The Certification Officer has published a schedule of forthcoming hearings involving Unite the Union, UNISON and the Fire Brigades Union. The listed cases run from 27 May to 5 August and concern statutory complaints made under section 108A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. In practical terms, these hearings are about whether unions followed their own rule books in specific internal matters. That makes them important well beyond the individual parties, because union constitutions govern discipline, elections and formal decision-making.
Section 108A provides a route for an applicant to ask the Certification Officer to determine whether a union has breached its rules. For readers outside labour law, the point is straightforward: where a union’s constitution sets procedural requirements, those requirements can be tested in a statutory forum rather than left solely to internal dispute processes. That is why these hearings matter for governance. They show how internal union administration can become the subject of external scrutiny when a member alleges that the rule book has not been followed.
The first listed case is Blackburn and Unite the Union, scheduled for 27 and 28 May. The applicant has made one complaint under section 108A, alleging that the union breached rules in relation to disciplinary proceedings. Cases of this kind usually matter because disciplinary action inside an organisation must follow the process set out in its own rules. Where that process is challenged, the hearing becomes a test of procedural compliance rather than a broad review of union policy.
The second hearing is Flaherty and UNISON, listed for 15 and 16 July. The applicant has made one complaint under section 108A, alleging that the union breached a rule in relation to the union’s election for the National Executive Council. That places electoral governance at the centre of the case. National Executive Council elections are a constitutional matter, so any allegation that the governing rules were not observed goes directly to how the union administers one of its main internal democratic processes.
The third matter is Munslow and Fire Brigades Union, scheduled for 4 and 5 August. This is the most extensive of the three cases by number of allegations. The applicant has made 11 complaints under section 108A, alleging breaches of rules connected to disciplinary proceedings and or to the constitution or proceedings of a decision-making meeting. The scope is therefore wider than a single procedural dispute. On the summary published, the hearing is set to examine both how disciplinary matters were handled and whether a meeting with decision-making authority was conducted in line with the union’s constitutional rules.
The Certification Officer has said that the cases will be heard remotely using Zoom video conferencing facilities. Anyone wishing to join a hearing via Zoom is asked to contact the Certification Office by email at info@certoffice.org or by telephone on 0330 109 3602. The office has also said that anyone with a disability who needs help attending should make contact to discuss reasonable adjustments. That procedural point matters in its own right. These hearings are one of the clearest ways to see how union rule enforcement works in practice: a complaint is framed by reference to the rule book, brought under the 1992 Act, and then examined in a formal hearing setting.