Minimum service level laws to come into force for rail,
border security and ambulance services to mitigate disruption if
strikes are called
Delivers on manifesto commitment to introduce minimum
service levels for rail strikes
Government also consulting on plans to introduce Minimum
Service Levels to cover children's education
The Government is taking strides towards ensuring key services
remain accessible during strikes, as the first Minimum Service
Level regulations came into force from today (Friday
8th December). Following Parliamentary approval, the
regulations are set to apply in the rail sector and border
security and ambulance services.
For the rail sector, Minimum Service Levels will provide an
additional tool for train operators to reduce the impact from
strike action, meaning that rail operators can aim to
run 40% of their normal timetable during any strike.
For a strike affecting infrastructure services, certain key
routes will also be able to stay open and for longer than is
normally the case during strikes.
Minimum Service Levels are already in force in countries such as
France, Spain and the US, and the new UK regulations have been
carefully designed to help reduce the impact of industrial action
by balancing the ability of workers to strike and the rights of
the public to get to work and access key services.
The Statutory Code of Practice has also come into force which
sets out the reasonable steps trade unions should take to ensure
their members comply with work notices and help ensure minimum
service levels are met, following a public consultation. Where
minimum service level regulations are in place and strike action
is called, employers can issue work notices to identify people
who are reasonably required to work to ensure minimum service
levels are met.
The law requires unions to take reasonable steps and ensure their
members who are identified with a work notice comply and if a
union fails to do this, they will lose their legal protection
from damages claims. Last year, we raised the maximum damages
that courts can award against a union for unlawful strike action.
For the biggest unions, the maximum award has risen from £250,000
to £1 million.
Rail Minister said:
“Strikes cause stress and disruption to passengers and businesses
and, whilst there is no silver bullet to mitigating the
disruption from strikes, these regulations deliver a manifesto
promise and will enable employers to reduce the impact from
strikes.
“As the Government, we have a duty to ensure the public can
access key services, and while it is important workers maintain
their ability to strike, this must not come at the cost of people
getting to work, accessing healthcare or education.”
Strikes have had significant impact across industries and the
economy. To date over 1.1 million appointments have been
rescheduled by acute NHS Trusts due to strike action since
December 2022, and since 2019 there has not been a single
day without either a strike happening on the railways or mandates
for strikes outstanding.
This is why the Government is delivering on its 2019 manifesto
commitment through these minimum service level regulations to
help protect the public from unnecessary disruption.
The Government will continue to work with industry, and today the
DfT published non-statutory guidance for train operators on
how to implement the regulations. This supplements existing
non-statutory guidance for employers, trade unions and workers on
the issuing of work notices.
The Government has also launched a
consultation on introducing Minimum Service Levels to cover
children's education. The planned measures will provide greater
reassurance and certainty for children and parents.
Notes to editors
- The regulations for Ambulance workers came into effect
yesterday (December 7), came into effect for rail today, and are
expected to come into effect for border staff next week.
- With regulations in force, if a trade union calls a
strike in one of the specified services in the regulations,
the affected employer can issue a work notice setting out the
staff needed, and the work they are required to do, to meet the
minimum service level.
- The decision to issue these work notices will be at the
discretion of individual employers. If a union fails to take
reasonable steps to ensure their members who are identified
in a work notice comply with that notice and do not take strike
action during the periods in which they are required to work, the
trade union will lose their legal protection from damages claims
and injunctions.
- Employees identified in a work notice who take part in the
strike will lose their automatic protection against unfair
dismissal for industrial action, provided they were notified by
their employer of the requirement to work and that they must
comply with it.
