Recognition
Where are we now?
As of 14 May 2026, we have started discussions with Skyscanner about voluntarily recognising the union.
This comes after June 2025 last year, when Prospect Union members voted to start working towards voluntary recognition. On 10 April 2026, we submitted our formal request to Skyscanner requesting voluntary recognition.
What is recognition?
The gov.uk site has a good description of both voluntary and statutory recognition, but the following is a summary.
In order to negotiate as a group or “bargain collectively” over working conditions, we’ll need to be “recognised” by Skyscanner. Recognition is what will give you the benefits you usually associate with unions, including but not limited to consultation and collective agreement about pay.
There are two paths to recognition:
- Voluntary recognition is where Skyscanner voluntarily agrees to collectively bargain with you. Voluntary agreements can cover many topics and usually encompass negotiation over many terms and conditions of employment.
- Statutory recognition is where Skyscanner must collectively bargain with you as is guaranteed in UK law. Statutory recognition agreements are limited to pay, hours, and holiday entitlement.
Voluntary recognition is the best option for both employers and workers since it gives both parties the most flexibility in forming their agreement and carrying out collective bargaining.
The bargaining unit
For both voluntary and statutory recognition, we need to identify a group of workers who would benefit from bargaining together. In June 2025, Prospect Union members voted to pursue voluntary recognition and define the first bargaining unit as:
UK employees of Skyscanner Technology Limited excluding J+ managers. This includes:
- Software Engineers,
- Systems Engineers,
- Data Scientists,
- Security Engineers,
- Product Managers,
- Product Designers,
- Content Designers,
- Product Researchers,
- Localisation,
- and any other roles introduced whose employer is Skyscanner Technology Limited”.
It represents a compelling collection of disciplines integral to product delivery at Skyscanner, and uses Skyscanner’s own company organisation as its template.
This group has a lot in common. These workers tend to contribute together, in teams with each other to achieve the same company goals. The job title limit for managers aims to group together employees based on their level of oversight, authority, and autonomy to shape their own goals.
The proposed bargaining unit also ensures we’re not leaving smaller groups of workers behind in either the J+ manager group or Skyscanner Technology Limited. Those groups of workers are large enough to form their own bargaining groups.
This is our first bargaining group, and our goal is that every employee of Skyscanner has a bargaining group that represents them.
The process
To gain recognition, we first work with Skyscanner on voluntary recognition. If Skyscanner agrees to recognise us, we then work together on our agreement.
If Skyscanner does not agree to voluntarily recognise us, we can then submit our case for statutory recognition.
Why now?
We've grown significantly in the past year thanks to you and your colleagues' efforts, and we're stronger than ever.
The union recognition changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025 have also come into force. On 6 April 2026, there are more favorable conditions for winning statutory recognition.
What's next
Our hope is that Skyscanner agrees to voluntarily recognise us since it's the best option for everyone. However, if we cannot reach an agreement, we'll transition to a statutory campaign.