EAT Upholds Ruling Against LNER Over 1,250 Direct Pay Offers to Union Members

1 articles · Updated · vwv.co.uk · Jul 29

Around 1,250 RMT members can rely on a tribunal ruling after the Employment Appeal Tribunal dismissed LNER’s appeal over direct pay offers sent while bargaining was still live.
The EAT said the tribunal was entitled to find there was still a real chance of a collective deal on 13 November 2017, because talks had not reached impasse, the joint committee could reconvene, and a different agreement was later struck.
LNER’s business reasons — including paying staff before Christmas and frustration after the union reversed its recommendation — did not displace the statutory test, because the prohibited purpose was bypassing collective bargaining.
The ruling underscores that employers with recognized unions must complete agreed bargaining procedures before approaching staff directly, and that vague or informal processes make it harder to show negotiations had truly ended.