Acceptance Decision

Question 1

1. Introduction

Accepted Answer

1)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 CWU (the Union) submitted an application to the CAC on 15 April 2026 that it should be recognised for collective bargaining by 15gifts Ltd (the Employer) for a bargaining unit comprising of 鈥淎ll permanent employees, excluding contractors and those in senior leadership team (SLT, The extended leadership team (ELT), and People & Culture (HR)鈥� based at Century House, 15-19 Dyke Road, Brighton BN1 3FE. The CAC gave both parties notice of receipt of the application on 16 April 2026.聽The Employer submitted a response to the CAC dated 22 April 2026 which was copied to the Union.

2)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In accordance with section 263 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (the Act), the CAC Chair established a Panel to deal with the case. The Panel consisted of Ms. Laura Prince K.C., Panel Chair, and, as Members, Mr. Derek Devereux and Mr Steve Gillan.聽The Case Manager appointed to support the Panel was Kaniza Bibi.

3)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The CAC Panel has extended the acceptance period in this case. The initial period expired on 29 April 2026. The acceptance period was extended to 20 May 2026, to allow the parties to comment on the results of a membership check and for the Panel to consider these comments before arriving at a decision.

Question 2

2. Issues

Accepted Answer

4)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Panel is required by paragraph 15 of Schedule A1 to the Act (the Schedule) to decide whether the Union鈥檚 application to the CAC is valid within the terms of paragraphs 5 to 9; is made in accordance with paragraphs 11 or 12; is admissible within the terms of paragraphs 33 to 42; and therefore, should be accepted.

Question 3

3. The Union鈥檚 application

Accepted Answer

5)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In its application the Union said that it had written to the Employer with a formal request for recognition on 13 February 2026 and that the Employer had refused the request but indicated a willingness to negotiate. A copy of the Union鈥檚 letter of 13 February 2026 the Employer鈥檚 response of 27 February was enclosed with the application.

6)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 According to the Union, there was a total of 80 workers employed by the Employer with 64 of these falling within the proposed bargaining unit.聽The Union stated that it had 40 members within the proposed bargaining unit.

7)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Union confirmed that the bargaining unit had not been agreed with the Employer and that they had a current certificate of independence. The Union stated that they copied the application and supporting documents to the Employer on 13 February 2026.

8)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Finally, the Union said there had not been a previous application in respect of this or a similar bargaining unit and there was no existing recognition agreement that covered any of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit.

Question 4

4. The Employer鈥檚 response to the Union鈥檚 application

Accepted Answer

9)聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Employer stated that it had received the Union鈥檚 formal request for recognition on 23 February 2026.聽When asked about its response, the Employer stated on 27 February 2026 that it had refused the request but indicated a willingness to negotiate

10)聽聽聽聽聽聽 When asked to give the date it received a copy of the application form directly from the Union, the Employer stated this was 16 April 2026.聽The Employer confirmed that it had not agreed the bargaining unit prior to having received a copy of the completed application form but when asked did it agree the bargaining unit, it answered no.

11)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Employer stated that it employed 82 workers. The Employer did not agree with the Union鈥檚 figure as to the number of workers in the bargaining unit, explaining that there were currently 67 workers within the bargaining unit.聽

12)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Employer confirmed that there was no recognition agreement in place covering any of the workers in the agreed bargaining unit. When asked whether, following receipt of the Union鈥檚 request, the Employer had proposed that Acas be requested to assist, the Employer answered yes.聽

13)聽聽聽聽聽聽 Finally, when asked if it was aware of any previous application under the Schedule by the Union in respect of this or a similar bargaining unit the Employer answered no.聽聽

Question 5

5. The membership and support check

Accepted Answer

14)聽聽聽聽聽聽 To assist in the determination of one of the admissibility criteria specified in the Schedule, namely, whether members of the union constitute at least the required percentage (currently 10%) of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit (paragraph 36(1)), the Panel proposed an independent check of the level of union membership within the proposed bargaining unit.聽It was agreed with the parties that the Employer would supply to the Case Manager a list of the names, dates of birth and job titles of workers within the proposed bargaining unit, and that the Union would supply to the Case Manager a list of its paid-up members within that unit (including their dates of birth).聽It was explicitly agreed with both parties that, to preserve confidentiality, the respective lists would not be copied to the other party and that agreement was confirmed in a letter dated 22 April 2026 from the Case Manager to both parties.聽

15)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The information requested from the Employer was received on 27 April 2026 and from the Union on 28 April 2026.聽The Panel is satisfied that this check was conducted properly and impartially and in accordance with the agreement reached with the parties.聽聽聽

16)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The list supplied by the Employer contained the names of 64 workers and the list of members supplied by the Union contained 36 names. According to the Case Manager鈥檚 report the number of Union members in the proposed bargaining unit was 34, giving a membership level of 53.13%.聽A report of the result of the membership check was circulated to the Panel and the parties on 28 April 2026 and the parties鈥� comments were invited.聽聽聽

Question 6

6. Parties鈥� comments on the membership check

Accepted Answer

17)聽聽聽聽聽聽 In an email dated 30 April 2026, the Union indicated that it considered it had met the statutory threshold for recognition without the need for a ballot and asked the Panel to confirm this as soon as possible. The Union also addressed an apparent discrepancy between the membership and employee lists, stating that the Employer had omitted at least one individual whom the Union believes was still employed at the time of the membership check, and advised that it could provide the name of this individual separately to the CAC.

18)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Employer thanked the CAC for its letter of 28 April 2026 and confirmed that it did not dispute the membership calculation in the membership check report. However, it submitted that there were a number of material considerations relevant to whether it was appropriate to proceed at that stage. The Employer explained that it was undergoing a restructuring process following a reduction in revenue of over 拢3m (approximately 45% of annual recurring revenue) and that this process, which was unrelated to the recognition application, involved a proposed reduction in headcount and costs of around 40%. The Employer stated that a collective consultation was underway and in its third week, and it anticipated that the proposed bargaining unit would reduce from 64 workers to approximately 40 by the end of May or early June 2026. The Employer further submitted that the bargaining unit was not accurate, as the Union鈥檚 list included individuals who had already left through an earlier voluntary redundancy process and more recent departures. It therefore considered that both the composition of the bargaining unit and the membership figures should be updated to reflect the current position. In light of these matters, the Employer requested that the CAC delay consideration of the application until the restructuring process had been completed and contended that proceeding at that stage would be inappropriate, as the bargaining unit did not reflect the post鈥憆estructuring workforce, membership levels might change materially, and recognition would not relate to a stable or enduring workforce. The Employer suggested that, once restructuring was complete (anticipated within around four weeks), a fresh assessment of the bargaining unit and membership should be undertaken and, if appropriate, a ballot was conducted.

Question 7

7. Considerations

Accepted Answer

19)聽聽聽聽聽聽 In determining whether to accept the application the Panel must decide whether the admissibility and validity provisions referred to in paragraph 3 of this decision are satisfied.聽The Panel has considered all the evidence submitted by the parties in reaching its decision.聽

20)聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Panel is satisfied that the application is not rendered inadmissible by any of the provisions in paragraphs 33 to 35 and paragraphs 37 to 42 and that it was made in accordance with paragraph 12 of the Schedule.聽The remaining issue for the Panel to address is whether the admissibility criteria set out in paragraph 36(1) of the Schedule are met.

Paragraph 36(1)

21)聽聽聽聽聽聽 Under paragraph 36(1)(a) of the Schedule an application is not admissible unless the Panel decides that members of the Union constitute at least 10% of the workers in the Union鈥檚 proposed bargaining unit.聽The membership check conducted by the Case Manager described in paragraph 16 above showed that 53.13% of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit were members of the Union. The Panel is satisfied that this check was conducted properly and impartially and in accordance with the arrangements agreed with the parties. The Panel therefore finds that members of the Union constitute at least 10% of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit, as required by paragraph 36(1)(a) of the Schedule.

Question 8

8. Decision

Accepted Answer

22)聽聽聽聽聽聽 For the reasons given above, the Panel鈥檚 decision is that the application is accepted by the CAC.

Panel

Ms Laura Prince K.C., Panel Chair

Mr Derek Devereux

Mr Steve Gillan

15 May 2026

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