Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Rights,
Competition and Markets (): Minimum service levels
(MSLs) unduly restrict the right to strike and undermine good
industrial relations. The introduction of the Strikes (Minimum
Service Levels) Act 2023 (“the 2023 Act”) was met with widespread
condemnation from employers and trade unions. Many employers
across different sectors pointed to its unworkability and impact
on the ability of employers and trade unions to negotiate and to
resolve disputes.
As such, the Government announced on 6 August that it will repeal
the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 to get public
services back on track and strengthen the rights of working
people. The Deputy Prime Minister and DBT Secretary of State have
also written to other Secretaries of State, the First Minister of
Scotland and the First Minister of Wales asking them to encourage
employers to avoid imposing minimum service levels on their
workforce, until the Act is repealed.
We have begun preparations to repeal the 2023 Act as part of the
forthcoming Employment Rights Bill. Amendments made by the 2023
Act to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act
1992 (“the 1992 Act”) will accordingly be reversed and any
minimum service regulations will lapse automatically once the
Employment Rights Bill has Royal Assent.
Although the ability of employers to give work notices will
legally continue until the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act
2023 has been formally repealed and amendments to the 1992 Act
are accordingly reversed, in this interim period we have strongly
encouraged employers to seek alternative mechanisms for dispute
resolution, including voluntary agreements, rather than imposing
minimum service levels.
I also wish to make clear that, following the High Court ruling
in August 2023 which upheld the judicial review challenge on the
Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses
(Amendment) Regulations 2022, employment businesses are
prohibited from providing agency workers to cover the duties
normally performed by a worker of an organisation who is taking
part in a strike or other industrial action. In light of the High
Court ruling, it is not necessary to repeal these regulations.
The upcoming Employment Rights Bill will remove barriers to
effective dispute resolution and we will continue to work with
businesses as we develop and implement our Plan to Make Work Pay.
