1. TACKLING INDUSTRIAL ACTION
IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR
Mary Siddall and Ben Power
Springhouse solicitors

2. Is strike action lawful?
• Industrial action has ‘immunity’ from legal
claims if it meets specific requirements

3. Prohibited Industrial Action
• To enforce a closed shop
• To support workers taking ‘unofficial industrial
action’
• Secondary industrial action
• Unlawful picketing

4. Is picketing lawful
• Can be an issue in education, eg disruption of
graduation ceremonies, governors or council
meetings, protests at school or college gates
• Will be lawful if at employees’ own place of
work and designed to persuade others not to
work or communicate information about the
dispute
• Will be unlawful at another’s place of work

5. Guidance on picketing
• See ACAS Code of Practice on Picketing
• Possibility of an injunction to restrain unlawful
picketing? See Gate Gourmet case

6. Picketing v peaceful protest?
• Distinguish picketing from ordinary right to
peaceful protest
• Permission to enter onto premises?
• Is a policy needed to govern protests on
campus, to cover both industrial action and eg
protests against visitors?

7. Balloting requirements
• Industrial action that is unsupported by a
properly conducted ballot will be unlawful
• All members who may be induced to take part
in industrial action should be balloted

8. Notification Requirements
• The Union must give the Employer
– 7 days notice of intention to hold a ballot
– A copy of the ballot paper, 3 days in advance

9. Notification requirements (cont)
• Notification of the result of the ballot as soon
as reasonably practicable
• 7 days notice of industrial action

10. Employers conduct during a ballot
• Employers can write to employees:
– Encouraging them to vote ‘no’
– Describing the impact of industrial action eg on
students, exams etc
– Reminding them that employees could lose pay
– Avoiding any detriment on grounds of trade union
activities etc

11. Preparing for strike action
• What can an employer do in anticipation of
strike action?
– Contingency plans
– Asking staff if they are/intend to be on strike
– Making clear what is expected of staff eg on a
‘work to rule’

12. Pay for workers on strike
• No obligation to pay striking workers
• No obligation to accept partial performance if
this amounts to a breach of the employee’s
contractual duties – make this clear to staff in
advance