Strike ballots and the law

Two pieces of legislation cover strikes and their ballots: the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and the Trade Union Act 2016. Under them, transport is classed as an “important public service” which affects the threshold of votes required for strikes.

The laws say:

■ The ballot must be supervised by a qualified independent person, be open to all members the union wants to take action and be a postal ballot where members vote by marking a box on a voting paper and returning it in a prepaid envelope.

■ The voting paper must ask if the member wants to take part in either ‘strike action’ and/or ‘action short of a strike’.

■ At least 50% of the trade union members entitled to vote must do so (the turnout) for the ballot to be valid.

■ For transport, at least 40% of all members sent ballot papers, must vote in favour of a strike.

■ The union must also declare all the numbers - how many ballots issued, how many returned, those in favour etc.

■ If the ballot result is in favour of action (of any kind), unions must give employers a minimum 14 days’ notice before industrial action.

■ The result is valid for up to six months (but can be increased to nine months if the union and employer agree), after which time a fresh ballot is required.

■ There is no legal requirement for a union to ballot, or otherwise consult, its members before it decides to call off industrial action

Acas provides free advice for employers, employees and their representatives on employment rights, best practice and policies and resolving workplace conflict. It also provides mediation services to resolve workplace disputes between employers and employees. acas.org.uk