[1] After a long series of appeals through the UK court system, the European Court of Human Rights held that ECHR article 11 protects the fundamental right of people to join a trade union, engage in union related activities and take action as a last resort to protect their interests.

His employer offered him an individual contract, coupled with a 10% pay increase, but on the condition that he would cease to be represented by the RMT.

The employers' action was intended to deter employees from being trade union members and such deterrence was a wholly foreseeable consequence.

Moreover, the Tribunal had never established that the employers' purpose was to deter its employees from joining a union or penalising them from membership.

The result was the Employment Relations Act 2004, which changed, in particular, TULRCA 1992 section 146 to stipulate that all "workers" were protected by the provisions on detriment for union membership and activities.