Section 51 Voting.

F1(1)

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F2(2)

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(3)

Every person who is entitled to vote at the election must—

(a)

be allowed to vote without interference from, or constraint imposed by, the union or any of its members, officials or employees, and

(b)

so far as is reasonably practicable, be enabled to do so without incurring any direct cost to himself.

(4)

So far as is reasonably practicable, every person who is entitled to vote at the election must—

F3(a)

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(b)

be given a convenient opportunity to vote F4....

(5)

The ballot shall be conducted so as to secure that—

(a)

so far as is reasonably practicable, those voting do so in secret, and

(b)

the votes given at the election are fairly and accurately counted.

For the purposes of paragraph (b) an inaccuracy in counting shall be disregarded if it is accidental and on a scale which could not affect the result of the election.

(6)

The ballot shall be so conducted as to secure that the result of the election is determined solely by counting the number of votes cast directly for each candidate.

(7)

Nothing in subsection (6) shall be taken to prevent the system of voting used for the election being the single transferable vote, that is, a vote capable of being given so as to indicate the voter’s order of preference for the candidates and of being transferred to the next choice—

(a)

when it is not required to give a prior choice the necessary quota of votes, or

(b)

when, owing to the deficiency in the number of votes given for a prior choice, that choice is eliminated from the list of candidates.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: S. 51(1) omitted (25.8.2026) by virtue of The Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/881), arts. 1(3), 3(6)(a) (with art. 10)
F2: S. 51(2) omitted (25.8.2026) by virtue of The Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/881), arts. 1(3), 3(6)(a) (with art. 10)
F3: S. 51(4)(a) omitted (25.8.2026) by virtue of The Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/881), arts. 1(3), 3(6)(b) (with art. 10)
F4: Words in s. 51(4)(b) omitted (25.8.2026) by virtue of The Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/881), arts. 1(3), 3(6)(c) (with art. 10)