Tougher UK strike laws 'wider than previously proposed', says expert

If passed in its current form, the Trade Union Bill would introduce a 50% voting turnout requirement and an additional threshold requiring 40% support for industrial action in certain key sectors. It would also set a four-month time limit on any mandate for strike action and lift the ban on the use of agency staff to cover for striking workers, amongst other measures.

Employment law expert Christopher Mordue of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, described the proposed reform package as "radical".

"The tougher thresholds on strike ballots have been well-trailed and will clearly make it harder for unions to get a mandate for lawful action," he said. "However, recent ballots in the transport sector had levels of turnout and support which would have cleared these new requirements - so employers cannot assume that the bar is impossible to clear."

"The new four-month time limit on strike ballots is also a critical development - even if unions get a mandate for action, they will have to renew this after four months or call off their action. Levels of support may be weakened by that stage, making a fresh mandate difficult to secure. While this change may avoid long-running low level disruption in reliance on an old mandate, employers may also face more intense and concentrated campaigns as unions seek to build pressure and disruption within the four-month window," he said.

Strikes are currently legal if they receive the approval of the majority of those balloted. Once in force, the Trade Union Bill would introduce a 50% turnout requirement in addition to this. If the proposed strike would affect essential public services such as transport, health, fire services or education it would require a majority vote, with that majority making up at least 40% of all union members eligible to vote. The government is consulting on which occupations should be included within this category.

The new legislation would extend the notice that employers must be given before industrial action can proceed from seven days to two weeks, and would require a clear description of the trade dispute and planned industrial action to be included on the ballot paper. It would also introduce more transparency over taxpayer-funded subsidies to trade unions, such as funding for full-time union representatives, and change the rules around subscriptions so that members have to opt in to pay the political levy element.

The government is also consulting on removing the existing ban on using agency workers to cover for employees taking part in industrial action, and on new rules on picketing. Proposals include reforms to the existing 'Code of Practice' on picketing, requiring a named union official to be available to the police to oversee the picket line and new protections for employees who  choose not to take part in the industrial action. It is also consulting on a new criminal offence of "intimidation on the picket line" and rules requiring unions to give advance notice of demonstrations and campaigns linked to industrial action (which could impact on some  leverage campaigns). These consultations, and the one on occupations subject to the 40% threshold, close on 9 September.

The bill would also enhance the trade union oversight role played by the Certification Officer.

Employment law expert Christopher Mordue said that it remained to be seen how unions would react to the changes, particularly those that had not been widely trailed by the Conservative government.

"While we could see an increase in unofficial action and wildcat strikes, unions have also been making increasing use over recent years of leverage campaigns – using demonstrations, protests and social media campaigns to open up new lines of attack on the employer and its senior management, with the aim of getting shareholders, customers, suppliers and the public to put pressure on the employer to back the union demands," he said.

"These campaigns – which can be very disruptive and difficult to counter – can be run without any industrial action ballot, making them an even more attractive option for the unions," he said.