Government announces the repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023

2 September 2024

The Government confirmed on 6 August 2024 that it will repeal the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023.

The Act allowed regulations to be introduced on an industry-specific basis, setting out required minimum service levels to be maintained during strike action. Regulations were put in place covering:

health
transport
education
fire and rescue
border control
nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management services.

Where regulations were in place, once a trade union gave notice of strike action to an employer, that employer could issue a ‘work notice’ ahead of the strike. This specified that the workforce was required to meet the minimum service levels for that strike period.

The press release uses the word ‘binned’ such is the strength of feeling within the government about the minimum service provisions. The press release attacks the minimum service levels provisions by declaring that ‘no employer has used them’, they have not ‘resolved a single strike’ and they ‘undermine good industrial relations.’

The formal repeal will form part of the upcoming Employment Rights Bill which will be introduced within the first 100 days of the new Government.

This blog was written by Elizabeth McGlone, Partner at didlaw.

Strike

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