On 8 December 2023, regulations to implement minimum service levels (MSLs) for passenger rail and ambulance services during periods of strike action in England, Scotland and Wales came into force (Government News Story). On the same date, the statutory Code of Practice on the reasonable steps a trade union should take to comply with MSLs came into effect under the Code of Practice (Reasonable Steps for Trade Unions) Order 2023. Regulations to implement MSLs for border security came into force on 12 December 2023. The draft regulations were laid before Parliament last month following consultations on proposed MSLs for these sectors, together with the finalised Code (see FC Features 14 November 2023 and 8 November 2023).
The regulations and Code of Practice are made under the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, which passed into law in July 2023 (see FC Feature 20 July 2023). The Act amends the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 to empower the Secretary of State to implement MSLs through secondary legislation in six key sectors. Once MSLs are in place for a specified sector and a trade union gives notice of strike action, an employer may issue a work notice identifying workers who are required to work during a strike. Trade unions must then take reasonable steps to ensure all identified union members comply.
The government is currently consulting on proposed MSLs in relation to education (see FC Feature 28 November 2023). Consultations on MSLs for fire and rescue and hospital services closed in May and November 2023 respectively (see FC Features 10 February 2023 and 20 September 2023).
Passenger rail services
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels: Passenger Railway Services) Regulations 2023 specify MSLs for infrastructure and train operation services during strike periods. For train operation services, these are the equivalent of 40% of the usual timetabled service; in relation to infrastructure services, these are the operation of priority routes and certain other connecting routes within set hours. Non-statutory Guidance: MSLs for passenger rail has also been published.
Border security
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels: Border Security) Regulations 2023 create MSLs that apply to Border Force employees and selected HM Passport Office staff where passport services are required for national security reasons to ensure all ports and airports remain open during a strike. The MSLs require that border security services should be provided at a level no less effective than if a strike were not taking place.
Ambulance services
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels: NHS Ambulance Services and the NHS Patient Transport Services) Regulations 2023 set out MSLs for services provided by ambulance trusts to ensure that cases that are life-threatening, or where there is no reasonable clinical alternative to an ambulance response, are responded to during strike action. The service levels are set so that on each strike day a response will be provided to emergency 999 ambulance calls, healthcare professional calls and certain other transport requests. The regulations apply to the ten NHS ambulance trusts in England and the Isle of Wight NHS Trust.
First featured on the Employment News Service on 8 December 2023.
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