Dockyard Services Act 1986

1 Transfer of persons engaged in dockyard services.

(1) This section applies in relation to such services for or in connection with ships or vessels or related establishments in the service of the Crown, provided at such dockyards, as may, in accordance with subsection (12) below, be designated by the Secretary of State by order; and in this section, in relation to a designated dockyard—

• " the dockyard undertaking" means the provision by the Crown of designated dockyard services at the dockyard; and

• " the qualified dockyard service employees" means the persons employed in or in connection with the dockyard undertaking in the civil service of the Crown on such day as the Secretary of State appoints by order.

(2) If, as regards a designated dockyard, the Secretary of State makes arrangements—

(a) for a company to provide designated dockyard services at the dockyard under contract with him, and

(b) for that or another company—

(i) to become the employer of such of the qualified dockyard service employees at the dockyard as are employees to whom the arrangements apply, and

(ii) to acquire from him rights in or over the dockyard or any part of it and any property used for the purposes of the dockyard undertaking,

with a view to their services and that property being made available for the provision of the designated dockyard services at the dockyard,

subsections (4) to (11) below shall have effect in relation to the employees to whom the arrangements apply.

(3) The arrangements made by the Secretary of State as regards a designated dockyard may include the formation of a company with a view to, or for any purpose of, the provision of designated dockyard services at the dockyard.

(4) The [S.I. 1981/1794.] Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 shall, subject to subsection (5) below, apply to the transfer of the dockyard undertaking or any part of it whether or not, apart from this provision, the undertaking would be treated as an undertaking in the nature of a commercial venture for the purposes of those Regulations, and, for those purposes, the services of the qualified dockyard service employees together with the rights in or over the dockyard and property used for the purposes of the undertaking shall be treated as a part of that undertaking capable of being transferred as a business whether or not the company which is to become their employer also provides designated dockyard services.

(5) The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981, in their application to the transfer of the dockyard Undertaking or any part of it, shall have effect as if, for regulation 10 (duty to inform and consult trade union representatives), there were substituted the provisions of subsections (6) to (9) below, and (unless the remedy provided by section 2 in invoked) the remedies by way of complaint to an industrial tribunal provided for by, and the other provisions of, regulation 11 shall be available and shall apply in relation to those subsections as they would in relation to regulation 10 or any corresponding provision of it.

(6) Long enough before the transfer to enable consultations to take place between the Secretary of State and the representatives of the independent trade unions recognised by him in respect of the employees, the Secretary of State shall, in accordance with subsection (13) below, inform those representatives of—

(a) the fact that the transfer is to take place, when approximately it is to take place, and the reasons for it;

(b) the legal, economic and social implications of the transfer for the employees;

(c) the measures which he envisages he will, in connection with the transfer, take in relation to those employees or, if he envisages that no measures will be so taken, that fact; and

(d) the measures which the company which is to become their employer envisages that it will, in connection with the transfer, take in relation to those employees or, if the company envisages that no measures will be so taken, that fact.

(7) The company which is to become their employer shall give to the Secretary of State such information at such a time as will enable him to perform the duty imposed on him by virtue of subsection (6)(d) above.

(8) The Secretary of State, where he envisages that he will, in connection with the transfer, be taking measures in relation to employees in respect of whom an independent trade union is recognised by him, shall enter into consultations with the representatives of the trade unions and in the course of those consultations shall—

(a) consider any representations made by the trade union representatives, and

(b) reply to those representations, and, if he rejects any of those representations, give his reasons.

(9) If in any case there are special circumstances which render it not reasonably practicable for the Secretary of State to perform a duty imposed on him by subsection (6) or (8) above, he shall take all such steps towards performing that duty as are reasonably practicable in the circumstances.

(10) Where in pursuance of the arrangements referred to in subsection (2)(b) above a company is to become the employer of any person none of the agreed redundancy procedures applicable to persons employed in the civil service of the Crown shall apply to him.

(11) Where in pursuance of the arrangements referred to in subsection (2)(b) above—

(a) a person ceases to be employed in the civil service of the Crown on becoming employed by a company, and

(b) he would not have so ceased if it were not for those arrangements,

he shall not, on so ceasing, be treated for the purposes of any scheme under section 1 of the [1972 c. 11.] Superannuation Act 1972 as having retired on redundancy.

(12) The power to make an order under subsection (1) above is exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament and the dockyards that may be designated by such an order are those dockyards which are Royal Dockyards when this Act comes into force.

(13) In this Act—

• " company " means a company formed under the Companies Acts and " formed ", with reference to the purposes of a company, includes the alteration of its objects;

• " the Companies Acts " means the [1985 c. 6.] Companies Act 1985, the [1948 c. 38.] Companies Act 1948 or any Act repealed by that Act of 1948;

• " designated ", with reference to a dockyard or services, means designated under subsection (1) above; and

• " dockyard contractor " means a company which for the time being provides services which are designated dockyard services at a designated dockyard under contract with the Secretary of State or, by making the services of employees or property available, enables those services to be provided, whether by a company or by the Secretary of State;

• " trade union " and " independent trade union " have the same meaning as in the [1974 c. 52.] Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 and " recognised ", in relation to an independent trade union, means recognised to any extent for the purpose of collective bargaining (within the meaning of the [1975 c. 71.] Employment Protection Act 1975);

and any information which is to be given to the representatives of a trade union shall be delivered to them or sent by post to an address notified by them to the employer, or sent by post to the union at the address of its head or main office.