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.
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 or your employer stops you from working during a dispute (you’re ‘locked out’), your length of service with them will reduce by the number of days you were on strike or locked out. 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 10 days before it begins
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 legislation and you’re dismissed, you cannot usually claim unfair dismissal.
There’s more detail on legal rights and protections in the guidance on industrial action and the law.
Being put at a disadvantage for taking industrial action (detriment)
Industrial action is protected if the union has followed the legal rules for organising it.
If you take part in protected industrial action, your employer must not put you at a disadvantage if their sole or main purpose is to:
- penalise you for taking part
- stop or discourage you from taking part in industrial action in future
If they do, you can make a claim to an employment tribunal.
Your employer can still take action for other reasons. For example, they can:
- take disciplinary action if you do something wrong that is unrelated to the industrial action
- make changes to manage the effects of the industrial action, such as offering less overtime to reduce costs
You would not usually be able to make a detriment claim in these circumstances, even if the action puts you at a disadvantage.
You will not usually be paid for time when you are taking industrial action.
Industrial action by non-union members
Workers who are not a member of any union can still take industrial action that is called as a result of a properly organised ballot – they have the same rights as union members not to be dismissed for taking action.