Part VE+W+S Industrial action

[F1Requirement on trade union to give notice of industrial action]E+W+S

[234A F2Notice to employers of industrial action.E+W+S

(1)An act done by a trade union to induce a person to take part, or continue to take part, in industrial action is not protected as respects his employer unless the union has taken or takes such steps as are reasonably necessary to ensure that the employer receives within the appropriate period a relevant notice covering the act.

(2)Subsection (1) imposes a requirement in the case of an employer only if it is reasonable for the union to believe, at the latest time when steps could be taken to ensure that he receives such a notice, that he is the employer of persons who will be or have been induced to take part, or continue to take part, in the industrial action.

(3)For the purposes of this section a relevant notice is a notice in writing which—

(a)[F3contains such information in the union’s possession as would help the employer to make plans and bring information to the attention of those of his employees whom]]the union intends to induce or has induced to take part, or continue to take part, in the industrial action (“the affected employees”),

(b)states whether industrial action is intended to be continuous or discontinuous and specifies—

(i)where it is to be continuous, the intended date for any of the affected employees to begin to take part in the action,

(ii)where it is to be discontinuous, the intended dates for any of the affected employees to take part in the action, and

(c)states that it is given for the purposes of this section.

(4)For the purposes of subsection (1) the appropriate period is the period—

(a)beginning with the day when the union satisfies the requirement of section 231A in relation to the ballot in respect of the industrial action, and

(b)ending with the seventh day before the day, or before the first of the days, specified in the relevant notice.

(5)For the purposes of subsection (1) a relevant notice covers an act done by the union if the person induced is one of the affected employees and—

(a)where he is induced to take part or continue to take part in industrial action which the union intends to be continuous, if—

(i)the notice states that the union intends the industrial action to be continuous, and

(ii)there is no participation by him in the industrial action before the date specified in the notice in consequence of any inducement by the union not covered by a relevant notice; and

(b)where he is induced to take part or continue to take part in industrial action which the union intends to be discontinuous, if there is no participation by him in the industrial action on a day not so specified in consequence of any inducement by the union not covered by a relevant notice.

[F4(5A)These rules apply for the purposes of paragraph (a) of subsection (3)—

(a)if the union possesses information as to the number, category or work-place of the employees concerned, a notice must contain that information (at least);

(b)if a notice does not name any employees, that fact shall not be a ground for holding that it does not comply with paragraph (a) of subsection (3).]

(6)For the purposes of this section—

(a)a union intends industrial action to be discontinuous if it intends it to take place only on some days on which there is an opportunity to take the action, and

(b)a union intends industrial action to be continuous if it intends it to be not so restricted.

(7)[F5Subject to subsections (7A) and (7B),]Where—

(a)continuous industrial action which has been authorised or endorsed by a union ceases to be so authorised or endorsed [F6otherwise than to enable the union to comply with a court order or an undertaking given to a court], and

(b)the industrial action has at a later date again been authorised or endorsed by the union (whether as continuous or discontinuous action),

no relevant notice covering acts done to induce persons to take part in the earlier action shall operate to cover acts done to induce persons to take part in the action authorised or endorsed at the later date and this section shall apply in relation to an act to induce a person to take part, or continue to take part, in the industrial action after that date as if the references in subsection (3)(b)(i) to the industrial action were to the industrial action taking place after that date.

[F7(7A)Subsection (7) shall not apply where industrial action ceases to be authorised or endorsed in order to enable the union to comply with a court order or an undertaking given to a court.

F7(7B)Subsection (7) shall not apply where—

(a)a union agrees with an employer, before industrial action ceases to be authorised or endorsed, that it will cease to be authorised or endorsed with effect from a date specified in the agreement (“the suspension date") and that it may again be authorised or endorsed with effect from a date not earlier than a date specified in the agreement (“the resumption date"),

(b)the action ceases to be authorised or endorsed with effect from the suspension date, and

(c)the action is again authorised or endorsed with effect from a date which is not earlier than the resumption date or such later date as may be agreed between the union and the employer.]

(8)The requirement imposed on a trade union by subsection (1) shall be treated as having been complied with if the steps were taken by other relevant persons or committees whose acts were authorised or endorsed by the union and references to the belief or intention of the union in subsection (2) or, as the case may be, subsections (3), (5) and (6) shall be construed as references to the belief or the intention of the person or committee taking the steps.

(9)The provisions of section 20(2) to (4) apply for the purpose of determining for the purposes of subsection (1) who are relevant persons or committees and whether the trade union is to be taken to have authorised or endorsed the steps the person or committee took and for the purposes of [F8subsections (7) to (7B)] whether the trade union is to be taken to have authorised or endorsed the industrial action.