirements.
This is an area where it is very easy for employers to get fall
foul of the law, particularly if they have not had any previous
experience dealing with Unions.
If you are an employer and you are approached by a Union seeking
access to your workplace, we recommend that you contact Claire Mansell
or a member of our employment relations team
immediately.