Government to end practice of ‘check off’ for paying union subs

The practice of ‘check off’ – where public sector workers who are union members have their subscriptions taken directly from their salary – is to be abolished, the Government has said.

The Cabinet Office said union subscriptions could be paid by direct debit, “modernising the relationship with trade unions and giving public sector workers greater consumer protection” [through the Direct Debit Guarantee].

The changes will be part of the Trade Union Bill.

The Government said the practice of ‘check off’ had been introduced “at a time when many people didn’t have bank accounts, and before direct debits or digital payments existed as a convenient and secure way for people to transfer money”.

Cabinet Office Minister Matt Hancock said: “In the 21st century era of direct debits and digital payments, public resources should not be used to support the collection of trade union subscriptions.

“It’s time to get rid of this outdated practice and modernise the relationship between trade unions and their members. By ending check off we are bringing greater transparency to employees – making it easier for them to choose whether or not to pay subscriptions and which union to join.”

The Government said the changes were part of its commitment to tackle ‘facility time’, which it claimed represented taxpayer-funded subsidies given to trade unions.

It added that ‘check off’ had already been successfully removed by a number of central government departments including the Home Office, HM Revenue & Customs and Ministry of Defence.

The Unite union, the country’s largest with 250,000 members in the public sector, has written to ministers asking for an "urgent explanation" as to how the Government’s reported figure of £6.5m in estimated savings from the move was arrived at.

In the letter, Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail asked how this sum squared with the advice of former coalition Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander.

Alexander, in a letter to Whitehall departments in July 2014, advised that “there was no fiscal case” for terminating the ‘check off’ arrangements, Cartmail claimed.

She wrote: “It is a great shame that government decided to announce this decision and bypass unions, which is a discourtesy I would not have expected from your office. 

“Our members in the public sector will be concerned to understand why, after five years of pay constraint and the additional loss of income that the tax credit changes will cause them and their families and why your government is singling them out once more for harsh treatment.”

Last month public sector unions attacked proposals contained in the Trade Union Bill which would make it more difficult for them to call strikes.