Once you have agreed to recognise a trade union for collective bargaining purposes, the union may terminate the agreement at any time, unless you have previously agreed with the union to the contrary.

If you recognise an independent trade union for collective bargaining purposes, it is entitled to appoint union safety representatives at the workplace.

The most common way a union can gain recognition for collective bargaining purposes is by the employer simply agreeing to recognise it voluntarily.

Sutter Health also put out a media statement that accused the union of exploiting "the tragic death of a patient to further its own bargaining purposes".

It clearly established the right of all workers to organize and to elect their representative for collective bargaining purposes.

If you agree to the request, you have formally recognised the trade union for collective bargaining purposes.

Where a trade union is recognised for collective bargaining purposes, employers will usually fulfil these statutory obligations through trade union representatives.

One legal commentator has concluded that the Supreme Court's duty of fair representation decisions do not lead to the conclusion that agency fees can be restricted solely to collective bargaining purposes.

At least one legal scholar believes the Lehnert decision shifted away from the Court's traditional rationale that agency fees must have a strong link to collective bargaining purposes:

Download the code of practice on disclosure of information to trade unions for collective bargaining purposes from the Acas website (PDF, 475K) - Opens in a new window.