Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department's plans for a levy on trade unions and employer bodies to fund the certification officer, what projections he has made for (a) the income levels that will determine whether a union is classed as (i) small, (ii) medium or (iii) large and (b) the levy apportioned to an individual organisation in the (A) small unions, (B) medium unions, (C) large unions, (D) union federations and (E) employer organisations category from April 2022.

The Government has taken steps to ensure the levy on trade unions and employers’ associations to fund the Certification Officer is fair and affordable. Our proposal, which is subject to change, is that smaller organisations will be exempt from the levy. All other organisations will pay the basic levy and higher income organisations will pay an additional rate on top of the basic levy, to cover exempt organisations. As a significant amount of the Certification Office’s time is spent on non-federated trade unions, an enhanced rate will be paid by those non-federated trade unions for whom the basic, additional and enhanced rate amounts to less than 2.5% of their income. No organisation will pay more than 2.5% of their income.

It will be for the Certification Officer to set the levy amounts and income bands within the framework of the Certification Officer levy regulations.

The Certification Officer has estimated that she is likely to need a budget of £1,150,000 from April 2022. Based on that estimate, and taking into account the current number of organisations subject to the levy and the annual income reported through annual returns, the Certification Office has made some projections as to the likely shape of the levy. These projections are, of course, subject to change, and will be updated once the regulations have been laid.

1. No organisation with an income of less than £105,000 will pay the levy.
2. Non-federated trade unions with an income of between £105,000 and £285,000 will pay £2600 per annum.
3. Non-federated trade unions with an income of between £285,000 and £455,000 will pay £7080 per annum.
4. Non-federated trade unions with an income of over £455,000 will pay £11350 per annum.
5. Employers’ associations and federated trade unions with an income of between £105,000 and £275,000 will pay £2600 per annum.
6. Employers’ associations and federated trade unions with an income over £275,000 will pay £6870 per annum.