Industrial Action - New Minimum Service Levels Bill Introduced to Parliament
The Government has confirmed plans to enforce minimum service levels across multiple sectors during industrial action, including the NHS, education, and the fire service.
In October 2022, the Government announced its first minimum service levels Bill, which at the time was confined to enforcing minimum service levels during rail strikes. However, in the face of widespread industrial action across the country, the Government has now taken the decision to extend this policy across multiple sectors. The initial Bill has been superseded by the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill (Bill) which had its first reading earlier this week.
Which Sectors Are Affected By the New Bill?
The sectors affected by the Bill are healthcare, fire and rescue, education, transport, nuclear installations decommissioning, radioactive waste and spent fuel management, and border security .
Neither the Bill nor its accompanying explanatory notes provides a definition of the 'education sector' and in particular whether this includes fee-paying schools. However, fee-paying schools are excluded from the definition of 'important public services' for the purposes of the existing more stringent balloting rules that apply to some sectors. It is possible the minimum services legislation will exclude fee-paying schools in the same way. We await further guidance from the Government on this point.
What Is a 'Minimum Service Level'?
The Bill does not define minimum service levels for any of the named sectors. The Government is planning to consult in order to define minimum service levels for ambulance, fire and rail services. It hopes to reach voluntary agreements on the definition of minimum services levels for the other sectors covered by the Bill. However if this is not possible then the Government would have the power to unilaterally impose minimum service levels.
What Is the Practical Impact of the Bill?
The Bill will enable the implementation of minimum service levels in named sectors during periods of strike action. It will achieve this by amending the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 to restrict union protection from legal action relating to strike action in certain circumstances.
Employers will be able to serve 'work notices' on unions in advance of strike action. These notices will identify the people required to work in order to secure the 'minimum service level' required in that particular sector on the day of a strike. If the union fails to take reasonable steps to ensure that its members comply with the work notice, it will lose its immunity from legal action relating to inducing members to breach their contracts of employment by participating in the strike action. Employers may bring claims for damages against a union that loses its immunity. In practical terms, and depending on how minimum service is defined in each sector, this may mean that the Government can effectively prevent people from taking industrial action in certain circumstances.
For more information or advice, please contact Allison Cook in our Employment Law team on 0117 314 5466, or complete the form below.