Trade Union and Labour Relations (Amendment) Act 1976

3 Amendments of the principal Act.

(1) For section 7 of the principal Act (right to terminate membership of trade union) there shall be substituted the following section:—

“7 Right to terminate membership of trade union.

In every contract of membership of a trade union, whether made before or after the passing of this Act, there shall be implied a term conferring a right on the member, on giving reasonable notice and complying with any reasonable conditions, to terminate his membership of the union.”

(2) For section 13(1) of the principal Act (inducing or threatening breach of a contract of employment in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute) there shall be substituted the following subsection:—

“(1) An act done by a person in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute shall not be actionable in tort on the ground only—

(a) that it induces another person to break a contract or interferes or induces any other person to interfere with its performance ; or

(b) that it consists in his threatening that a contract (whether one to which he is a party or not) will be broken or its performance interfered with, or that he will induce another person to break a contract or to interfere with its performance.”

(3) In section 30(1) of the principal Act (interpretation), in paragraph (c) of the definition of " union membership agreement",—

(a) for the words " of requiring the terms and conditions of employment of every employee of that class to include a condition that he must" there shall be substituted the words " in practice of requiring the employees for the time being of the class to which it relates (whether or not there is a condition to that effect in their contract of employment) to " ; and

(b) for the word " appropriate " there shall be substituted the word " specified, "

and at the end of that definition there shall be inserted the words " and references in this definition to a trade union include references to a branch or section of a trade union; and a trade union is specified for the purposes of, or in relation to, a union membership agreement if it is specified in the agreement or is accepted by the parties to the agreement as being the equivalent of a union so specified " .

(4) After section 30(5) of the principal Act there shall be inserted the following subsection:—

“(5A) For the purposes of this Act employees are to be treated, in relation to a union membership agreement, as belonging to the same class if they have been identified as such by the parties to the agreement, and employees may be so identified by reference to any characteristics or circumstances whatsoever.”.

(5) In paragraph 6(5) of Schedule 1 to the principal Act (cases where dismissal is to be regarded as fair) for the words " all the employees of that employer or all employees " there shall be substituted the words " employees for the time being " .

(6) In paragraph 6(9) of Schedule 1 to the principal Act (definitions), after the word " paragraph " there shall be inserted the words " unless the context otherwise requires, references to a trade union include references to a branch or section of a trade union, and " .