check-off agreement

check-off agreement

an agreement between EMPLOYER and TRADE UNION, enabling the employer to deduct the union membership subscription (‘union dues’) from employees’ pay (with their consent) and pass them to the union as a lump sum. This is a more efficient method of collecting membership fees than the traditional method whereby shop stewards or officials collected union dues in cash from each member each week. After legislative restrictions in the 1990s, many union members now pay their union dues directly to the union by direct debit. See CLOSED SHOP.

Collins Dictionary of Business, 3rd ed. © 2002, 2005 C Pass, B Lowes, A Pendleton, L Chadwick, D O’Reilly and M Afferson