Taking part in industrial action and strikes
Your employment rights during industrial action
You have the right to take industrial action and you cannot be legally forced to stay at, or go back to, work (unless a ballot was not organised properly).
If you take industrial action, you’ll probably have broken (be ‘in breach of’) your employment contract and your employer:
- is unlikely to pay for the work you did not do when you took industrial action
- can sue you for breaking your contract (this does not happen often)
Taking industrial action does not usually mean that your employer will say you’ve broken your period of continuous employment with them. This begins when you start working for your employer and ends on the day your employer uses to calculate your length of service.
However, if you take industrial action, your employer will reduce your length of service with them by the number of days you were on strike. This is important when working out your pension and things like statutory redundancy pay.
Dismissal for industrial action
You cannot be dismissed for industrial action if:
- it’s called as a result of a properly organised ballot
- it’s about a trade dispute between workers and their employer (for example about your terms and conditions)
- a detailed notice about the industrial action (which is legally required) has been given to the employer at least 7 days before it begins
You can claim unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal if you’re dismissed for taking industrial action at any time within the 12 weeks after the action began.
After 12 weeks, you can be dismissed if you take industrial action and your employer has tried to settle the dispute. For example, your employer may bring in advisers from Acas to help find a solution.
When you may be dismissed
You could be dismissed for taking part in industrial action if:
- the union has not held a properly organised ballot
- the union has not given the employer the correct notice for balloting members or taking action
- the union has not called its members to take action because they think the dispute is settled or action is called by someone who does not have the authority to do so
- it’s in support of workers taking action against another employer (otherwise known as ‘sympathy’ or ‘secondary’ action)
- it’s in support of only employing union members (otherwise known as a ‘closed shop’)
- it breaks any other parts of industrial action law
If you take part in industrial action that breaks the regulations and you’re dismissed, you cannot usually claim unfair dismissal if all employees taking part are dismissed as well.
There’s more detail on legal rights and protections in the guidance on industrial action and the law.
Industrial action by non-union members
Non-union members who take part in legal, official industrial action have the same rights as union members not to be dismissed as a result of taking action.