National Union of Professional Foster Carers v The Certification Officer [2021]

This appeal arose from the respondent’s refusal to register the appellant Trade Union as an organisation on the list of Trade Unions. The reason for the refusal was that the members of the Trade Union, namely foster carers, were not wholly or mainly workers within the meaning of Section 1 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.   The EAT had agreed with the decision of the respondent citing that the relationship between foster carers and local councils were regulated by a ‘foster care agreement’ which was non-contractual and was therefore contrary to any definition of being a worker.   The Union appealed this decision stating that foster carers