Industrial disputes

Before industrial action takes place - legal issues

For a dispute to be lawful, it must be a trade dispute. This means:

• there must be a dispute between workers and their own employer
• the dispute must be wholly or mainly about employment-related matters such as their pay and conditions, jobs, discipline, etc

A union is legally responsible for organising industrial action only if it authorises or endorses the action. Authorisation would take place before the industrial action starts and endorsement after it has started is considered unofficial action.

Pre-strike ballot

An industrial action ballot should not take place until any agreed procedures have been completed and all other means of resolving the dispute have been looked at.

Employers can take legal action against any union, which calls for industrial action without first holding a secret ballot. 

A trade union must give an employer notice of industrial action at least seven days before the intended opening day of a ballot. From 1 October 2005, the notice must contain the following information:

• that the union intends to hold a ballot
• the date which the union reasonably believes will be the date of the ballot
• lists of the categories and workplaces of employees the union is going to ballot
• figures on total affected employee numbers and the numbers in each category and at each workplace
• an explanation of how the union reached the numbers provided

However, in situations where employees pay their union subscriptions by deductions from pay (the "check-off" system), these lists and figures do not necessarily need to be provided in full.

The trade union has no statutory obligation to provide the employer with the names of the affected employees.

The union must also give the employer a sample voting paper at least three days before the opening day of the ballot.

A separate ballot may need to be held at each workplace where industrial action is proposed. You can view the full, formal procedure for industrial action on the DTI website.

Timing

If workers vote in favour of industrial action, the action must begin within four weeks of the date of the ballot. This period may be extended to up to eight weeks after the ballot, but only if both union and employer agree. Otherwise, in some circumstances, the union may apply to the court for an extension.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Avoiding industrial disputes
• Dealing with industrial disputes
• Effective negotiating
• Before industrial action takes place - legal issues
• During industrial action - legal issues
• Following industrial action - legal issues
• Trade union recognition
• Collective bargaining

 

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