Prohibited employers from subjecting workers to detriments for taking industrial action and enabled tribunal award adjustments for related claims.
These Regulations establish legal protections for workers against being subjected to any form of detriment by their employers for participating in protected industrial action.
The instrument implements powers under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 to define the scope of prohibited employer actions and integrates these protections into the existing framework for employment tribunal awards.
It applies to workers in England, Wales, and Scotland, while explicitly preserving the common law right of employers to deduct pay for time spent on strike.
Arguments For
The regulations state that any detriment is prohibited under section 236A(1) of the 1992 Act, providing a broad scope of protection for workers engaging in industrial action.
Proponents may argue that the instrument provides clarity by explicitly including section 236A in the jurisdictions where tribunals can adjust awards based on compliance with codes of practice.
The document specifies that common law rules regarding pay deductions for industrial action remain intact, maintaining existing legal standards for salary adjustments during strikes.
Arguments Against
Legal scholars might note that the regulations do not define specific types of "detriment," potentially leaving the term open to broad interpretation by tribunals.
Affected employers may express concern regarding the expansion of tribunal jurisdictions, which allows for adjusted financial awards if codes of practice are not followed.
The absence of a full impact assessment has been noted in the document, which might be questioned by parties seeking detailed analysis of the costs to the private and voluntary sectors.
Citation, commencement and extent
- -(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Protection Against Detriment (Industrial Action) Regulations 2026.
- (2) These Regulations come into force on 30th October 2026.
- (3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales and Scotland.
This section establishes the official name of the regulations and sets the date they become legally active as 30 October 2026.
It limits the geographic jurisdiction of the rules to England, Wales, and Scotland.
Interpretation
- In these Regulations 'the 1992 Act' means the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
This section defines the term 'the 1992 Act' to refer specifically to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
This ensures consistency when the regulations refer to existing statutory frameworks.
Protection against detriment
- Any detriment is a prescribed detriment( 3 ) for the purpose of section 236A(1) (protection against detriment for taking industrial action) of the 1992 Act.
This provision clarifies that for the purposes of worker protection laws, any form of disadvantage or harm caused by an employer qualifies as a 'prescribed detriment.' It gives effect to the right of workers not to be treated unfairly for participating in industrial action.
Common law rules on deduction of pay
- Nothing in these Regulations affects the common law rules enabling the deduction of pay on account of a worker having taken part in protected industrial action( 4 ).
This section ensures that the new protections against detriment do not prevent employers from withholding wages for the period a worker was on strike. It preserves existing common law principles that allow for pay deductions directly related to taking part in protected industrial action.
Amendment of Schedule A2 to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992
- In the list in Schedule A2( 5 ) to the 1992 Act (tribunal jurisdictions to which section 207A applies), after the entry relating to section 189 of that Act insert-
'Section 236A of this Act (detriment on grounds of industrial action)'.
This section adds detriment claims related to industrial action to the list of cases where employment tribunals can increase or decrease financial awards.
The tribunal may adjust these awards if either the employer or the worker has failed to comply with relevant ACAS Codes of Practice.
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