Do Rostering and Scheduling Arrangements Fall Within the Scope of Pay, Hours and Holidays?

... as such, the airline was required to negotiate with the trade union on such arrangements.

Legal Background

Where an organisation does not agree to voluntary recognition of a trade union, the union may then apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), which may then order statutory recognition following the procedure set out in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA).

TULRCA confers on trade unions the right to be recognised by an organisation for the purposes of representing a particular group of workers known as the 'bargaining unit'. Once recognised, the union is entitled to represent the bargaining unit in collective bargaining in respect of pay, hours and holidays.

It is then for the parties to agree the way that collective bargaining should operate in practice. If agreement is not possible, the union can apply to the CAC to specify a method for collective bargaining.

The Facts

The trade union, British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), was granted statutory recognition by the CAC in respect of Jet2.com (Jet2) and is therefore entitled to represent Jet2's pilots in collective bargaining in relation to their pay, hours and holiday.

The CAC had to specify the method of collective bargaining as BALPA and Jet2 were unable to reach an agreement. The "specified method" prohibited Jet2 from amending "the contractual terms affecting the pay, hours or holiday of the workers in the bargaining unit", without consulting with the union.

BALPA brought a claim in order to determine whether Jet2 was required to consult with the union about its non-contractual policy on rostering for pilots which set out how flying hours were allocated and time off.

Court of Appeal (CoA)

The CoA held Jet2 was required to consult about its rostering policy, despite elements of it being no-contractual.

It was noted the rostering arrangements were complex and the policy contained both contractual and non-contractual elements. It was not easy to establish whether or not a particular element was contractual or not and it would be unsatisfactory if trade union representatives and managers had to undertake a legal analysis of what elements of a policy were contractual before consultation could start.

Best Practice

The CoA has taken a practical approach to what should fall within the remit of "pay, hours and holidays" for the purposes of a "specified method" imposed by the CAC. Employers should be aware that a broad definition has now been adopted and it may be difficult to draw distinctions between contractual and non-contractual elements within policies that impact on pay, hours and holidays.

The case also highlights the potential difficulties of relying on the statutory framework for collective consultation. It is usually in the interests of all involved to reach voluntary arrangements which can specify in detail when collective consultation will take place.

For more information please contact Kiki Dawes in our Employment Law team on 0117 314 5309.