The Trades Union Certification Officer was established in the United Kingdom by the Employment Protection Act 1975.
He is also a part-time chairman of Employment Tribunals and a visiting professor at the Middlesex University Business School.
Gerard Walker was appointed as the Certification Officer by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on 29 June 2016.
Walker was responsible for a ruling that foster carers could not form a union, which was then reversed by the Court of Appeal in National Union of Professional Foster Carers v Certification Officer [2021] EWCA Civ 548 as a violation of fundamental human rights and the Act of Parliament.
[5] In order to be recognised by the Officer, a union must first apply to be listed – a simple paper process, costing £150.