How you respond to the threat of industrial action will be strongly influenced by the particular circumstances of the workforce dispute in question. However, strike action by employees will only be 'legal' if it has prior authorisation from a relevant trade union, (or if there isn't prior authorisation, the union subsequently endorses employees' unofficial action).
Employers can take legal action against any trade union which calls for strike action before it has complied with very prescriptive statutory balloting requirements. By law, unions must give employers seven days' notice of strike action and must provide the employer with a sample voting paper at least three days before any ballot over proposed industrial action. An employer who believes that any of the statutory requirements for a proper ballot have not been met can challenge the legality of the proposed action, including seeking an injunction to prevent a strike going ahead.
If workers vote in favour of strike action, this must begin within four weeks of a ballot taking place unless this period is extended by agreement – which the employer may be willing to agree to in order to facilitate further negotiation to avoid the threatened walk-out.
The dismissal of any striking employee during the first 12 weeks of a lawfully organised official strike will be deemed to be automatically unfair. However, employees can potentially be dismissed after this 12-week period if an employer can show it has made genuine attempts to negotiate a settlement. An employee dismissed while taking part in an 'unofficial' strike cannot claim unfair dismissal. However, employees taking strike action, even if it is official, will invariably be in breach of contract, so will lose their right to receive pay during such action
