The Employment Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1999

5.  The following shall be substituted for Article 109 (separate workplace ballots)—

“Separate workplace ballots

109.— (1) Subject to paragraph (2), this Article applies if the members entitled to vote in a ballot by virtue of Article 108 do not all have the same workplace.

(2) This Article does not apply if the union reasonably believes that all those members have the same workplace.

(3) Subject to Article 109A, a separate ballot shall be held for each workplace; and entitlement to vote in each ballot shall be accorded equally to, and restricted to, members of the union who—

(a) are entitled to vote by virtue of Article 108; and

(b) have that workplace.

(4) In this Article and Article 109A “workplace” in relation to a person who is employed means—

(a) if the person works at or from a single set of premises, those premises; and

(b) in any other case, the premises with which the person’s employment has the closest connection.

Separate workplaces: single and aggregate ballots

109A.— (1) Where Article 109(3) would require separate ballots to be held for each workplace, a ballot may be held in place of some or all of the separate ballots if one of paragraphs (2) to (4) is satisfied in relation to it.

(2) This paragraph is satisfied in relation to a ballot if the workplace of each member entitled to vote in the ballot is the workplace of at least one member of the union who is affected by the dispute.

(3) This paragraph is satisfied in relation to a ballot if entitlement to vote is accorded to, and limited to, all the members of the union who—

(a) according to the union’s reasonable belief have an occupation of a particular kind or have any of a number of particular kinds of occupation; and

(b) are employed by a particular employer, or by any of a number of particular employers, with whom the union is in dispute.

(4) This paragraph is satisfied in relation to a ballot if entitlement to vote is accorded to, and limited to, all the members of the union who are employed by a particular employer, or by any of a number of particular employers, with whom the union is in dispute.

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (2) the following are members of the union affected by a dispute—

(a) if the dispute relates (wholly or partly) to a decision which the union reasonably believes the employer has made or will make concerning a matter specified in paragraph (1)(a), (b) or (c) of Article 127 (meaning of “trade dispute”), members whom the decision directly affects;

(b) if the dispute relates (wholly or partly) to a matter specified in paragraph (1)(d) of that Article, members whom the matter directly affects;

(c) if the dispute relates (wholly or partly) to a matter specified in paragraph (1)(e) of that Article, persons whose membership or non-membership is in dispute;

(d) if the dispute relates (wholly or partly) to a matter specified in paragraph (1)(f) of that Article, officials of the union who have used or would use the facilities concerned in the dispute”.