51茶馆

Case Number: TUR1/1462(2025)

15 May 2025

CENTRAL ARBITRATION COMMITTEE

TRADE UNION AND LABOUR RELATIONS (CONSOLIDATION) ACT 1992

SCHEDULE A1 - COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: RECOGNITION

DECISION ON WHETHER TO ACCEPT THE APPLICATION

The Parties:

GMB 聽

and

Inverhouse Distillers Limited

1. Introduction

1)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 GMB (the Union) submitted an application to the CAC dated 7 April 2025 that it should be recognised for collective bargaining purposes by Inverhouse Distillers Limited 聽(the Employer) in respect of a bargaining unit comprising: 聽鈥淒istillery Operators based in Balblair Distillery - Balmenach Distillery - Knockdhu Distillery - Old Pultney Distillery - Speyburn Distillery; Warehouse Operators based in Moffat Distillery; Relief Security based in Moffat Distillery.鈥澛� The location of the bargaining unit was given as:

1. 鈥淢offat Distillery - Towers Road, Airdire, ML6 8PL

2. Balblair Distillery - Edderton, Ross-shire, IV19 1LB

3. Balmenach Distillery - Cromdale, Grantown-on-Spey, PH26 3PF

4. Knockdhu Distillery - 1 Knockdhu Cottages, Knock, Huntly, AB54 7LJ

5. Old Pultney Distillery - Huddart Street, Wick, Caithness, KW1 5BA

6. Speyburn Distillery - Speyburn Distillery House, Rothes, Aberlour, AB38 7AG.鈥�

The application was received by the CAC on 7 April 2025 and the CAC gave both parties notice of receipt of the application by a letter of the same date.聽 The Employer submitted a response to the CAC on 14 April 2025 which was copied to the Union.

2)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In accordance with section 263 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (the Act), the CAC Chair established a Panel to deal with the case.聽 The Panel consisted of Mr Paul Swann, Panel Chair, and, as Members, and Mr Joseph Corcos, and Mr Matt Smith OBE.聽 The Case Manager appointed to support the Panel was Kate Norgate.聽

3)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The CAC Panel has extended the acceptance period in this case.聽 The initial period expired on 23 April 2025.聽 The acceptance period was extended on two occasions in order to allow time for a membership and support check to take place, for the parties to comment on the subsequent report, and for the Panel to obtain further information before arriving at a decision. 聽The final extension ends the acceptance period on 16 May 2025.

2. Issues

4)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Panel is required by paragraph 15 of Schedule A1 to the Act (the Schedule) to decide whether the Union鈥檚 application to the CAC is valid within the terms of paragraphs 5 to 9; is made in accordance with paragraphs 11 or 12; is admissible within the terms of paragraphs 33 to 42; and therefore should be accepted.

3. Summary of the Union鈥檚 application

5)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In its application to the CAC the Union stated that it had sent its request for recognition to the Employer on 17 February 2025, and that it was 鈥渟eeking voluntary recognition for 3 job roles within the organisation.鈥澛� The Union said that it had approached Acas, 鈥渢o assist in any facilitation.鈥澛犅犅� The Employer responded on 18 February 2025 and stated that it would await contact from Acas. 聽聽The Union said that several weeks later, Acas had informed the Union that the Employer was not interested in engaging in voluntary recognition discussions for the constituency of workers.聽 A copy of the Union鈥檚 request letter was attached to its application.

6)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 When asked whether the Union had made a previous application under the Schedule for statutory recognition for workers in the proposed bargaining unit or a similar unit the Union answered 鈥淣o鈥�. The Union stated that, following receipt of the request for recognition, the Employer had not proposed that Acas should be requested to assist the parties. 聽聽The Union further added that 鈥淚 proposed that we use Acas to assist.鈥�

7)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Union stated that the total number of workers employed by the Employer was between 250-300. According to the Union, there were 80-90 workers in the proposed bargaining unit, of whom 48 were members of the Union.聽 When asked to provide evidence that a majority of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit were likely to support recognition for collective bargaining the Union said that it had a petition with 11 non-members who supported recognition. 聽聽聽聽聽聽

8)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Union stated that the reason for selecting its proposed bargaining unit was because 鈥渋t falls in line with industry standards in other trade union recognised workplaces.鈥� The Union said that the roles were non-managerial, hourly paid, and that they focussed entirely on the job roles identified and the stated workplaces.聽 The Union said that the bargaining unit had not been agreed with the Employer. 聽聽

9)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 When asked whether there was an existing recognition agreement of which it was aware that covered any workers in the bargaining unit, the Union said that there was no written recognition agreement.聽 The Union explained that it did however have check-off arrangements, and current and previous Trade Union representatives, that the Employer had released for Trade Union training with pay. 聽聽聽The Union said that it had also participated in pay negotiations and representations and had done so for many years. 聽聽The Union said that it was seeking to have this codified in writing so that there was clarity in the relationship for both parties. The Union added that the Employer had refused.

10)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Union confirmed that it held a current certificate of independence.聽聽 The Union stated that it had copied its application and supporting documents to the Employer on 7 April 2025.聽

4. Summary of the Employer鈥檚 response to the Union鈥檚 application

11)聽聽聽聽聽聽 In its response to the Union鈥檚 application the Employer stated that it had received the Union鈥檚 written request for recognition on 17 February 2025.聽 By e-mail of 18 February 2025 the Employer acknowledged receipt of the Union鈥檚 request and said that it would 鈥渁wait Acas getting in touch.鈥�

12)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Employer said that it had received a copy of the application form from the Union on 7 April 2025.聽 The Employer stated that it had not, before receiving a copy of the application form, agreed the bargaining unit with the Union, nor did it agree with the proposed bargaining unit.聽 The Employer further added that the Union鈥檚 position in terms of what it classed as the bargaining unit had changed since the beginning of 2025.

13)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Employer further explained that during pay discussions in November, December, and January, the Union had proposed that the bargaining unit should include everyone within its UK business.聽 The Employer referred to an e-mail enclosed with its response, in which the Union was 鈥渞equesting information for confirmation鈥�. 聽聽However, when the time came to submit membership data and ensure sufficient participation for a strike ballot, the Union had modified the bargaining unit to include only the three roles specified in its application, across the six sites.

14)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Employer said that it was worth noting that there were union members outside the specified areas whose concerns were not being addressed. 聽The Employer explained that it had received a complaint from a GMB member who, during strike discussions, had questioned why their department was not included in the 鈥渇ormal agreement request鈥�. 聽聽The Employer said that they were told, 鈥淭here is only one of you in your department, and including you would deplete our numbers.鈥� 聽聽The Employer maintained that this did not reflect the behaviour of a union that 鈥減rioritises the best interests of its members.鈥�

15)聽聽聽聽聽聽 Finally, in response to the number of workers in the proposed bargaining unit as claimed by the Union, the Employer said that of the three roles specified by the Union, it had 91 employees. 聽聽It was however the Employer鈥檚 view that this figure was highly subjective and should encompass the entire business based on its operational structure. 聽It further added that, alternatively, at least all functional roles with union membership should be included.

16)聽聽聽聽聽聽 When asked whether following receipt of the Union鈥檚 request it had proposed that Acas should be requested to assist, the Employer answered 鈥淣o鈥�.聽 聽The Employer further stated that Acas was already noted on the Union鈥檚 initial request, and, therefore, when responding to the Union鈥檚 request, it had explained that it would await contact from Acas.聽 The Employer said that although its position as a business remained unchanged, it had consistently acknowledged and cooperated with Acas.

17)聽 聽聽The Employer said that the total number of workers employed within its UK business was 321. 聽聽The Employer disagreed with the number of workers in the proposed bargaining unit. The Employer explained that it did not have hourly paid workers in the roles as suggested in the Union鈥檚 application.聽 The Employer said that 鈥淎ll our team are salaried throughout the full business with the exception of seasonal Brand Home colleagues which are minimal. We don鈥檛 differentiate when it comes to annual pay review and bonus eligibility. The roles included by GMB for strike balloting should also be used for the bargaining unit, including up to assistant managers, totalling 147 employees.鈥�

18)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Employer said that there was no existing agreement for recognition in force covering workers in the proposed bargaining unit but added that it should be noted that although there was no formal recognition for agreement there were agreed ways of working that had been in place for many years, 鈥渨hich we do ensure we uphold.鈥� The Employer referred to a further e-mail attached to its response in which the Employer stated it was 鈥渙utlining agreement June 2019鈥�.

19)聽聽聽聽聽聽 When asked whether it disagreed with the Union鈥檚 estimate of membership in the proposed bargaining unit the Employer answered 鈥淣/A鈥�.

20)聽聽 聽聽聽 When invited to give its reasons if it did not consider that a majority of the workers in the bargaining unit would be likely to support recognition, the Employer said that it acknowledged the Union鈥檚 communications stating that its members support recognition. However, regarding the 11 non-members as referenced by the Union, it could not due to a lack of evidence. The Employer further stated that if it considered all employees within the proposed bargaining unit, it did not believe that they would support recognition. 聽聽The Employer said that there had been multiple complaints of harassment and intimidation in recent months concerning the behaviour of some GMB members and the union representative.

21) 聽聽聽聽聽 Finally, the Employer answered 鈥淣/A鈥� when asked both whether it was aware of any previous application under the Schedule by the Union in respect of this or a similar bargaining unit, and whether it had received any other applications in respect of any workers in the proposed bargaining unit.

5. The membership and support check

22)聽聽聽聽聽聽 To assist in the determination of two of the admissibility criteria specified in the Schedule, namely, whether 10% of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit are members of the union (paragraph 36(1)(a)) and whether a majority of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit would be likely to favour recognition of the union as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the bargaining unit (paragraph 36(1)(b)), the Panel proposed an independent check of the level of union membership within the proposed bargaining unit and of the Union鈥檚 petition.聽 It was agreed with the parties that the Employer would supply to the Case Manager a list of the names, dates of birth and job titles of workers within the proposed bargaining unit, and that the Union would supply to the Case Manager a list of its paid up members within that unit (including their dates of birth) and a copy of its petition.聽 It was explicitly agreed with both parties that, to preserve confidentiality, the respective lists would not be copied to the other party and that agreement was confirmed in a letter dated 16 April 2025 from the Case Manager to both parties.聽

23)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The information requested from the Employer was received by the CAC on 18 April 2025, and 23 April 2025.聽 The information requested from the Union was received by the CAC on 22 April 2025.聽 聽聽The Panel is satisfied that this check was conducted properly and impartially and in accordance with the agreement reached with the parties.聽聽聽

24)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The list supplied by the Employer indicated that there were 91 workers in the Union鈥檚 proposed bargaining unit.聽 The list of members supplied by the Union contained 43 names. According to the Case Manager鈥檚 report, the number of Union members in the proposed bargaining unit was 42, a membership level of 46.15%.聽

25)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Union also provided the results of an electronic petition.聽 In its covering e-mail the Union explained that the petition was conducted remotely using Microsoft Forms, and the link was shared via email or text message.聽聽 The Union further stated that it had requested dates of birth as a way of validating authenticity.聽聽聽 The petition wording was as follows:

鈥淚nverhouse Distillers Ltd Statutory Recognition Petition

I SUPPORT RECOGNITION OF GMB TRADE UNION AS ENTITLED TO CONDUCT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ON聽PAY HOURS AND HOLIDAYS ON OUR BEHALF.鈥�

26)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The results of the petition were set out within a spreadsheet, which contained the following headings, 鈥淚D鈥�, 鈥淪tart Time鈥�, 鈥淐ompletion Time鈥�, 鈥淓mail鈥�, 鈥淔ull Name鈥�, 鈥淒ate of Birth鈥�, 鈥淛ob Title鈥�, 鈥淲orkplace Location鈥�, and 鈥淎re you a GMB Member?鈥�. Beneath the heading 鈥淐ompletion Time鈥�, the dates ranged between 18 February 2025 and 5 March 2025.聽

27)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The check of the Union鈥檚 petition showed that it had been signed by 44 workers in the proposed bargaining unit, a figure which represents 48.35% of the proposed bargaining unit.聽 Of the 44 signatories, 33 were members of the Union (36.26% of the bargaining unit) and 11 were non-members (12.09% of the bargaining unit).聽

28)聽聽聽聽聽聽 A report of the result of the membership and support check was circulated to the Panel and the parties on 23 April 2025 and the parties were invited to comment on the results of that check, by the close of business on 28 April 2025.

6. Summary of the parties鈥� comments following the membership and support check

29)聽聽聽聽聽聽 In an email to the CAC dated 27 April 2025 the Union said that the check had shown that the level of union membership was 46.15%, and that this exceeded the 10% threshold as set out in paragraph 36(a) of the Schedule.

30)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Union further stated that check had shown that the number of petition names/signatures who were non-members numbers was 11, which amounts to 12.09%, and that combining the number of GMB members 42 (46.15%) within the proposed bargaining unit with the number of petition names/signatures who were non-members 11 (12.09%),聽 brings the total number who explicitly and implicitly support GMB recognition for the proposed bargaining unit to 53, which amounts to 58.24%.聽 The Union said that it had therefore satisfied the criteria as set out paragraph in 36(b) of the Schedule.

31)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Union further stated that it remained open to dialogue with the Employer, and facilitated by Acas, so that it could voluntarily come to an agreement that satisfied the aspirations of the workers, GMB members and non-members, in the proposed bargaining unit.

32)聽聽聽聽聽聽 In its concluding comments the Union said that the proposed bargaining unit was one that aligns with industry standards within the Whisky Industry where Union recognition exists, and that the current arrangement within Inverhouse Distillers Limited was the anomaly.聽 The Union said that, if necessary, it would provide more detail on this point at any upcoming hearing.

33)聽聽聽聽聽聽 No comments were received from the Employer.聽 聽

7. Paragraph 35 of the Schedule (鈥減aragraph 35鈥�)

34)聽聽聽聽聽聽 In light of the Union鈥檚 comments and earlier comments made in its application and the Employer鈥檚 response, it was apparent to the Panel that before it could proceed to decide whether to accept the application, there was also a live issue to be determined in relation to paragraph 35.

35)聽聽聽聽聽聽 Paragraph 35 provides as follows:-

(1) An application under paragraph 11 or 12 is not admissible if the CAC is satisfied that there is already in force a collective agreement under which a union is (or unions are) recognised as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of any workers falling within the relevant bargaining unit.

(2) But sub-paragraph (1) does not apply to an application under paragraph 11 or 12 if鈥�

(a) the union (or unions) recognised under the collective agreement and the union (or unions) making the application under paragraph 11 or 12 are the same, and

(b) the matters in respect of which the union is (or unions are) entitled to conduct collective bargaining do not include all of the following: pay, hours and holidays (鈥渢he core topics鈥�).

36)聽聽聽聽聽聽 Accordingly, paragraph 35(1) precludes an application for recognition where a union is (or unions are) recognised in respect of any workers in the bargaining unit 鈥渁s entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of any workers falling within the relevant bargaining unit鈥� save in the circumstances expressly permitted by paragraph 35(2).

37)聽聽聽聽聽聽 However, an application is nonetheless admissible pursuant to paragraph 35(2) where both of two conditions are met:-

(a) the application is made by the same union or unions who are already recognised; and

(b) the existing recognition arrangements do not cover all of the three matters which form the subject matter of statutory trade union recognition under the Schedule, namely pay, hours and holidays.

38)聽聽聽聽聽聽 Consequently, in essence, paragraph 35 has the effect that a union or unions which is/are already recognised for collective bargaining purposes under a collective agreement in respect of any workers in the proposed bargaining unit but which is/are not recognised in respect of all of the subject matter of statutory trade union recognition 鈥� pay, hours and holidays - can make an application for recognition under the Schedule in order to 鈥渢op up鈥� the scope of the existing recognition arrangements to cover all the matters in respect of which statutory recognition applies.

39)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Panel therefore proceeded to make enquiries of the parties in order to ensure that it reached its decision on the application of paragraph 35.聽 聽On 16 May 2025 the CAC wrote to both parties and asked that they respond to the following questions:

Is the Union currently recognised by the Employer 鈥� Yes, or No?聽

If the Union is recognised, is it in respect of all of the core topics i.e. pay, hours and holidays? 聽

8. Summary of the parties鈥� comments on paragraph 35 of the Schedule

40)聽聽聽聽聽聽 In an e-mail to the CAC dated 8 May 2025, the Employer said that 鈥淎t the moment no the union is not recognised.鈥澛� The Employer made further reference to an e-mail that it had sent to the Union on 6 June 2019, a copy of which was enclosed with its initial response to the Union鈥檚 application, and a copy resubmitted with its e-mail.聽 The Employer stated that the e-mail 鈥渙utlines the current agreement that is in place and has been more many years.鈥�

41)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Employer鈥檚 e-mail of 6 June 2019 gave the following information:

鈥淔rom review of the proposed agreement you put forward we believe that we currently already have in place the following:

• We consult with the GMB on annual pay discussions 鈥� annual meeting
• Annual pay increase is backdated if required
• We agree to 1 workplace organiser 鈥� this role has remained vacant since John Stevenson left the business in December 2018 and prior to this when he was on secondment.
• Previously workplace organisers have been allowed to negotiate, consult and represent. They also have been granted paid time off for GMB training.
• As part of our induction checklist employees are made aware that they are able to join union if they wish (Warehouse/Bottling departments).
• We have in place a check off system.

We commit to continue adhering to all activities listed above.鈥�

42)聽聽聽聽聽聽 In an e-mail to the CAC dated 9 May 2025 the Union responded as follows:

鈥淚s the Union currently recognised by the Employer 鈥� Yes, or No? 聽聽

Yes, an implied agreement on pay.

If the Union is recognised, is it in respect of all of the core topics i.e. pay, hours and聽holidays?

No, we are seeking to top up the existing implied agreement to include hours and holidays also.鈥�

9. Considerations

43)聽聽聽聽聽聽 In determining whether to accept the application the Panel must decide whether the admissibility and validity provisions referred to in paragraph 4 above are satisfied. The Panel has considered carefully the submissions of both parties and all the evidence in reaching its decision.

44)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Panel is satisfied that the Union made a valid request to the Employer within the terms of paragraphs 5 to 9 of the Schedule and that its application was made in accordance with paragraph 11. Furthermore, the Panel is satisfied that the application is not rendered inadmissible by any of the provisions in paragraphs 33, 34 and 37 to 42 of the Schedule.聽 The remaining issues for the Panel to decide are whether the application is inadmissible under paragraph 35 and whether the admissibility criteria contained in paragraph 36(1)(a) and paragraph 36(1)(b) are met.

Paragraph 35

45)聽聽聽聽聽聽 Although there is no written agreement it is accepted by both parties, and evidenced in the Employer鈥檚 e-mail 6 June 2019, that negotiations over pay have been taking place for a number of years between the parties. This is therefore an application in accordance with paragraph 35 where the same Union is seeking to top up its existing arrangements in respect of hours and holidays.聽 聽聽The condition in paragraph 35(2)(b) is therefore satisfied because based on the evidence available to the Panel the scope of the current negotiations in respect of the workers in the bargaining unit, does not cover all three relevant matters of pay, hours and holidays.

Paragraph 36(1)(a)

46)聽聽聽聽聽聽 Under paragraph 36(1)(a) of the Schedule an application is not admissible unless the Panel decides that members of the union constitute at least 10% of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit.聽

47)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The membership check conducted by the Case Manager (described in paragraphs 22 鈥� 24 above) showed that 46.15% of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit were members of the Union. As stated in paragraph 23 above, the Panel is satisfied that this check was conducted properly and impartially and in accordance with the agreement reached with the parties. The Panel has therefore decided that members of the Union constitute at least 10% of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit as required by paragraph 36(1)(a) of the Schedule.

Paragraph 36(1)(b)

48)聽聽聽聽聽聽 Under paragraph 36(1)(b) of the Schedule, an application is not admissible unless the Panel decides that a majority of the workers constituting the proposed bargaining unit would be likely to favour recognition of the union as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the bargaining unit.

49)聽聽聽聽聽聽 For the reasons given in paragraph 47 above the Panel has concluded that the level of union membership within the bargaining unit stands at 46.15%. The Panel considers that, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, union membership provides a legitimate indicator of the views of workers in the proposed bargaining unit as to whether they would be likely to favour recognition of the Union. No such evidence to the contrary was received in this case.

50)聽聽聽聽聽聽 As well as establishing that 46.15% of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit were union members, the Case Manager鈥檚 check of the Union鈥檚 petition against the list of workers provided by the Employer indicated that 44 of the 45 petition signatories were identifiable as workers within the bargaining unit, a support level of 48.35%. Of those there were 33 union members (36.26%) and 11 were non-members in the bargaining unit (12.09%). 聽聽The Panel considers that members of the Union would be likely to favour recognition of the Union for collective bargaining (46.15%), as would non-union members who signed the petition (12.09%), giving a total of 58.24% support for recognition.聽

51)聽聽聽聽聽聽 On the basis of the evidence before it the Panel has decided, on the balance of probabilities, that a majority of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit would be likely to favour recognition of the Union as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the bargaining unit, as required by paragraph 36(1)(b) of the Schedule.聽

10. Decision

52)聽聽聽聽聽聽 For the reasons given in paragraphs 44 - 51 above the Panel鈥檚 decision is that the application is accepted by the CAC.

Panel

Mr Paul Swann, Panel Chair

Mr Joseph Corcos

Mr Matt Smith OBE

15 May 2025