# COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT
Date: 3 February 2032
Parties: Solent Components Limited and Unite the Union
## 1. Purpose and parties
This Collective Bargaining Agreement is made on 3 February 2032 between Solent Components Limited, whose registered office is 18 Meridian Way, Southampton SO14 3RT, and Unite the Union. Solent voluntarily recognises Unite as the representative of the bargaining unit described here, and the parties confirm that this written agreement records their agreed framework rather than transferring any individual employment contract to the Union.
## 2. Facts, scope and terms
The bargaining unit comprises the 86 production operators, warehouse operatives and dispatch coordinators employed at Solent's Southampton site, including employees on fixed-term contracts after four weeks' service. It excludes directors, senior managers with authority to determine employment policy, agency workers and independent contractors. Recognition began on 1 January 2032, and consultation about pay, hours, holidays, health and safety, and proposed redundancies will take place through this agreement.
## 3. Process and responsibilities
From 1 April 2032 the minimum rate for Grade 1 is £14.80 per hour and the minimum rate for Grade 2 is £16.25 per hour; each rate will increase by 3% on 1 April 2033 unless the parties agree a higher figure in writing, producing £15.24 and £16.74 respectively when rounded to the nearest penny. The normal working week is 37.5 hours over five days. Authorised overtime is paid at time-and-a-half Monday to Saturday and double time on Sunday or a bank holiday, with 28 days' paid annual leave including bank holidays and the statutory minimum rest rights preserved.
## 4. Evidence, records and safeguards
Solent will consult two elected Unite representatives before making a material change to shift patterns, staffing levels or safe systems of work. Overtime must be approved in advance except in an emergency, and working time will be managed consistently with the Working Time Regulations 1998, including the 48-hour average weekly limit unless an employee has made a lawful opt-out. Nothing in this agreement removes individual rights to the National Minimum Wage, paid leave, whistleblowing protection or a safe workplace.
## 5. Review, escalation and outcome
A workplace dispute must first be raised by the employee or shop steward with the line manager, who will meet within five working days. If unresolved, the site HR manager and senior shop steward will meet within a further 10 working days; the parties may then ask ACAS to assist with conciliation. A dispute about the interpretation of this agreement may be referred to an independent arbitrator jointly selected from an ACAS list, but arbitration is binding only after both parties sign terms of reference.
## 6. Reservations and practical protections
Solent will provide each of the two elected shop stewards with up to four hours of paid facility time per week for recognised union duties, subject to reasonable advance notice and operational safety. Written employee authorisation is required for payroll deduction of Unite subscriptions, which will be remitted monthly with a statement. The parties will meet quarterly on 2 March, 1 June, 1 September and 1 December 2032; no party waives a lawful right to take industrial action, but neither will call action while an agreed dispute stage is being followed.
## 7. England and Wales law and completion
This completed fictional agreement is dated 3 February 2032 and is governed by England and Wales law. It is collectively negotiated, does not guarantee a particular shift or promotion, and does not authorise discriminatory treatment or unlawful deductions. Solent and Unite will give six weeks' written notice of a proposed review, keep signed minutes and the current pay schedule, and review the agreement on 3 February 2033; a conflicting individual statutory right prevails over any less favourable wording. A signed copy will be available to every covered employee through HR, and the parties will circulate any agreed variation with its effective date before applying it. Questions about access to the record may be raised with the site HR manager without affecting the dispute timetable.