Category: Legal

Government plans to increase tribunal time limit to six months

In an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill published yesterday, the government confirmed its plans to extend the time limit for bringing tribunal claims from three to six months.

The change marks a victory for UNISON, who have lobbied for this extension for a number of years.

Currently, tribunal claims need to be brought within three months of the act complained of – this includes cases of dismissal, discrimination and unlawful deduction of wages.

Head of UNISON’s legal services team Shantha David said: “UNISON has championed and campaigned for more time to resolve employment disputes, and we welcome the Government’s proposals to double the time in which to bring tribunal claims.

“This is a meaningful change that will allow workers and employers more time to resolve disputes and avoid long, protracted legal claims in an already burdened tribunal system.”

This landmark change to the tribunal system also fulfils a key election pledge, which Labour promised to deliver if they came into power.

Last year, Anneliese Dodds MP, now Minister for Women and Equalities, said that this measure would combat the “motherhood penalty”, by giving pregnant women who experience discrimination more time to assert their rights.

According to government research, one in nine women have been fired or made redundant when they returned to work after having a child, or were treated so badly they felt forced out of their job.

UNISON continues to closely engage with the Employment Rights Bill as it moves through parliament. And yesterday, the union’s director of political strategy and transformation, Maggi Ferncombe, gave evidence to the bill committee.

The article Government plans to increase tribunal time limit to six months first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Government plans to increase tribunal time limit to six months

In an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill published yesterday, the government confirmed its plans to extend the time limit for bringing tribunal claims from three to six months.

The change marks a victory for UNISON, who have lobbied for this extension for a number of years.

Currently, tribunal claims need to be brought within three months of the act complained of – this includes cases of dismissal, discrimination and unlawful deduction of wages.

Head of UNISON’s legal services team Shantha David said: “UNISON has championed and campaigned for more time to resolve employment disputes, and we welcome the Government’s proposals to double the time in which to bring tribunal claims.

“This is a meaningful change that will allow workers and employers more time to resolve disputes and avoid long, protracted legal claims in an already burdened tribunal system.”

This landmark change to the tribunal system also fulfils a key election pledge, which Labour promised to deliver if they came into power.

Last year, Anneliese Dodds MP, now Minister for Women and Equalities, said that this measure would combat the “motherhood penalty”, by giving pregnant women who experience discrimination more time to assert their rights.

According to government research, one in nine women have been fired or made redundant when they returned to work after having a child, or were treated so badly they felt forced out of their job.

UNISON continues to closely engage with the Employment Rights Bill as it moves through parliament. And yesterday, the union’s director of political strategy and transformation, Maggi Ferncombe, gave evidence to the bill committee.

The article Government plans to increase tribunal time limit to six months first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Opinion: The Employment Rights Bill will balance the scales

By UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea
The new Employment Rights Bill is on the way and it can’t come soon enough. It will contain a raft of measures delivering improved rights for individual workers, establishing new collective approaches in long-ignored sectors, and stripping away a decade of hostile restrictions on trade union activity.

Over the last decade, the balance of power at work has been tipped firmly away from workers. Change to laws, regulations and policies has allowed bad bosses to withhold contractual security from people who need varied hours; exploit loopholes and outsourcing to reduce rights and cut pay; and bar trade unions from organising workers and challenging bad practices. 

The measures set out in the bill won’t appear out of nowhere. Every provision is the result of years of campaigning and lobbying and – over the last year – lots of close work with allies in the Labour Party, the TUC and the wider labour movement.

This includes the learning and expertise gathered from the individual cases UNISON has taken on and won on your behalf, the collective negotiations we’ve conducted and the representations we’ve made to employers across the UK. These enabled us to secure pre-election policy pledges on priority issues, which were firmed into commitments in the King’s Speech in July and will be embedded in the bill this October.

What we expect from the bill

The scope and timetable of the bill are hugely ambitious.

It will introduce new employment rights in England, Scotland and Wales (Northern Ireland applies different employment laws) including on flexible and family-friendly working to prevent people making the tough choice to leave secure jobs to get the hours they need.

Changes will be proposed to stamp out the use of exploitative zero-hours and fire and rehire practices to bar workers from rights and security. A ‘two-tier’ code will be introduced so outsourcers can’t profit from worsening the pay and terms of workers. New routes for quick resolution of common breaches will be proposed, meaning workers won’t have to initiate long tribunal battles to get employers to do the right thing. A more powerful enforcement body will be tasked with tackling bad practices.

We expect that the bill will allow more people to benefit from consistent improvements to pay and terms that UNISON negotiates. Outsourced workers, school support staff and adult social care workers should be specifically referenced, taking the much-campaigned-for first step towards establishing a national care service in England.

For further details on what the bill includes, see our legal briefing.

How UNISON will engage

Of course, as always, the devil will be in the detail. We are preparing for our parliamentary, legal and technical experts to get involved in every step of the bill’s journey, engaging with the small print of each of the provisions, and undertaking the vast array of meetings, conversations, events and submissions needed to see the bill onto statute books (including adapting to fit or work with devolved powers) and adopted in employment policies and contracts.

However, what will bring this bill to life is your stories about the difference the changes could make for you. We’ll make sure your voice is heard, so look out for updates and details of how to get involved as this work unfolds. We will be working directly with some key groups, like care workers and school staff on the details as the legislation goes through.

The bill’s introduction will be only the start of the parliamentary process. As it makes its way through the difference stages to become law, many measures will attract tough opposition. UNISON will need to work with our allies to make sure what’s published is not neutralised or struck out by those with vested interests trying to push back on workers rights.

Trade union rights

We know that trade union rights will be a key battleground. We want to see progressive change here, including the removal of legal restrictions that prevent trade unions from offering membership to workers.

We also want to see the government lift the legal barriers to organising strike action, which will enable unions to use modern methods to make decisions, like running e-ballots for key votes.

I have no doubt these measures will be cheaply characterised and derided by our opponents, but they could hold the key to re-balancing industrial relations that have been all one-way for far too long.

When employers know strikes are possible, they work harder to avoid them – talking to workers, listening to unions and creating the kind of engaged workplaces needed to boost morale and success across the whole economy.

I’ve spent the last 15 years speaking out against Westminster-sanctioned worker exploitation, trade union restrictions and employer penny-pinching, calling out the damage caused to our vital public services.

UNISON will not miss this opportunity to speak up for a progressive agenda and show that what’s good for workers is also good for the services they deliver.

Expectations are high and we will be working with our trade union allies to make them a reality.

The article Opinion: The Employment Rights Bill will balance the scales first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Opinion: The Employment Rights Bill will balance the scales

By UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea
The new Employment Rights Bill is on the way and it can’t come soon enough. It will contain a raft of measures delivering improved rights for individual workers, establishing new collective approaches in long-ignored sectors, and stripping away a decade of hostile restrictions on trade union activity.

Over the last decade, the balance of power at work has been tipped firmly away from workers. Change to laws, regulations and policies has allowed bad bosses to withhold contractual security from people who need varied hours; exploit loopholes and outsourcing to reduce rights and cut pay; and bar trade unions from organising workers and challenging bad practices. 

The measures set out in the bill won’t appear out of nowhere. Every provision is the result of years of campaigning and lobbying and – over the last year – lots of close work with allies in the Labour Party, the TUC and the wider labour movement.

This includes the learning and expertise gathered from the individual cases UNISON has taken on and won on your behalf, the collective negotiations we’ve conducted and the representations we’ve made to employers across the UK. These enabled us to secure pre-election policy pledges on priority issues, which were firmed into commitments in the King’s Speech in July and will be embedded in the bill this October.

What we expect from the bill

The scope and timetable of the bill are hugely ambitious.

It will introduce new employment rights in England, Scotland and Wales (Northern Ireland applies different employment laws) including on flexible and family-friendly working to prevent people making the tough choice to leave secure jobs to get the hours they need.

Changes will be proposed to stamp out the use of exploitative zero-hours and fire and rehire practices to bar workers from rights and security. A ‘two-tier’ code will be introduced so outsourcers can’t profit from worsening the pay and terms of workers. New routes for quick resolution of common breaches will be proposed, meaning workers won’t have to initiate long tribunal battles to get employers to do the right thing. A more powerful enforcement body will be tasked with tackling bad practices.

We expect that the bill will allow more people to benefit from consistent improvements to pay and terms that UNISON negotiates. Outsourced workers, school support staff and adult social care workers should be specifically referenced, taking the much-campaigned-for first step towards establishing a national care service in England.

For further details on what the bill includes, see our legal briefing.

How UNISON will engage

Of course, as always, the devil will be in the detail. We are preparing for our parliamentary, legal and technical experts to get involved in every step of the bill’s journey, engaging with the small print of each of the provisions, and undertaking the vast array of meetings, conversations, events and submissions needed to see the bill onto statute books (including adapting to fit or work with devolved powers) and adopted in employment policies and contracts.

However, what will bring this bill to life is your stories about the difference the changes could make for you. We’ll make sure your voice is heard, so look out for updates and details of how to get involved as this work unfolds. We will be working directly with some key groups, like care workers and school staff on the details as the legislation goes through.

The bill’s introduction will be only the start of the parliamentary process. As it makes its way through the difference stages to become law, many measures will attract tough opposition. UNISON will need to work with our allies to make sure what’s published is not neutralised or struck out by those with vested interests trying to push back on workers rights.

Trade union rights

We know that trade union rights will be a key battleground. We want to see progressive change here, including the removal of legal restrictions that prevent trade unions from offering membership to workers.

We also want to see the government lift the legal barriers to organising strike action, which will enable unions to use modern methods to make decisions, like running e-ballots for key votes.

I have no doubt these measures will be cheaply characterised and derided by our opponents, but they could hold the key to re-balancing industrial relations that have been all one-way for far too long.

When employers know strikes are possible, they work harder to avoid them – talking to workers, listening to unions and creating the kind of engaged workplaces needed to boost morale and success across the whole economy.

I’ve spent the last 15 years speaking out against Westminster-sanctioned worker exploitation, trade union restrictions and employer penny-pinching, calling out the damage caused to our vital public services.

UNISON will not miss this opportunity to speak up for a progressive agenda and show that what’s good for workers is also good for the services they deliver.

Expectations are high and we will be working with our trade union allies to make them a reality.

The article Opinion: The Employment Rights Bill will balance the scales first appeared on the UNISON National site.

High Court rules government’s Windrush failings are unlawful

The government’s decision to scrap key recommendations from the independent review into the Windrush scandal was unlawful, the High Court has ruled today (Wednesday), says UNISON.

The court found Suella Braverman was “not justified” in breaking promises to create a migrants’ commissioner and boost the powers of the chief inspector for borders and immigration.

Both recommendations had come out of the Windrush Learned Lessons Review – overseen by Wendy Williams. They were to be the checks and balances to prevent something like Windrush from ever happening again.

But three years later, the then home secretary, keen to clear the way for the government’s controversial flights to Rwanda scheme, decided to remove any likely future opposition to the ‘stop the boats’ policy, says UNISON.

Ms Braverman ditched key proposals, despite her predecessor Priti Patel having previously accepted the Windrush findings in full, says UNISON.

Suella Braverman’s actions prompted the union to intervene in the case brought by Windrush victim Trevor Donald last year.

In today’s judgment, the High Court declared the secretary of state’s decision to get rid of Windrush recommendations nine and ten as unlawful. The judge said Ms Braverman failed to consult properly and could not justify the discriminatory impact upon Windrush victims.

The judge also said the then home secretary failed to comply with the public sector equality duty*, given the “adverse impact on migrants and future migrants more generally”.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “The hostile environment had devastating consequences for those affected by the Windrush scandal.

“Rather than learning the lessons, the government’s response has been dire. Many people are still waiting for justice and migrant workers in the UK continue to fear the Home Office.

“The Windrush Review was set up to ensure such terrible miscarriages of justice could never happen again. All 30 of its recommendations were accepted by Priti Patel, the home secretary at the time.

“But Suella Braverman failed on promises made by her government. She decided she’d have no truck with anything or anyone that might stand in the way of putting migrants on flights to Rwanda. She cruelly ditched key recommendations that sought to right some of the many Windrush wrongs.

“No government is above the law. Thankfully the then home secretary’s been caught bang to rights. Ministers must treat all people with dignity and respect, and act with integrity.

“The hope is the next government will act quickly to make amends to this disgraceful chapter in our history.”

Notes to editors:
– The claimant in the judicial review, Trevor Donald, arrived in the UK in 1967, aged 12, and was granted indefinite leave to remain in 1971. But when he visited Jamaica in 2010 to attend his mother’s funeral, he was prevented from returning to the UK and exiled for nine years before the scandal finally came to light. He was challenging the decision of the then home secretary Suella Braverman in early 2023 to scrap key recommendations from the 30 made by the independent review into the Windrush scandal. These were a commitment to establish a migrants’ commissioner (recommendation 9), a strengthening of the powers of the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration (10), and the holding of reconciliation events for affected individuals and their families (3). The challenge to recommendation three was unsuccessful.
– UNISON’s application to the High Court was supported by evidence from UNISON member Michael Braithwaite, a London teaching assistant, who works with children with special educational needs. Michael lost his job due to the Windrush scandal, which he described as “a total nightmare that destroyed my life.” UNISON gave evidence at the judicial review over two days in late April 2023.
– On 21 June 2018, the then home secretary Sajid Javid commissioned Wendy Williams CBE as the independent adviser to the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, which had been announced on 2 May 2018 as part of the response to Windrush. The review was published in March 2020. On 23 June 2020, Priti Patel, now home secretary, gave a statement to the House of Commons. In this, she acknowledged there had been “unspeakable injustices and institutional failings spanning successive governments over several decades”. Priti Patel apologised unreservedly for the pain, suffering and misery caused. She confirmed she would be accepting the recommendations in full. But on 26 January 2023, Suella Braverman decided to abandon three of these commitments. UNISON worked with Mr Donald’s lawyers and intervened to support his case with the Black Equity Organisation.
– The court held that the secretary of state’s decision to abandon recommendation 9 and 10 was unlawful because the secretary of state: failed to consult key stakeholders; could not justify the discriminatory effects of her decision on victims of the Windrush scandal, and failed to comply with the public sector equality duty.
– *The public sector equality duty means public authorities must think about whether people with protected characteristics will suffer any particular disadvantage. They should take action to meet these needs or reduce the inequalities.
– The judgment was handed down today (Wednesday) during UNISON’s annual conference in Brighton, which continues until Friday.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.High

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

The article High Court rules government’s Windrush failings are unlawful first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Unfair tribunal fees plan shows government is out of ideas, says UNISON

Commenting on the launch of a government consultation into tribunal fees, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:

“The government should be tackling the real issues the country faces, not trying to pick another fight with working people.

“The fact that ministers want to reheat a failed and illegal policy shows that this is a government that ran out of ideas some time ago and needs to step aside.

“Tribunal fees denied the poorest and most vulnerable access to justice. The only people who would benefit from their reintroduction are unscrupulous bosses.

“When UNISON forced the fees to be scrapped in 2017, the UK Supreme Court said the government had acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally. Nothing has changed. Tribunal fees were unfair then and they are still unfair today.”

Notes to editors:
– The judgment UNISON v The Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 2015/0233 can be found here
– The seven Supreme Court judges ridiculed the government’s misunderstanding of “elementary economics, and plain common sense”, when ministers claimed higher fees would mean increased demand. The Supreme Court also stressed that the administration of justice was not merely a public service, where courts and tribunals were only of value to the “users” who appeared before them and who obtained a remedy. It also said the fall in claims when fees came in was “so sharp, so substantial and so sustained” that they could not reasonably be afforded by those on low to middle incomes.
– Employment tribunal fees were originally introduced on 29 July 2013.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Dan Ashley M: 07908 672893 E: d.ashley@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen M 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk

The article Unfair tribunal fees plan shows government is out of ideas, says UNISON first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Unfair tribunal fees plan shows government is out of ideas, says UNISON

Commenting on the launch of a government consultation into tribunal fees, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:

“The government should be tackling the real issues the country faces, not trying to pick another fight with working people.

“The fact that ministers want to reheat a failed and illegal policy shows that this is a government that ran out of ideas some time ago and needs to step aside.

“Tribunal fees denied the poorest and most vulnerable access to justice. The only people who would benefit from their reintroduction are unscrupulous bosses.

“When UNISON forced the fees to be scrapped in 2017, the UK Supreme Court said the government had acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally. Nothing has changed. Tribunal fees were unfair then and they are still unfair today.”

Notes to editors:
– The judgment UNISON v The Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 2015/0233 can be found here
– The seven Supreme Court judges ridiculed the government’s misunderstanding of “elementary economics, and plain common sense”, when ministers claimed higher fees would mean increased demand. The Supreme Court also stressed that the administration of justice was not merely a public service, where courts and tribunals were only of value to the “users” who appeared before them and who obtained a remedy. It also said the fall in claims when fees came in was “so sharp, so substantial and so sustained” that they could not reasonably be afforded by those on low to middle incomes.
– Employment tribunal fees were originally introduced on 29 July 2013.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Dan Ashley M: 07908 672893 E: d.ashley@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen M 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk

The article Unfair tribunal fees plan shows government is out of ideas, says UNISON first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON given go-ahead to join judicial review of government inaction over Windrush

UNISON has been given the go-ahead to join a legal challenge of former home secretary Suella Braverman’s decision to renege on three key recommendations made by the Windrush scandal inquiry.

In December, a High Court judge granted a private individual, Trevor Donald, permission to lodge a judicial review of Ms Braverman’s actions, in a hearing that is likely be heard some time between March and May this year.

At the same time, both UNISON and civil rights group the Black Equity Organisation (BEO) were granted permission to ‘intervene’, or join the case. Each will be able to give evidence and argue their position when the matter comes to court.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said today: “This is a landmark case to tackle a dreadful injustice caused by this grim period of recent history. Hundreds of lives and relationships have been torn apart by this government’s cruel and catastrophic decisions.

“Prior to and since the Windrush scandal broke, UNISON has worked actively to represent people who have been similarly affected by the “hostile environment”, through no fault of their own. It’s important for the union to be part of this case, to ensure all those affected have the best chance to rebuild what they’ve lost.”

The Windrush scandal came to light in 2018, when it was revealed that members of the Windrush generation were being declared “immigration offenders” and denied access to public services, housing and jobs. At least 83 people were wrongly deported despite having the right to live and work in the UK.

‘Ignorance and thoughtlessness’

Led by Wendy Williams, the inquiry published its findings, the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, in March 2020. It concluded that the Home Office had shown “ignorance and thoughtlessness” on race throughout the scandal, that immigration regulations were tightened “with complete disregard for the Windrush generation” and officials had made “irrational” demands for multiple documents to establish residency rights.

Ms Williams made 30 recommendations to avoid a repeat of the scandal, and the then-home secretary Priti Patel confirmed an action plan to implement them. Key among these was a commitment to create the post of a migrants’ commissioner, who would be responsible for speaking up for migrants and identifying systemic problems within the UK immigration system.

However, in January 2023 the new home secretary, Ms Braverman, decided to abandon the commitment to the commissioner role alongside the commitment to strengthen the powers of the immigration watchdog and to run reconciliation events with Windrush families.

UNISON litigation

UNISON launched its litigation in June 2023, during the Year of the Black Worker. The union believes that both the migrants’ commissioner and a strengthened watchdog would help to protect against a future ‘Windrush scandal’, allowing for greater protections for migrant workers and act as a break on yet more inhumane policies towards refugees.

The claimant in the judicial review, Mr Donald, is a member of the Windrush generation who arrived in the UK in 1967, aged 12, and was granted indefinite leave to remain in 1971.

Yet, when he visited Jamaica in 2010, to attend his mother’s funeral, he was prevented from returning to the UK and, effectively, exiled for nine years – until the scandal of which he was one of many victims finally came to light.

UNISON’s application to the High Court was supported by evidence  from UNISON member Michael Braithwaite, a London teaching assistant, working in particular with children with special educational needs, who lost his job due to the Windrush scandal, “a total nightmare that destroyed my life.”

When he learned of Ms Braverman’s reversal of the government commitment, Mr Braithwaite’s view was that, “It felt like we were being treated as if we didn’t matter again, as if no one really cared about what had happened… What scares me is that the hostile environment is still with us.”

Surviving the Windrush scandal

 

The article UNISON given go-ahead to join judicial review of government inaction over Windrush first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON given go-ahead to join judicial review of government inaction over Windrush

UNISON has been given the go-ahead to join a legal challenge of former home secretary Suella Braverman’s decision to renege on three key recommendations made by the Windrush scandal inquiry.

In December, a High Court judge granted a private individual, Trevor Donald, permission to lodge a judicial review of Ms Braverman’s actions, in a hearing that is likely be heard some time between March and May this year.

At the same time, both UNISON and civil rights group the Black Equity Organisation (BEO) were granted permission to ‘intervene’, or join the case. Each will be able to give evidence and argue their position when the matter comes to court.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said today: “This is a landmark case to tackle a dreadful injustice caused by this grim period of recent history. Hundreds of lives and relationships have been torn apart by this government’s cruel and catastrophic decisions.

“Prior to and since the Windrush scandal broke, UNISON has worked actively to represent people who have been similarly affected by the “hostile environment”, through no fault of their own. It’s important for the union to be part of this case, to ensure all those affected have the best chance to rebuild what they’ve lost.”

The Windrush scandal came to light in 2018, when it was revealed that members of the Windrush generation were being declared “immigration offenders” and denied access to public services, housing and jobs. At least 83 people were wrongly deported despite having the right to live and work in the UK.

‘Ignorance and thoughtlessness’

Led by Wendy Williams, the inquiry published its findings, the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, in March 2020. It concluded that the Home Office had shown “ignorance and thoughtlessness” on race throughout the scandal, that immigration regulations were tightened “with complete disregard for the Windrush generation” and officials had made “irrational” demands for multiple documents to establish residency rights.

Ms Williams made 30 recommendations to avoid a repeat of the scandal, and the then-home secretary Priti Patel confirmed an action plan to implement them. Key among these was a commitment to create the post of a migrants’ commissioner, who would be responsible for speaking up for migrants and identifying systemic problems within the UK immigration system.

However, in January 2023 the new home secretary, Ms Braverman, decided to abandon the commitment to the commissioner role alongside the commitment to strengthen the powers of the immigration watchdog and to run reconciliation events with Windrush families.

UNISON litigation

UNISON launched its litigation in June 2023, during the Year of the Black Worker. The union believes that both the migrants’ commissioner and a strengthened watchdog would help to protect against a future ‘Windrush scandal’, allowing for greater protections for migrant workers and act as a break on yet more inhumane policies towards refugees.

The claimant in the judicial review, Mr Donald, is a member of the Windrush generation who arrived in the UK in 1967, aged 12, and was granted indefinite leave to remain in 1971.

Yet, when he visited Jamaica in 2010, to attend his mother’s funeral, he was prevented from returning to the UK and, effectively, exiled for nine years – until the scandal of which he was one of many victims finally came to light.

UNISON’s application to the High Court was supported by evidence  from UNISON member Michael Braithwaite, a London teaching assistant, working in particular with children with special educational needs, who lost his job due to the Windrush scandal, “a total nightmare that destroyed my life.”

When he learned of Ms Braverman’s reversal of the government commitment, Mr Braithwaite’s view was that, “It felt like we were being treated as if we didn’t matter again, as if no one really cared about what had happened… What scares me is that the hostile environment is still with us.”

Surviving the Windrush scandal

 

The article UNISON given go-ahead to join judicial review of government inaction over Windrush first appeared on the UNISON National site.

High Court rules ‘strike-breaking’ agency worker regulations unlawful

UNISON has defeated the government in the High Court over strike-breaking legislation that was introduced last summer.

The High Court has ruled that the legislation, which allows employers to use agency workers to replace those on strike, was unlawful, unfair and irrational.

The case marks another success for UNISON and its members in challenging laws restricting workers’ rights.

The judgment follows successful judicial review proceedings lodged by UNISON alongside the NASUWT and TUC, whose case is on behalf of 11 unions. Together, the unions represent millions of workers in the UK.

Since 1976, it has been illegal for employers to introduce or supply agency workers to replace workers who are taking part in a strike or industrial action.

However, in the heat of last summer’s rail strikes, then secretary of state Kwasi Kwarteng rapidly removed this regulation without consultation. 

Since July 2022, agencies have been permitted to supply temporary workers to replace striking workers. Following a hearing in May at the High Court, Mr Justice Linden has today upheld the claims of UNISON and other unions that the government acted unfairly, unlawfully, and irrationally. 

The judgment now quashes this strike-breaking legislation, removing it from the statute books. The previous protection for striking workers has been restored. 

Commenting on the judgment, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:  

“No one ever wants to go on strike. But when that difficult decision has been taken, employers should be throwing everything but the kitchen sink at ending a dispute, not inflaming tensions by undermining staff.  

“This futile piece of legislation has barely spent a year on the statute book. Parachuting untrained agency workers into the midst of industrial hostilities isn’t fair or safe for them, the public or the staff out on strike. 

“This is embarrassing for ministers. Not only did Kwasi Kwarteng help trash the economy as chancellor, now his bulldozer attitude when business secretary has made the government look extremely foolish. 

“With his fingers stuck firmly in his ears, Kwasi Kwarteng ignored the advice of almost everyone around him, showing a total disregard for working people and their historic rights.”

And she continued: “Hopefully, the government has learned a big lesson. If ministers act in haste, they’ll end up repenting at leisure, as this judgment proves. 

“To spare themselves future shame, ministers should ditch their ill-advised strikes bill, and focus instead on working with unions to solve the country’s many problems.” 

UNISON’s director of legal services Adam Creme said: “UNISON will speak up and challenge unlawful legislation that restricts our members’ rights. This judgment is the latest in a long line of victories in strategic litigation for UNISON and our members”.

UNISON continues to fight to protect the right to strike as the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill continues to make its way through parliament.  

The article High Court rules ‘strike-breaking’ agency worker regulations unlawful first appeared on the UNISON National site.