It will be
unlawful for trade union members to be denied employment through
blacklists under plans outlined by Employment Relations Minister
Lord Young today.
To prevent employers from blacklisting workers for their trade
union membership or activities the Government will introduce new
rules banning the practice. The move comes as the Government
publishes its response to a public consultation on the subject
held over the summer, and follows evidence that a number of
employers in the construction sector had been unlawfully vetting workers.
Employment Relations Minister Lord Young said:
“Blacklisting someone because they are a member of a trade union
is totally unacceptable.
“There is already legal protection against the misuse of people’s
personal details. We will now strengthen the law by introducing
new regulations to outlaw the compilation, dissemination and use
of blacklists.
“The Government is determined to stamp out this despicable
practice and our legislative proposals are a proportionate and
robust response”.
The regulations will:
make it unlawful for organisations to refuse employment or sack
individuals as a result of appearing on a blacklist;make it
unlawful for employment agencies to refuse to provide a service on
the basis of appearing on a blacklist; andenable individuals or
unions to pursue compensation or solicit action against those who
compile, distribute or use blacklists.
The Government plans to table the regulations for Parliament to
consider as soon as possible. They will need to be debated and
approved by each House before they can be implemented. Provided
Parliament gives its approval, the regulations could be brought
into effect early next year.
Notes to Editors
1. Under section 3 of the Employment Relations Act 1999, the
government has the power to introduce regulations prohibiting the
blacklisting of workers for their union membership or activities.
2. In March the Information Commissioner reported that 40
construction companies had subscribed to a database used to vet
construction workers, which has now been closed under data
protection law. On 16 July, Mr Ian Kerr, the individual who
operated the database, was fined £5,000 at Knutsford Crown Court
for committing a criminal offence under data protection law.
3. In response to this new evidence on 11 May 2009, the
government announced that it would seek to bring forward
legislation to outlaw blacklisting – the statement to Parliament
can be found here
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090511/wmstext/90511m0001.htm#column_33WS
4. A public consultation on revised draft regulations took place
between 7 July and 18 August this year. The Government response to
the public consultation can be viewed here: http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file53734.pdf
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