Part III Rights in relation to union membership and activities
Action short of dismissal
148 Consideration of complaint.
(1)
On a complaint under section 146 it shall be for the employer to show the purpose for which F1he acted or failed to act
(2)
In determining any question whether F2the employer acted or failed to act, or the purpose for which he did so, no account shall be taken of any pressure which was exercised on him by calling, organising, procuring or financing a strike or other industrial action, or by threatening to do so; and that question shall be determined as if no such pressure had been exercised.
F3F4(3)
In determining what was the purpose for which F5the employer acted or failed to act in a case where—
(a)
there is evidence that the employer’s purpose was to further a change in his relationship with all or any class of his employees, and
(b)
there is also evidence that his purpose was one falling within section 146,
the tribunal shall regard the purpose mentioned in paragraph (a) (and not the purpose mentioned in paragraph (b)) as the purpose for which the employer F6acted or failed to act, unless it considers that no reasonable employer would act or fail to act in the way concerned having regard to the purpose mentioned in paragraph (a).
F3(4)
Where the tribunal determines that—
(a)
the complainant has been subjected to a detriment by an act or deliberate failure to act by his employer, and
(b)
the act or failure took place in consequence of a previous act or deliberate failure to act by the employer,
paragraph (a) of subsection (3) is satisfied if the purpose mentioned in that paragraph was the purpose of the previous act or failure.
(5)
In subsection (3) “class”, in relation to an employer and his employees, means those employed at a particular place of work, those employees of a particular grade, category or description or those of a particular grade, category or description employed at a particular place of work.