Picket lines have sprung up across the months for different industries, from rail workers to barristers (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

From nurses to rail workers, barristers to higher education staff, 2022 and the first weeks of 2023 have been witness to countless strike action.

Whether you’re already part of a union or considering joining, the benefits are endless when it comes to organising strike action.

The union leaders will know how to properly stage action that could lead to benefits for you and your colleagues.

But it’s fair to assume many might be anxious to strike, especially during the cost of living crisis when a steady wage is more important than ever.

What are your rights when it comes to striking – can your employer fire you for taking part?

Can you be fired for going on strike?

For the most part – and, very importantly, when organised correctly – workers have the legal right to go on strike without facing any disciplinary action.

This means that, should you go on a balloted strike organised by your union, you are legally protected from being fired.

Worksmart, a service backed by the Trades Union Congress, explains the protected window for strike action is 12 weeks. So you can strike for 12 weeks without any consequences beyond having your wages docked.

However, employers can deduct the amount the employee would have earned during the strike from their next paycheque. This is because you are technically in breach of your contract.

As a result, your pay can be docked, but only the amount you would’ve earned had you not gone on strike. Moreover, your employer can sue you for breaking your contract – though this doesn’t happen often due to the sheer volume of workers who go on strike when a union organises action.

Union leaders, like RMT’s Mick Lynch, will organise a ballot before announcing an official strike (Picture: PA)

How do I know my strike is balloted?

For strike action to be considered legitimate and be protected for the 12 weeks, it must follow some rules.

The first is that it is properly balloted. A ballot for industrial action must:

be supervised by a qualified independent person (a ‘scrutineer’ – often someone from an organisation like the Electoral Reform Society) appointed by the union if over 50 members are being balloted

be held before the union asks members to take or continue taking action

be open to all members the union wants to take action

be a postal ballot where members vote by marking a box on a voting paper and return it in a prepaid envelope

include information on what the ballot is about and where to post your vote.

Any action outside of these regulations will be considered unofficial, and you could face dismissal.

If you are fired at any time within the 12 weeks after the action began, you can take your employer to a tribunal for unfair dismissal.

When you can be fired for striking

Striking isn’t always a protected act.

As per Gov.uk, you could be fired or face disciplinary action if:

the union hasn’t held a properly organised ballot

the union hasn’t given the employer the correct notice for balloting members or taking action

the union hasn’t called its members to take action because they think the dispute is settled or action is called by someone who doesn’t have the authority to do so

it’s in support of workers taking action against another employer (otherwise known as ‘sympathy’ or ‘secondary’ action)

it’s in support of only employing union members (otherwise known as a ‘closed shop’)

it breaks any other parts of industrial action law.

The only action you can take if you’re fired after an unofficial strike is if you were the only employee let go. For example, if you and several others took part in unofficial striking, but only you were picked out, you can enter an employment tribunal.

If all staff who took part are let go, you wont have any grounds to do so.

MORE : Government announces anti-strike laws for ‘minimum safety’ levels of staff

MORE : Why aren’t the police allowed to go on strike and is any other profession banned?

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