The Answer:
The Act received Royal Accent on 20th July 2023. The Act gives the Business Secretary powers to introduce minimum service level standards in certain public sector services. The affected services are health, fire and rescue services, education, transport and border control.
The new Act aims to reduce and minimise the impact of strike action in in the delivery of these services. The Act amends the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, to restrict the protection given to trade unions and members when taking industrial strike action. Where service standards are set (to be introduced), the employer will be able to serve a Work Notice on trade unions and employees. This will require the union to take “reasonable steps” to make staff available and employees to work during the period covered by the Work Notice. “Reasonable steps” remains to be defined. In addition to new Regulations dealing with the finer details of the Act, the Government is expected to introduce a Statutory Code of Practice, to clarify obligations of the unions, and in particular “reasonable steps”
The Risk/Threat:
These changes mark a drastic shift in trade union laws. Although we await specific details about the Act, what is clear is that the government will be able to curtail trade union powers to cause mass disruption in certain public services due to industrial action. Interestingly, the Act does not stop unions calling for action short of strikes. For example, it does not cover overtime bans or working to rule.
What you need to do:
As this Act seeks to reduce the statutory rights of unions and employees in certain public sector services to ensure essential services are maintained, employers need to be aware of their rights and obligations. Until new Regulations and the Code of Practice are introduced, there will be uncertainty.
This article is intended as a brief overview. If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our HR/Legal advice line team at 0116 274 9193.
