{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/wages-councils-act-1979/section-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/wages-councils-act-1979/section-2.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1979/12",
  "legislation_title": "Wages Councils Act 1979",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/wages-councils-act-1979",
  "path": "section/2",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Applications for wages council orders",
  "text": "(1) An application for the establishment of a wages council with respect to any workers and their employers may be made to the Secretary of State either—\n(a) by a joint industrial council, conciliation board or other similar body constituted by organisations representative respectively of those workers and their employers; or\n(b) jointly by any organisation of workers and any organisation of employers which claim to be organisations that habitually take part in the settlement of remuneration and conditions of employment for those workers ;\non the ground, in either case, that the existing machinery for the settlement of remuneration and conditions of employment for those workers is likely to cease to exist or be adequate for that purpose.\n(2) Where such an application as aforesaid is made to him, the Secretary of State—\n(a) subject to subsection (3) below, if he is satisfied that there are sufficient grounds to justify the reference of the application to the Service, and, in the case of an application under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above, that the claim of the organisations habitually to take part in the settlement of remuneration and conditions of employment for those workers is well-founded, shall refer the application to the Service to inquire into and report on the application;\n(b) if he is not so satisfied shall notify the applicants to that effect, in which case no further steps shall be taken on the application unless and until he is so satisfied by fresh facts brought to his notice:\nProvided that before taking either of the said courses, the Secretary of State may require the applicants to furnish such information, if any, in relation to the application as he considers necessary.\n(3) If, on considering an application under subsection (1) above, it appears to the Secretary of State either—\n(a) that there is a joint industrial council, conciliation board or other similar body constituted by organisations of workers and organisations of employers, being a council, board or body which would or might be affected by the establishment of a wages council in pursuance of the application ; or\n(b) that there are organisations of workers and organisations of employers representative respectively of workers other than workers to whom the application relates and their employers, who would or might be affected by the establishment of a wages council as aforesaid;\nbeing a council, board or body, or, as the case may be, organisations, which are parties to joint voluntary machinery for the settlement of remuneration and conditions of employment but are not parties to the application for a wages council, the Secretary of State shall, before deciding to refer the application to the Service give notice of the application to that council, board or body or, as the case may be, to those organisations, shall consider any observations in writing which may be submitted to him by them within such period as he may direct, not being less than one month from the date of the notice, and, if he decides to refer the application to the Service, shall transmit a copy of the observations to the Service.\n(4) If, before an application is referred to the Service, it is withdrawn by the applicants, no further proceedings shall be had thereon.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/12/section/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T10:18:27.390175+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}