Certification Officer
17 November 2015
Mr Rowlandson made five complaints alleging that the union had breached its rules in relation to branch elections and one complaint in relation to disciplinary procedures. The union conceded breaches for four of the six complaints and the Certification Officer declared, by consent, that the relevant rules had been breached as alleged. He made a single enforcement order in relation to these complaints. The Certification Officer refused to make a declaration on the remaining two complaints.
22 October 2015
Mr Radford made three complaints alleging that the union had breached two of its rules in relation to disciplinary procedures. The Certification refused the claimants application in relation to the first complaint. The Certification Officer upheld the second and third complaints for which he also made enforcement orders. The decision was issued to the parties on 22 October 2015 and reviewed, following an application from the Union, on 12 November 2015.
15 October 2015
Ritson v National Union of Teachers (NUT)
Mr Edward Ritson made six complaints alleging that the NUT breached its rules in relation to the nomination procedure followed by its Sefton Branch for local officers and committee. Following a settlement between the parties, Mr Ritson withdrew his complaints, which were dismissed by the Certification Officer upon withdrawal.
2 October 2015
Mr Murray made a complaint alleging that the union had breached one of its rules in relation to the election of the Scottish Regional representative to its Executive Council that took place in 2015. The union conceded a breach of the rule. The Certification Officer made an enforcement order that the election be re-run.
29 July 2015
Brough v Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT)
Mr Brough made a complaint alleging that the union had breached its rules in relation to its internal disciplinary procedure. The Certification Officer dismissed the complaint.
20 July 2015
The Annual Report of the Certification Officer (2014-2015) is published and laid before Parliament. It is available to be downloaded from the Certification Officers website. Hard copies of the report are available upon request to the Certification Office (info@certoffice.org).
25 June 2015
The Certification Officer has approved an application from Local Government Yorkshire and Humber to change its name to Yorkshire and Humber (Local Authorities) Employers Association with effect from 25 June 2015.
23 June 2015
Wilson v UNISON: The Public Services Union
The claimant alleged that the union breached its rules in relation to a ballot of members of the Doncaster Local Government Branch Retired Members Section. The application was struck out under section 256ZA of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 on the grounds that the complaint advanced by the claimant had no reasonable prospect of success and/or was otherwise misconceived.
3 June 2015
Stevens v Union of Democratic Mineworkers
The claimant brought five complaints against the Union of Democratic Mineworkers. The complaints alleged breaches of rule relating to:
- the notices required for branch meetings;
- the voting of a branch delegate at the Unions Council;
- the election of a National Executive Committee member;
- the attendance of a trustee at a National Executive Committee; and
- a rule change relating to sections of the union.
Two of these complaints were upheld, two were dismissed and one was struck out by the Certification Officer under section 256ZA(4) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The Certification Officer did not make any enforcement orders.
19 May 2015
The claimant brought five complaints against Unite the Union. The complaints alleged breaches of rule relating to the complainant being prevented from speaking to the National Industrial Sector Committees of the Union and the handling of her complaints relating to the issue. The Certification Officer struck out all five complaints under section 256ZA of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 on the grounds that the complaints had no reasonable prospect of success and/or were otherwise misconceived.
15 May 2015
The claimant made a complaint alleging that UNISON breached its rules in removing him from membership. The claimant withdrew his complaint on the Union reinstating his membership. The Certification Officer dismissed the complaint upon withdrawal by the claimant.
15 May 2015
Beaumont (No. 4) and Mansell v Unite the Union
The claimants brought five complaints against Unite the Union. One complaint related to eligibility to sit on its Executive Council and was upheld. The other four related to the Executive Council election in 2014 Two of these complaints were upheld and two were dismissed. The Certification Officer did not make any enforcement orders.
6 May 2015
The Certification Officer has approved an application from Whatman Staff Association to change its name to Whatman International Staff Association with effect from 6 May 2015.
17 April 2015
Street and Street v UNISON (on remission from the EAT)
The complaint, as remitted to the Certification Officer by the Employment Appeal Tribunal, following the Certification Officers decision (D/28-29/12-13) and EAT judgement (UKEAT/0256/13) was dismissed by the Certification Officer.
30 March 2015
Groves (No. 2) v Society of Authors
The claimant alleged that the Society of Authors breached section 46(1)(b) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 in failing to secure that a member did not hold a position on its executive for more than five years without standing for re-election. The Certification Officer dismissed the complaint upon withdrawal by the claimant.
18 March 2015
Mr Singh alleged that Unite the Union breached its rules in relation to his alleged removal from office. The Certification Officer dismissed the complaint.
16 March 2015
Beaumont (No. 3) v Unite the Union
The claimant made a complaint alleging that Unite the Union breached section 30(2)(a) of the Trade Union Labour Relations Act 1992 by failing to comply within 28 days with his request to access accounting records of the union. Upon the union providing the records the claimant withdrew the complaint. The complaint was dismissed upon withdrawal by the claimant.
23 January 2015
Mr Barton complained that the union had breached rule 5(c)(ii) of the core branch rules of its Greenwich branch during the nomination process for the 2012 interim branch elections. By consent, the Certification Officer made a declaration that UNISON had breached the rule as alleged but did not make an enforcement order.
17 December 2014
Illingworth v National Union of Teachers (NUT)
Mr Robert Illingworth made