Sixth Delegated Legislation Committee

2 September 2026

Contents updated on 2 Sept 2026

The Minister explains that the Supreme Court’s 2024 Mercer judgment found section 146 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992 incompatible with Article 11 ECHR because protections from detriment did not extend to protected industrial action, creating a legal gap allowing bad-faith employers to penalise striking workers. She frames industrial action as a last resort but a fundamental element of collective worker voice and states the purpose of the statutory instrument is to close this gap and restore ECHR compatibility.

Committee Wed, 2 Sept 2026 Actual start 14:15 House of Commons

16:00 - 18:18

Speaker 1

Act 1992. This instrument is being introduced to provide essential protection to workers, ensuring they can take industrial action without being treated unfairly by their employer as a result. The 2024 Supreme Court Mercer judgment ruled that the current protections from detriment for trade union activity under section 146 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act do not extend to protected industrial action. As a result, the Supreme Court made a declaration of incompatibility between UK legislation and Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to free association.

This means that there is a gap in the law which could enable bad faith employers to unfairly penalise workers who are taking industrial action. While it should always be treated as a last resort, this government believes that industrial action is an integral and vital part of a worker's right to express their collective voice if they wish to choose to do so. If a worker does choose to take industrial action, it's essential that employers treat them fairly and with respect, as the vast majority of employers have always done. This statutory instrument remedies the existing gap in the law, enabling workers taking industrial action without being at risk of suffering detriment as a result. It also ensures the UK law regarding detriments will be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Protection Against Detriment Regulations are made under Section 236A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992.

This section was introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025. These regulations, taken together with section 236A, prohibit all detriments that an employer can subject a worker to for the sole or main purpose of penalising, preventing, or deterring protected industrial action. This legislation therefore targets the rare cases where such treatment may occur without disrupting the day-to-day running of responsible businesses. That is why this legislation is prohibiting detriments only for the sole or main purpose of penalising, preventing, or deterring industrial action.

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