As the Government’s Trade Union Bill consultation ends, businesses across the UK will be hoping the new proposals will provide more stability. By Philip Harman, employment partner at law firm DWF.
Philip Harman, employment partner at top 20 law firm DWF, has some interesting thoughts on the new measures and has pulled together the following comment, which I hope will be of interest if you are picking up on the bill today. Philip Harman, employment partner at DWF, said: “The Trade Union reform consultation has comes to an end and many businesses will be hoping the proposed new measures will bring more stability.
The new proposals tighten up the rules where a Trade Union wants to call a lawful strike or other form of industrial action. The new measures provide employers with some more flexibility to prepare and deal with the impact of any industrial action. They also overhaul the rules in relation to lawful picketing and other forms of protest and demonstration, updating them for the digital age.
The rules have for many years required a Trade Union to hold a ballot before calling a strike. However, the proposals will introduce a new requirement that there must be a minimum turnout of 50 per cent of those entitled to vote before such a ballot will be lawful. In certain key public industries – such as fire, health and transport – the ballot would only count if the Trade Union wins a majority of at least 40 percent of all of those entitled to vote. In addition, the new measures will require union members wishing to contribute to a union’s political fund to opt in rather than opt out, whilst introducing measures for greater detail to be included on the ballot paper regarding the nature of trade dispute to ensure that workers are clear about what they are voting for and why.
Another big change for employers will be the introduction of a 14 days’ notice of strike action and the ability to bring in agency staff to cover for striking workers. Historically agencies have been prohibited from providing workers to a business affected by industrial action, so the new reforms are likely to be positively received by businesses across the UK. Ultimately, it is unlikely that a business can completely avoid the impact of industrial action, and organisations will always look to resolve any action with trade unions ahead of a strike, but the new proposals should enable them at least to mitigate the impact of the situation, if necessary, and indeed possible.
