Strikes and industrial action

You can take part in a strike without breaching your contract in a way that lets your employer dismiss you, as long as the action is lawful: called by a union after a properly run postal or electronic ballot, with the right notices given to the employer. You will not be paid for the time you are on strike, and your employer can also make deductions if you take action short of a strike. The rules changed a lot in 2026, so older guidance about ballot thresholds and minimum service levels may now be wrong.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 got Royal Assent in December 2025, and parts of it took effect straight away. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 was repealed on Royal Assent, so employers in health, education, fire, border security and transport can no longer issue work notices requiring named staff to work during a strike.

Most of the Trade Union Act 2016 was then repealed on 18 February 2026. That Act was the source of several hurdles unions had to clear before calling action in public services. From 25 August 2026, unions can also run statutory ballots electronically and in the workplace, not only by post.

Because these changes came in stages, the exact ballot and notice requirements that apply to a particular dispute depend on when the ballot opened. Your union will know which rules it is working under, and the government’s Employment Rights Act 2025 timeline lists the dates.

How a lawful strike is called

A strike is “official” when a trade union calls it and “lawful” when the union follows the legal procedure. In outline, the union must:

1. Tell the employer it intends to ballot, and who is being balloted.
2. Run the ballot through an independent scrutineer, by post or (since 25 August 2026) electronically or in the workplace.
3. Tell members and the employer the result.
4. Give the employer notice of the action before it starts, saying which members are involved and when.

A ballot mandate does not last for ever, and action has to start within the period the law allows. If the union gets any of this wrong, the employer can go to court for an injunction to stop the action. That is why unions are careful with membership records: a ballot sent to the wrong people can be challenged.

If you are not a union member, you are not balloted, but you can still join a lawful strike called by a union at your workplace. If you want a vote in future disputes, our guide to trade unions in the public sector covers the main unions for each sector.

Your pay on strike days

Your employer does not have to pay you for any time you are on strike. The deduction is normally a day’s pay for each day of strike, and how a “day’s pay” is calculated depends on your contract and your employer’s method. Annual salaried staff such as teachers and many NHS and council staff are paid in twelve monthly instalments, so the way the daily rate is worked out matters. Methods have been disputed in some sectors, and your union will tell you if it thinks your employer is taking too much.

Strike deductions are lawful even though they are not in your contract, because you are not doing the work the pay is for. The usual rules on deductions from wages do not protect pay for time you were on strike.

Other things can be affected:

• Pension: in a final salary or career average scheme, the days on strike may count as unpaid, which can reduce pensionable pay for that period. Some schemes let you buy the lost pension back.
• Shift enhancements and allowances for the strike days are normally lost along with basic pay.
• If you were already off sick or on booked leave on a strike day, most employers treat you as not taking part, but check how your employer records it.

Your union may pay strike pay from a hardship or strike fund. It is usually well below a normal day’s earnings and has conditions attached.

Action short of a strike

Unions sometimes call action short of a strike: working to rule, refusing overtime, refusing to cover for absent colleagues or declining tasks outside the contract. This also needs a lawful ballot.

Pay deductions here are less clear-cut. If the action means you are not doing part of your contractual work, your employer can either deduct pay for the part not done or, in some cases, refuse to accept partial performance and deduct the full day’s pay. An employer that wants to refuse partial performance is expected to make that clear in advance. Refusing purely voluntary work, such as overtime that is not contractual, should not lead to a deduction at all because you are not breaking your contract.

Protection from dismissal and other treatment

Dismissing you for taking part in lawful, official industrial action is automatically unfair, whatever your length of service. The Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens protection against detriment as well, so employers cannot lawfully single out strikers for worse treatment such as losing out on promotion or overtime.

Unofficial action (a walkout not backed by a union) is different. People who take part can be dismissed without the usual unfair dismissal protection. If you are unsure whether action is official, ask your union rep before you join it.

Days on strike do not break your continuous employment, but they do not count towards it either, so your start date for service-based rights can move forward slightly. Our guide on continuous service explains why that can matter for sick pay and redundancy.

Patients, pupils and public safety

Public sector strikes raise practical questions that private sector ones often do not. In the NHS, unions and employers usually agree “derogations” so that emergency and critical care continues. These are agreements made dispute by dispute, and you may be asked to work under one even on a strike day. In schools, the headteacher decides whether to stay open, partly close or close, and cannot use agency staff to cover striking teachers in most cases.

Professional duties still apply. Nurses, doctors, paramedics and other registered staff remain bound by their regulator’s code, and unions advise members on how to strike without leaving a patient unsafe.

Where to get help

Your union is the first port of call for anything about a ballot, notice, pay deduction or derogation. If your employer has deducted more than you think it should, raise it in writing through your employer’s payroll or HR team first. For a dispute that cannot be settled, ACAS can explain your options and run early conciliation before any tribunal claim. The gov.uk page on taking part in industrial action sets out the basic legal position.