Manufacturer accused of ‘backsliding’ over £425,000 payout
South Yorkshire manufacturer Kostal has been accused of ‘backsliding’ by union Unite over a £500,000 payout ordered by a tribunal.
The dispute stems from November 2015, when a pay offer of 2% for the year 2016 and a £270 Christmas bonus was put to union members and rejected by a large margin of 80% in a consultative ballot.
Unite workers were awarded £426,600 after bosses bypassed the union and put an alternative pay offer directly to individuals. Unite said the negotiations also included changes to employee terms of employment.
On 24 February a Sheffield employment tribunal said that Rotherham-based Kostal should pay union members more than £450,000 after a judgment in January, which found the company guilty of making unlawful inducements.
The tribunal rejected the company’s claim and, in the judgment, Employment Judge Little said: “We take the view that it is not permissible for an employer to abandon collective negotiation when it does not like the result of a ballot.
“If there is a recognition agreement, which includes collective bargaining, the employer cannot drop in and out of the collective process as and when it suits its purpose.”
German-owned Kostal is now appealing against the judgement, according to the union.
The union, said the company was “backsliding and spinning it out”.
Unite regional officer Simon Coop said: “It was a landmark ruling by the employment tribunal that showed managements can’t play fast-and-loose with the law when there are collective bargaining arrangements with Unite.
“The award, of £426,600, was confirmed at a remedy hearing last Friday, but now Kostal UK has appealed to the employment appeal tribunal (EAT) which may take months to be heard. The judgment from the EAT could then be a further lengthy period of time.
“It is very disappointing that the company has adopted this hard line which could mean that our members not receiving the money owed to them this year and the company’s costs will only increase.
“This smacks of backsliding and spinning it out, and does nothing for the reputation of Kostal UK as an employer.”
