Commentary Additional case in which election for president of union not required
353.Section 52 amends section 46 of the 1992 Act, which sets out election requirements for certain positions in trade unions. Under section 46 as it is at present, every person holding the position of:
	President (or equivalent) – subsection (2)(c);
	General Secretary (or equivalent) – subsection (2)(d); or
	member of the executive - subsection (2)(a) and (b);
must be elected to that position by virtue of a postal vote of all the union members.
354.However, there are a number of circumstances where this requirement does not apply. This section adds another exemption, applying only to the position of president.
355.Subsection (3) of the section inserts a new subsection (4A) to section 46 providing that Chapter 4 (elections for certain positions) of Part 1 the 1992 Act does not apply to the position of president if:
	the holder of the position was elected or appointed to it in accordance with the rules of the union;
	at the time of his election or appointment as president he had already been elected, in accordance with the Act, to some other position for which an election is required by section 46;
	it is less than five years since he was last elected to that other position or he was elected to it in accordance with the Act after his election or appointment as president; and
	ever since his election or appointment as president he has held another position for which election is required by section 46, having been elected to in accordance with the Act.
356.The practical effect of new subsection (4A) is that a union will be allowed to elect or appoint a president (provided it is in accordance with their rule-book to do so), so long as the president already holds the position of General Secretary or is a member of the executive and has been properly elected to that position by a postal vote of all the union’s members in accordance with the Act. It therefore removes the need for a second election.
357.The other subsections of the section make minor and consequential amendments to section 46 that are desirable because of the insertion of new subsection (4A), and do not change the substance of the law.