A charitable organisation in the form of an unincorporated body.

An unincorporated association is an organisation formed when two or more persons (the members) carry on activities together for a common purpose, but which does not operate for the purpose of generating profit (which would instead constitute a partnership'>general partnership). An association is not a separate legal entity from its members and officers, which means that the officers and members are personally liable for the debts and obligations of the association, and it may not enter into contracts, own assets, sue or be sued in its own name.

This Practice Note explores unincorporated associations. It describes the legal framework and structure of an unincorporated association and considers the perceived advantages and disadvantages of operating this vehicle. What is an unincorporated association? An unincorporated association: • is an organisation formed when two or more persons (the members) carry on activities together for a common purpose • does not operate for the purpose of generating profit (in fact, if two or more persons carry on business for the purpose of making a profit, a partnership will be established and partnership law will apply—see Practice Note: The nature of a general partnership and its legal framework) • is not a separate legal entity from its members and officers, which means that the officers and members are personally liable for the debts and obligations of the association, and • may not enter into contracts, own assets, sue or be sued in its own name Advantages and disadvantages Advantages The key advantages of operating an organisation using an unincorporated association are: • flexibility—the association can create its own rules governing its operation

Information law analysis: As the dust settles on the arrival of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), organisations big and small are still getting to grips with what the changes on such fundamental legislation will entail. Derek Hamill, partner and head of Corporate at Gilson Gray LLP, provides a few thoughts on issues that unincorporated associations and their lawyers will want to bear in mind.

See Contractual joint venture.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. NOTE: the most recent Uninsured Drivers’ Agreement 2015 came into force for accidents on or after 1 August 2015. For further guidance on the 2015 agreement see Practice Note: Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB)—2015 Uninsured Agreement. This Practice Note contains guidance for claims against the MIB for accidents occurring between 1 October 1999 and 31 July 2015. Where an uninsured driver causes an accident, they will often not have the means to pay compensation personally. For this reason the claimant looks to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) for compensation. Subject to certain conditions and exclusions, the MIB is obliged to meet any unsatisfied judgment, including costs, under the Uninsured Drivers’ Agreement 1999. Given the nature of uninsured drivers, claims by their passengers often raise issues regarding seat belt usage, drink or drugs, and whether there was a joint enterprise in the commission of a crime. These

Insurance & Reinsurance analysis: In the recent High Court decision of UK Acorn Finance Ltd v Markel (UK) Ltd, the court found that the insurer, Markel, had failed to exercise its contractual discretion under an Unintentional Non-Disclosure (UND) clause in accordance with the Braganza duty when determining whether the insured had made misrepresentations prior to renewal.

This Practice Note examines the advice and assistance available to members of a trade union. It covers the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative to any disciplinary or grievance hearings with an employer, access to legal advice and assistance from the union, and the ability of a union to facilitate a binding settlement. Membership of a trade union gives an individual worker access to advice and other assistance from the union in a number of work-related contexts. Representation by a trade union in dialogue with an employer A worker has a statutory right to be accompanied by a union representative (either an official employed by the union, or an official certified by the union as appropriately qualified) at any disciplinary or grievance hearing with their employer (see Practice Note: The right to be accompanied). This right is not dependent upon the particular union being recognised by the employer concerned, nor upon the worker being a member of the union. However, in practice, a union is unlikely to agree to represent a non-member. A trade

Summary of obligations A trade union is subject to a number of statutory obligations: • it must compile and maintain a register of the names and addresses of its members and must ensure, so far as practicable, that the register is accurate and is kept up to date. It must also send a membership audit certificate to the Certification Officer in respect of each reporting period stating whether the union has complied with its obligation to maintain the register and keep it up to date. The obligations in respect of the register of members are discussed further below • it must supply a copy of its rules to any person on request, either free or on payment of a reasonable charge • it must keep proper accounting records with respect to its transactions, assets and liabilities, and must establish and maintain a satisfactory system of control over its accounts, its cash holdings, and its receipts and remittances • it must send to the Certification Officer (see Practice Note: The Certification Officer) an annual return relating to its affairs, including its accounts,

TMT analysis: In a claim for libel brought by Unite the Union (Unite) over 24 Facebook posts made by a disaffected former member, Mrs Justice Collins Rice awarded general damages of £50,000 and granted a final injunction. The posts made serious allegations of criminality in relation to Unite’s branch for British Airways cabin staff (BASSA) which had conducted negotiations with BA in summer 2020 over a proposed large-scale redundancy exercise necessitated by the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the travel industry. This is a rare example of a defamation claim brought by a trade union and, although it needs to be treated with a degree of caution, the judgment provides some insight into how damages in such a claim should be assessed. Written by Aidan Eardley QC, barrister at 5RB.

This Practice Note considers the statutory definition of a trade union under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992) as well as a union’s capacity to be party to a contract, a party in a civil action and a defendant in a criminal prosecution. It also examines a trade union’s ability to hold property in trust and how to enforce a judgment against a union. Both workers and employers may form groupings that could generally be described as ‘unions’. In the case of employers these are usually called employers' associations. Workers also form groupings for the support and advancement of their members’ interests, which are usually called trade unions. However, membership of a trade union is often of much greater significance to a worker than membership of an employers’ association is to their employer. For example, membership of a trade union typically gives workers bargaining power with their employers that they would otherwise not have. The law relating to trade unions is largely governed by extensive statutory provisions, such as TULR(C)A 1992. Definition A

This Practice Note covers the legal requirements and practice in relation to payment of trade union subscriptions, including deductions or ‘check-off’ arrangements, and the requirement for any deductions from pay to be authorised by the worker. It also examines the position in relation to public sector employers, whether a trade union has the right to enforce check-off as a third party, and claims and potential remedies where such deductions are made without authorisation. Authorisation by employee Many employers enter into arrangements with one or more trade unions for the deduction by the employer of union subscriptions from the pay of workers who are also union members. This is referred to in the legislation as a ‘subscription deduction arrangement’ but is more commonly referred to as ‘check-off’, otherwise known as ‘Deduction Of Contributions at Source’ or the DOCAS system. However, where such arrangements exist, the employer must not make any deduction from its workers’ pay in respect of union dues unless: • the worker has authorised the making of deductions for union subscriptions from their wages in writing, and