As was widely publicised at the time of the railway strikes in late June, the government has now changed the law to allow businesses impacted by industrial action to use agency workers to temporarily replace striking staff. This has been achieved by amendments to the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003.
Agency Workers Allowed To Cover For Striking Staff
With industrial action across a range of sectors threatening to disrupt public services, the government moved swiftly to repeal the provisions that restricted employment businesses from providing temporary agency workers to fill vacant positions caused by staff striking. The change in law came into force on 21st July and will apply across all sectors.
The government has also changed the law to raise the maximum damages that courts can award against a union when strike action has been found by a court to be unlawful. For larger unions, the maximum awarded amount will increase from the current £250,000 to £1 million.
The UK’s largest union, UNISON, has stated its intention to seek a judicial review of the new laws, which it believes are unlawful and in breach of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, a document which protects employees’ right to strike.Stay up-to-date with all the latest legal changes on our blog.
