Taking part in industrial action and strikes

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1. Overview

Industrial action is when workers:

• go on strike
• take other action, like refusing to do overtime (known as 바카라 사이트˜action short of a strike바카라 사이트™)

Sometimes an employer may stop their workers from working or coming back to work during a dispute. This is called a 바카라 사이트˜lock-out바카라 사이트™.

Calling industrial action

Industrial action happens when trade union members are in a dispute with their employers that can바카라 사이트™t be solved through negotiations.

A trade union can only call for industrial action if a majority of its members involved support it in a properly organised postal vote - called a 바카라 사이트˜ballot바카라 사이트™.

Before organising a ballot, a union must decide which members affected by a dispute it wants to ask to take industrial action. It must tell all members entitled to vote and the employer what the ballot results were.

A trade union calls industrial action by telling members and the employer when and how this action will be taken. This should be done by a trade union official or committee that has the legal right to do so. Your voting paper must have said who this is.

Taking part in industrial action - your rights

If you바카라 사이트™re a trade union member, you have the right to vote before your union asks you to take industrial action. You don바카라 사이트™t have to take part in industrial action and can바카라 사이트™t be disciplined by your union if you don바카라 사이트™t.

If you do get excluded or expelled from your union, you can complain to an employment tribunal.

Secondary action

It바카라 사이트™s against the law to take part in 바카라 사이트˜secondary action바카라 사이트™ (going on strike in sympathy with people who work for a different employer).

2. Holding a ballot

Your union must have a vote (a 바카라 사이트˜ballot바카라 사이트™) that바카라 사이트™s properly organised according to legal rules.

Properly organised ballots

A ballot for industrial action must:

• be supervised by a qualified independent person (a 바카라 사이트˜scrutineer바카라 사이트™ - often someone from an organisation like the Electoral Reform Society) appointed by the union if over 50 members are being balloted
• be held before the union asks members to take or continue taking action
• be open to all members the union wants to take action
• be a postal ballot where members vote by marking a box on a voting paper and return it in a prepaid envelope
• include information on what the ballot is about and where to post your vote

The union must tell everyone entitled to vote how many people voted, the number of yes votes, no votes or spoiled papers as soon as it can after the ballot.

It must also give the employer one week바카라 사이트™s notice of the start of the ballot and tell them the result as soon as possible once it바카라 사이트™s available.

There바카라 사이트™s practical guidance on these rules in the code of practice on industrial action ballots.

Questions on the voting paper

When you바카라 사이트™re balloted, your voting paper must ask whether you want to take part in either (or both):

• strike action
• action short of a strike

The union can only call on members to take action if a majority of members who voted were in favour of that particular action. If both questions are asked on the ballot paper and members vote yes to both, the union can decide what industrial action to take.

Complaining about ballots

You can apply for a court order if your union breaks the rules on industrial action ballots. You can take legal advice before doing this.

The court may order the union not to organise action if it decides a ballot wasn바카라 사이트™t held according to the rules.

You can apply for a temporary injunction that tells the union not to call industrial action if your case can바카라 사이트™t be heard in court straight away.

If the union doesn바카라 사이트™t do what the court says, you can ask them to 바카라 사이트˜declare the union to be in contempt of court바카라 사이트™ and the union can be fined.

3. Your employment rights during industrial action

You have the right to take industrial action and you can바카라 사이트™t be legally forced to stay at, or go back to, work (unless a ballot wasn바카라 사이트™t organised properly).

If you take industrial action, you바카라 사이트™ll probably have broken (be 바카라 사이트˜in breach of바카라 사이트™) your employment contract and your employer:

• is unlikely to pay for the work you didn바카라 사이트™t do when you took industrial action
• can sue you for breaking your contract (this doesn바카라 사이트™t happen often)

Taking industrial action doesn바카라 사이트™t usually mean that your employer will say you바카라 사이트™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 can바카라 사이트™t be dismissed for industrial action if:

• it바카라 사이트™s called as a result of a properly organised ballot
• it바카라 사이트™s about a trade dispute between workers and their employer (eg 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 you바카라 사이트™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 hasn바카라 사이트™t held a properly organised ballot
• the union hasn바카라 사이트™t given the employer the correct notice for balloting members or taking action
• the union hasn바카라 사이트™t called its members to take action because they think the dispute is settled or action is called by someone who doesn바카라 사이트™t have the authority to do so
• it바카라 사이트™s in support of workers taking action against another employer (otherwise known as 바카라 사이트˜sympathy바카라 사이트™ or 바카라 사이트˜secondary바카라 사이트™ action)
• it바카라 사이트™s in support of only employing union members (otherwise known as a 바카라 사이트˜closed shop바카라 사이트™)
• it breaks any other parts of industrial action law

If you take part in industrial action that breaks the regulations and you바카라 사이트™re dismissed, you can바카라 사이트™t usually claim unfair dismissal if all employees taking part are dismissed as well.

There바카라 사이트™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.

4. Going on strike and picketing

A picket line is where workers and union reps (바카라 사이트˜picketers바카라 사이트™ or 바카라 사이트˜pickets바카라 사이트™) stand outside a workplace to tell other people why they are striking. Pickets may also ask people not to:

• do some of their usual work
• go into work

Pickets must not prevent people from going to work or doing their usual work if they want to do so.

The picketing code of practice explains the rules around lawful picketing.

Picketing and the law

It바카라 사이트™s a criminal offence for pickets to:

• use threatening or abusive behaviour to people walking past or crossing the picket line
• block people or vehicles trying to get into the workplace which is on strike (called 바카라 사이트˜causing an obstruction바카라 사이트™ by police)
• carry weapons
• damage property
• cause or threaten to cause a 바카라 사이트˜breach of the peace바카라 사이트™
• try to block roads near the picket line (called 바카라 사이트˜causing an obstruction to the public highway바카라 사이트™)
• try to stop the police who are outside the workplace from doing their job

You can have legal action taken against you if you break the law or encourage others to do so when you바카라 사이트™re picketing. This includes:

• trespassing (trying to enter a building without permission)
• making a noise nuisance
• using threatening language or offensive material, libel or slander in leaflets, banners, placards, chants or speeches

If you break a court order banning you or your trade union from holding a picket, you could be open to further legal action (otherwise known as 바카라 사이트˜contempt of court바카라 사이트™).

Mass picketing

Police have special powers to stop a mass picket if they think there바카라 사이트™s a danger of:

• serious public disorder (like a riot)
• serious damage to property

The Code of Practice on picketing says usually there should be no more than 6 people outside an entrance to a workplace.

If you don바카라 사이트™t stop picketing when told do so by police, you can be arrested.

Flying pickets

Flying pickets are groups of striking workers that move from one workplace to another to picket them. Usually flying pickets are illegal - you can only join a picket line at your workplace.

Trade union reps can be on picket lines at different workplaces if they바카라 사이트™re responsible for organising workers in those workplaces.