232A Inducement of member denied entitlement to vote.
Industrial action shall not be regarded as having the support of a ballot if the following conditions apply in the case of any person—
(a) he was a member of the trade union at the time when the ballot was held,
(b) it was reasonable at that time for the trade union to believe he would be induced to take part or, as the case may be, to continue to take part in the industrial action,
(c) he was not accorded entitlement to vote in the ballot, and
(d) he was induced by the trade union to take part or, as the case may be, to continue to take part in the industrial action.
(1) If—
(a) in relation to a ballot there is a failure (or there are failures) to comply with a provision mentioned in subsection (2) or with more than one of those provisions, and
(b) the failure is accidental and on a scale which is unlikely to affect the result of the ballot or, as the case may be, the failures are accidental and taken together are on a scale which is unlikely to affect the result of the ballot,
the failure (or failures) shall be disregarded for all purposes (including, in particular, those of section 232A(c)).
(2) The provisions are—
(a) section 226B(5) (requirement to send contact information to scrutineer);
(b) section 227(1) (entitlement to vote in ballot);
(c) section 228B(3) (requirement to provide a convenient opportunity to vote);
(d) section 228C(2)(c) (requirement to send provision concerning how votes are counted where a person casts multiple votes with voting materials);
(e) section 228C(2)(d) (requirement to send provision concerning how votes are counted where a person casts multiple votes with workplace voting notice);
(f) section 230(2) (requirement to send voting paper);
(g) section 230(2B) (requirement to make voting paper available to merchant seaman);
(h) section 230D (requirement to send workplace voting notice);
(i) section 230E(1) (requirement to set up voting stations);
(j) section 230E(2) (requirement for voting station to be near workplaces it serves);
(k) section 230E(4)(c) (requirement to provide voting papers for workplace voting);
(l) paragraph 12(1) of Schedule A1A (requirement to send electronic voting materials);
(m) paragraph 12(4) of Schedule A1A (requirement to use contact information provided by trade union);
(n) paragraph 14(1) of Schedule A1A (requirement to send hybrid voting materials);
(o) paragraph 16(5) of Schedule A1A (requirement to make hybrid voting materials available to merchant seaman).
233 Calling of industrial action with support of ballot.
(1) Industrial action shall be regarded as having the support of a ballot only if—
(a) it is called by a person specified or of a description specified in all of the voting materials for the ballot in accordance with section 229(3) or paragraph 3(4) or 16(2) of Schedule A1A, and
(b) there was no call by the trade union to take part or continue to take part in industrial action to which the ballot relates, or any authorisation or endorsement by the union of any such industrial action, before the date of the ballot.
(4) For the purposes of this section a call shall be taken to have been made by a trade union if it was authorised or endorsed by the union; and the provisions of section 20(2) to (4) apply for the purpose of determining whether a call, or industrial action, is to be taken to have been so authorised or endorsed.
(5) In this section “voting materials” means such of the following as are relevant—
(a) voting papers;
(b) electronic voting forms.
234 Period after which ballot ceases to be effective.
(1) Industrial action that is regarded as having the support of a ballot shall cease to be so regarded at the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the date of the ballot.
(1A) Subsection (1) has effect—
(a) without prejudice to the possibility of the industrial action getting the support of a fresh ballot; and
(b) subject to the following provisions.
(2) Where for the whole or part of that period the calling or organising of industrial action is prohibited—
(a) by virtue of a court order which subsequently lapses or is discharged, recalled or set aside, or
(b) by virtue of an undertaking given to a court by any person from which he is subsequently released or by which he ceases to be bound,
the trade union may apply to the court for an order that the period during which the prohibition had effect shall not count towards the period referred to in subsection (1).
(3) The application must be made forthwith upon the prohibition ceasing to have effect—
(a) to the court by virtue of whose decision it ceases to have effect, or
(b) where an order lapses or an undertaking ceases to bind without any such decision, to the court by which the order was made or to which the undertaking was given;
...
(4) The court shall not make an order if it appears to the court—
(a) that the result of the ballot no longer represents the views of the union members concerned, or
(b) that an event is likely to occur as a result of which those members would vote against industrial action if another ballot were to be held.
(5) No appeal lies from the decision of the court to make or refuse an order under this section.
(6) The period between the making of an application under this section and its determination does not count towards the period referred to in subsection (1).
...
(1) An act done by a trade union to induce a person to take part, or continue to take part, in industrial action is not protected as respects his employer unless the union has taken or takes such steps as are reasonably necessary to ensure that the employer receives within the appropriate period a relevant notice covering the act.
(2) Subsection (1) imposes a requirement in the case of an employer only if it is reasonable for the union to believe, at the latest time when steps could be taken to ensure that he receives such a notice, that he is the employer of persons who will be or have been induced to take part, or continue to take part, in the industrial action.
(3) For the purposes of this section a relevant notice is a notice in writing which—
(a) contains—
(i) the lists mentioned in subsection (3A) and the figures mentioned in subsection (3B), together with an explanation of how those figures were arrived at, or
(ii) where some or all of the affected employees are employees from whose wages the employer makes deductions representing payments to the union, either those lists and figures and that explanation or the information mentioned in subsection (3C), ... and
(b) states whether industrial action is intended to be continuous or discontinuous and specifies—
(i) where it is to be continuous, the intended date for any of the affected employees to begin to take part in the action,
(ii) where it is to be discontinuous, the intended dates for any of the affected employees to take part in the action, ... ...
(ba) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3A) The lists referred to in subsection (3)(a) are—
(a) a list of the categories of employee to which the affected employees belong, and
(b) a list of the workplaces at which the affected employees work.
(3B) The figures referred to in subsection (3)(a) are—
(a) the total number of the affected employees,
(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and
(c) the number of the affected employees who work at each workplace in the list mentioned in subsection (3A)(b).
(3C) The information referred to in subsection (3)(a)(ii) is such information as will enable the employer readily to deduce—
(a) the total number of the affected employees,
(b) the categories of employee to which the affected employees belong ..., and
(c) the workplaces at which the affected employees work and the number of them who work at each of those workplaces.
(3D) The lists and figures supplied under this section, or the information mentioned in subsection (3C) that is so supplied, must be as accurate as is reasonably practicable in the light of the information in the possession of the union at the time when it complies with subsection (1).
(3E) For the purposes of subsection (3D) information is in the possession of the union if it is held, for union purposes—
(a) in a document, whether in electronic form or any other form, and
(b) in the possession or under the control of an officer or employee of the union.
(3F) Nothing in this section requires a union to supply an employer with the names of the affected employees.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (1) the appropriate period is the period—
(a) beginning with the day when the union satisfies the requirement of section 231A in relation to the ballot in respect of the industrial action, and
(b) ending with the tenth day before the day, or before the first of the days, specified in the relevant notice.
(5) For the purposes of subsection (1) a relevant notice covers an act done by the union if the person induced falls within a notified category of employee and the workplace at which he works is a notified workplace and—
(a) where he is induced to take part or continue to take part in industrial action which the union intends to be continuous, if—
(i) the notice states that the union intends the industrial action to be continuous, and
(ii) there is no participation by him in the industrial action before the date specified in the notice in consequence of any inducement by the union not covered by a relevant notice; and
(b) where he is induced to take part or continue to take part in industrial action which the union intends to be discontinuous, if there is no participation by him in the industrial action on a day not so specified in consequence of any inducement by the union not covered by a relevant notice.
(5B) In subsection (5)—
(a) a “notified category of employee” means—
(i) a category of employee that is listed in the notice, or
(ii) where the notice contains the information mentioned in subsection (3C), a category of employee that the employer (at the time he receives the notice) can readily deduce from the notice is a category of employee to which some or all of the affected employees belong, and
(b) a “notified workplace” means—
(i) a workplace that is listed in the notice, or
(ii) where the notice contains the information mentioned in subsection (3C), a workplace that the employer (at the time he receives the notice) can readily deduce from the notice is the workplace at which some or all of the affected employees work.
(5C) In this section references to the “affected employees” are references to those employees of the employer who the union reasonably believes will be induced by the union, or have been so induced, to take part or continue to take part in the industrial action.
(5D) For the purposes of this section, the workplace at which an employee works is—
(a) in relation to an employee who works at or from a single set of premises, those premises, and
(b) in relation to any other employee, the premises with which his employment has the closest connection.
(6) For the purposes of this section—
(a) a union intends industrial action to be discontinuous if it intends it to take place only on some days on which there is an opportunity to take the action, and
(b) a union intends industrial action to be continuous if it intends it to be not so restricted.
(7) Subject to subsections (7A) and (7B), where—
(a) continuous industrial action which has been authorised or endorsed by a union ceases to be so authorised or endorsed otherwise than to enable the union to comply with a court order or an undertaking given to a court, and
(b) the industrial action has at a later date again been authorised or endorsed by the union (whether as continuous or discontinuous action),
no relevant notice covering acts done to induce persons to take part in the earlier action shall operate to cover acts done to induce persons to take part in the action authorised or endorsed at the later date and this section shall apply in relation to an act to induce a person to take part, or continue to take part, in the industrial action after that date as if the references in subsection (3)(b)(i) to the industrial action were to the industrial action taking place after that date.
(7A) Subsection (7) shall not apply where industrial action ceases to be authorised or endorsed in order to enable the union to comply with a court order or an undertaking given to a court.
(7B) Subsection (7) shall not apply where—
(a) a union agrees with an employer, before industrial action ceases to be authorised or endorsed, that it will cease to be authorised or endorsed with effect from a date specified in the agreement (“the suspension date") and that it may again be authorised or endorsed with effect from a date not earlier than a date specified in the agreement (“the resumption date"),
(b) the action ceases to be authorised or endorsed with effect from the suspension date, and
(c) the action is again authorised or endorsed with effect from a date which is not earlier than the resumption date or such later date as may be agreed between the union and the employer.
(8) The requirement imposed on a trade union by subsection (1) shall be treated as having been complied with if the steps were taken by other relevant persons or committees whose acts were authorised or endorsed by the union and references to the belief or intention of the union in subsection (2) or, as the case may be, subsections (3), (5) , (5C) and (6) shall be construed as references to the belief or the intention of the person or committee taking the steps.
(9) The provisions of section 20(2) to (4) apply for the purpose of determining for the purposes of subsection (1) who are relevant persons or committees and whether the trade union is to be taken to have authorised or endorsed the steps the person or committee took and for the purposes of subsections (7) to (7B) whether the trade union is to be taken to have authorised or endorsed the industrial action.
235 Construction of references to contract of employment in sections 226 to 234A.
In sections 226 to 234A references to a contract of employment include any contract under which one person personally does work or performs services for another; and “employer" and other related expressions shall be construed accordingly.
235A Industrial action affecting supply of goods or services to an individual.
(1) Where an individual claims that—
(a) any trade union or other person has done, or is likely to do, an unlawful act to induce any person to take part, or to continue to take part, in industrial action, and
(b) an effect, or a likely effect, of the industrial action is or will be to—
(i) prevent or delay the supply of goods or services, or
(ii) reduce the quality of goods or services supplied,
to the individual making the claim,
he may apply to the High Court or the Court of Session for an order under this section.
(2) For the purposes of this section an act to induce any person to take part, or to continue to take part, in industrial action is unlawful—
(a) if it is actionable in tort by any one or more persons, or
(b) (where it is or would be the act of a trade union) if it could form the basis of an application by a member under section 62.
(3) In determining whether an individual may make an application under this section it is immaterial whether or not the individual is entitled to be supplied with the goods or services in question.
(4) Where on an application under this section the court is satisfied that the claim is well-founded, it shall make such order as it considers appropriate for requiring the person by whom the act of inducement has been, or is likely to be, done to take steps for ensuring—
(a) that no, or no further, act is done by him to induce any persons to take part or to continue to take part in the industrial action, and
(b) that no person engages in conduct after the making of the order by virtue of having been induced by him before the making of the order to take part or continue to take part in the industrial action.
(5) Without prejudice to any other power of the court, the court may on an application under this section grant such interlocutory relief (in Scotland, such interim order) as it considers appropriate.
(6) For the purposes of this section an act of inducement shall be taken to be done by a trade union if it is authorised or endorsed by the union; and the provisions of section 20(2) to (4) apply for the purposes of determining whether such an act is to be taken to be so authorised or endorsed.
Those provisions also apply in relation to proceedings for failure to comply with an order under this section as they apply in relation to the original proceedings.
No court shall, whether by way of—
(a) an order for specific performance or specific implement of a contract of employment, or
(b) an injunction or interdict restraining a breach or threatened breach of such a contract,
compel an employee to do any work or attend at any place for the doing of any work.
(1) A worker has the right not to be subjected as an individual to detriment of a prescribed description by any act, or any deliberate failure to act, by the worker’s employer, if the act or failure takes place for the sole or main purpose of preventing or deterring the worker from taking protected industrial action, or penalising the worker for doing so.
(2) For that purpose, a worker takes protected industrial action if the worker commits an act which, or a series of acts each of which, the worker is induced to commit by an act which by virtue of section 219 is not actionable in tort.
(3) But no account may be taken of the repudiation of any act by a trade union as mentioned in section 21 in relation to anything which occurs before the end of the next working day after the day on which the repudiation takes place.
(4) Regulations under subsection (1) may prescribe detriment of any description (instead of detriment of a specific description).
(5) Subsection (1) does not apply where the worker is an employee and the detriment in question amounts to dismissal (but see sections 237 to 239).
(6) A worker or former worker may present a complaint to an employment tribunal on the ground that the worker or former worker has been subjected to a detriment by an employer in contravention of this section.
(7) A worker or former worker has no other remedy for infringement of the right conferred by this section.
(8) In this section and sections 236B to 236D—
“employer” means—
in relation to a worker, the person for whom the worker works;
in relation to a former worker, the person for whom the former worker worked;
“worker” means an individual who works, or normally works, as mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c) of section 296(1);
“working day” means any day which is not a Saturday or Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971.
(1) An employment tribunal may not consider a complaint under section 236A unless it is presented—
(a) before the end of the period of six months beginning with the date of the act or failure to which the complaint relates or, where that act or failure is part of a series of similar acts or failures (or both), the last of them, or
(b) where the tribunal is satisfied that it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to be presented before the end of that period, within such further period as it considers reasonable.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)—
(a) where an act extends over a period, the reference to the date of the act is a reference to the last day of that period;
(b) a failure to act is to be treated as done when it was decided on.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), in the absence of evidence establishing the contrary, an employer is to be taken to decide on a failure to act—
(a) when the employer does an act inconsistent with doing the failed act, or
(b) if the employer has done no such inconsistent act, when the period expires within which the employer might reasonably have been expected to do the failed act if it was to be done.
(4) Section 292A (extension of time limits to facilitate conciliation before institution of proceedings) applies for the purposes of subsection (1)(a).
(1) Where the employment tribunal finds that a complaint under section 236A is well-founded, the tribunal—
(a) must make a declaration to that effect, and
(b) may make an award of compensation to be paid by the employer to the complainant in respect of the act or failure complained of.
(2) The amount of the compensation awarded is to be an amount which the tribunal considers just and equitable in all the circumstances having regard to the infringement complained of and to any loss sustained by the complainant which is attributable to the act or failure.
(3) The loss is to be taken to include—
(a) any expenses reasonably incurred by the complainant in consequence of the act or failure, and
(b) loss of any benefit which the complainant might reasonably be expected to have had but for the act or failure.
(4) In ascertaining the loss, the tribunal must apply the same rule concerning the duty of a person to mitigate loss as applies to damages recoverable under the common law of England and Wales or Scotland.
(5) Where the tribunal finds that the act or failure complained of was to any extent caused or contributed to by action of the complainant, it must reduce the amount of the compensation by such proportion as it considers just and equitable having regard to that finding.
237 Dismissal of those taking part in unofficial industrial action.
(1) An employee has no right to complain of unfair dismissal if at the time of dismissal he was taking part in an unofficial strike or other unofficial industrial action.
(1A) Subsection (1) does not apply to the dismissal of the employee if it is shown that the reason (or, if more than one, the principal reason) for the dismissal or, in a redundancy case, for selecting the employee for dismissal was one of those specified in or under—.
(a) section 98B, 99, 100, 101A(d), 103 , 103A, 104C , 104D or 104E of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (dismissal in jury service, family, health and safety, working time, employee representative, protected disclosure, flexible working , pension scheme membership, and study and training cases),
(b) section 104 of that Act in its application in relation to time off under section 57A of that Act (dependants);; and a reference to a specified reason for dismissal includes a reference to specified circumstances of dismissal
(2) A strike or other industrial action is unofficial in relation to an employee unless—
(a) he is a member of a trade union and the action is authorised or endorsed by that union, or
(b) he is not a member of a trade union but there are among those taking part in the industrial action members of a trade union by which the action has been authorised or endorsed.
Provided that, a strike or other industrial action shall not be regarded as unofficial if none of those taking part in it are members of a trade union.
(3) The provisions of section 20(2) apply for the purpose of determining whether industrial action is to be taken to have been authorised or endorsed by a trade union.
(4) The question whether industrial action is to be so taken in any case shall be determined by reference to the facts as at the time of dismissal.
Provided that, where an act is repudiated as mentioned in section 21, industrial action shall not thereby be treated as unofficial before the end of the next working day after the day on which the repudiation takes place.
(5) In this section the “time of dismissal” means—
(a) where the employee’s contract of employment is terminated by notice, when the notice is given,
(b) where the employee’s contract of employment is terminated without notice, when the termination takes effect, and
(c) where the employee is employed under a contract for a fixed term which expires without being renewed under the same contract, when that term expires;
and a “working day” means any day which is not a Saturday or Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971.
(6) For the purposes of this section membership of a trade union for purposes unconnected with the employment in question shall be disregarded; but an employee who was a member of a trade union when he began to take part in industrial action shall continue to be treated as a member for the purpose of determining whether that action is unofficial in relation to him or another notwithstanding that he may in fact have ceased to be a member.
238 Dismissals in connection with other industrial action.
(1) This section applies in relation to an employee who has a right to complain of unfair dismissal (the “complainant”) and who claims to have been unfairly dismissed, where at the date of the dismissal—
(a) the employer was conducting or instituting a lock-out, or
(b) the complainant was taking part in a strike or other industrial action.
(2) In such a case an employment tribunal shall not determine whether the dismissal was fair or unfair unless it is shown—
(a) that one or more relevant employees of the same employer have not been dismissed, or
(b) that a relevant employee has before the expiry of the period of three months beginning with the date of his dismissal been offered re-engagement and that the complainant has not been offered re-engagement.
(2A) Subsection (2) does not apply to the dismissal of the employee if it is shown that the reason (or, if more than one, the principal reason) for the dismissal or, in a redundancy case, for selecting the employee for dismissal was one of those specified in or under—.
(a) section 98B, 99, 100, 101A(d) , 103, 104C , 104D or 104E of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (dismissal in jury service, family, health and safety, working time , employee representative, flexible working , pension scheme membership, and study and training cases),
(b) section 104 of that Act in its application in relation to time off under section 57A of that Act (dependants);; and a reference to a specified reason for dismissal includes a reference to specified circumstances of dismissal
(2B) Subsection (2) does not apply in relation to an employee who is regarded as unfairly dismissed by virtue of section 238A below.
(3) For this purpose “relevant employees” means—
(a) in relation to a lock-out, employees who were directly interested in the dispute in contemplation or furtherance of which the lock-out occurred, and
(b) in relation to a strike or other industrial action, those employees at the establishment of the employer at or from which the complainant works who at the date of his dismissal were taking part in the action.
Nothing in section 237 (dismissal of those taking part in unofficial industrial action) affects the question who are relevant employees for the purposes of this section.
(4) An offer of re-engagement means an offer (made either by the original employer or by a successor of that employer or an associated employer) to re-engage an employee, either in the job which he held immediately before the date of dismissal or in a different job which would be reasonably suitable in his case.
(5) In this section “date of dismissal” means—
(a) where the employee’s contract of employment was terminated by notice, the date on which the employer’s notice was given, and
(b) in any other case, the effective date of termination.
239 Supplementary provisions relating to unfair dismissal.
(1) Sections 237 to 238A(loss of unfair dismissal protection in connection with industrial action) shall be construed as one with Part X of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (unfair dismissal) ; but sections 108 and 109 of that Act (qualifying period and age limit) shall not apply in relation to section 238A of this Act..
(2) In relation to a complaint to which section 238 or 238A applies, section 111(2) of that Act (time limit for complaint) does not apply, but an employment tribunal shall not consider the complaint unless it is presented to the tribunal—
(a) before the end of the period of six months beginning with the date of the complainant’s dismissal (as defined by section 238(5)), or
(b) where the tribunal is satisfied that it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to be presented before the end of that period, within such further period as the tribunal considers reasonable.
(3) Where it is shown that the condition referred to in section 238(2)(b) is fulfilled (discriminatory re-engagement), the references in—
(a) sections 98 to 106 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and
(b) sections 152 and 153 of this Act,
to the reason or principal reason for which the complainant was dismissed shall be read as references to the reason or principal reason he has not been offered re-engagement.
(4) In relation to a complaint under section 111 of the 1996 Act (unfair dismissal: complaint to employment tribunal) that a dismissal was unfair by virtue of section 238A of this Act—
(a) no order shall be made under section 113 of the 1996 Act (reinstatement or re-engagement) until after the conclusion of protected industrial action by any employee in relation to the relevant dispute,
(b) regulations under section 7 of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 may make provision about the adjournment and renewal of applications (including provision requiring adjournment in specified circumstances), and
(c) regulations under section 9 of that Act may require a pre-hearing review to be carried out in specified circumstances.
240 Breach of contract involving injury to persons or property.
(1) A person commits an offence who wilfully and maliciously breaks a contract of service or hiring, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the probable consequences of his so doing, either alone or in combination with others, will be—
(a) to endanger human life or cause serious bodily injury, or
(b) to expose valuable property, whether real or personal, to destruction or serious injury.
(2) Subsection (1) applies equally whether the offence is committed from malice conceived against the person endangered or injured or, as the case may be, the owner of the property destroyed or injured, or otherwise.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale or both.
(4) This section does not apply to seamen.
241 Intimidation or annoyance by violence or otherwise.
(1) A person commits an offence who, with a view to compelling another person to abstain from doing or to do any act which that person has a legal right to do or abstain from doing, wrongfully and without legal authority—
(a) uses violence to or intimidates that person or his spouse or civil partner or children, or injures his property,
(b) persistently follows that person about from place to place,
(c) hides any tools, clothes or other property owned or used by that person, or deprives him of or hinders him in the use thereof,
(d) watches or besets the house or other place where that person resides, works, carries on business or happens to be, or the approach to any such house or place, or
(e) follows that person with two or more other persons in a disorderly manner in or through any street or road.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both.
(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
242 Restriction of offence of conspiracy: England and Wales.
(1) Where in pursuance of any such agreement as is mentioned in section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 (which provides for the offence of conspiracy) the acts in question in relation to an offence are to be done in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute, the offence shall be disregarded for the purposes of that subsection if it is a summary offence which is not punishable with imprisonment.
(2) This section extends to England and Wales only.
243 Restriction of offence of conspiracy: Scotland.
(1) An agreement or combination by two or more persons to do or procure to be done an act in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute is not indictable as a conspiracy if that act committed by one person would not be punishable as a crime.
(2) A crime for this purpose means an offence punishable on indictment, or an offence punishable on summary conviction, and for the commission of which the offender is liable under the statute making the offence punishable to be imprisoned either absolutely or at the discretion of the court as an alternative for some other punishment.
(3) Where a person is convicted of any such agreement or combination as is mentioned above to do or procure to be done an act which is punishable only on summary conviction, and is sentenced to imprisonment, the imprisonment shall not exceed three months or such longer time as may be prescribed by the statute for the punishment of the act when committed by one person.
(4) Nothing in this section—
(a) exempts from punishment a person guilty of a conspiracy for which a punishment is awarded by an Act of Parliament, or
(b) affects the law relating to riot, unlawful assembly, breach of the peace, or sedition or any offence against the State or the Sovereign.
(5) This section extends to Scotland only.
(1) In this Part a “trade dispute” means a dispute between workers and their employer which relates wholly or mainly to one or more of the following—
(a) terms and conditions of employment, or the physical conditions in which any workers are required to work;
(b) engagement or non-engagement, or termination or suspension of employment or the duties of employment, of one or more workers;
(c) allocation of work or the duties of employment between workers or groups of workers;
(d) matters of discipline;
(e) a worker’s membership or non-membership of a trade union;
(f) facilities for officials of trade unions; and
(g) machinery for negotiation or consultation, and other procedures, relating to any of the above matters, including the recognition by employers or employers’ associations of the right of a trade union to represent workers in such negotiation or consultation or in the carrying out of such procedures.
(2) A dispute between a Minister of the Crown and any workers shall, notwithstanding that he is not the employer of those workers, be treated as a dispute between those workers and their employer if the dispute relates to matters which—
(a) have been referred for consideration by a joint body on which, by virtue of provision made by or under any enactment, he is represented, or
(b) cannot be settled without him exercising a power conferred on him by or under an enactment.
(3) There is a trade dispute even though it relates to matters occurring outside the United Kingdom, so long as the person or persons whose actions in the United Kingdom are said to be in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute relating to matters occurring outside the United Kingdom are likely to be affected in respect of one or more of the matters specified in subsection (1) by the outcome of the dispute.
(4) An act, threat or demand done or made by one person or organisation against another which, if resisted, would have led to a trade dispute with that other, shall be treated as being done or made in contemplation of a trade dispute with that other, notwithstanding that because that other submits to the act or threat or accedes to the demand no dispute arises.
(5) In this section—
“employment” includes any relationship whereby one person personally does work or performs services for another; and
“worker”, in relation to a dispute with an employer, means—
a worker employed by that employer; or
a person who has ceased to be so employed if his employment was terminated in connection with the dispute or if the termination of his employment was one of the circumstances giving rise to the dispute.
Where a person holds any office or employment under the Crown on terms which do not constitute a contract of employment between that person and the Crown, those terms shall nevertheless be deemed to constitute such a contract for the purposes of—
(a) the law relating to liability in tort of a person who commits an act which—
(i) induces another person to break a contract, interferes with the performance of a contract or induces another person to interfere with its performance, or
(ii) consists in a threat that a contract will be broken or its performance interfered with, or that any person will be induced to break a contract or interfere with its performance, and
(b) the provisions of this or any other Act which refer (whether in relation to contracts generally or only in relation to contracts of employment) to such an act.
In this Part—
“date of the ballot” means, in the case of a ballot in which votes may be cast on more than one day, the last of those days;
...
“strike” means (except for the purposes of section 229(2) (see section 229(2A)) any concerted stoppage of work;
“working hours”, in relation to a person, means any time when under his contract of employment, or other contract personally to do work or perform services, he is required to be at work.
(1) There shall continue to be a body called the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (referred to in this Act as ACAS).
(2) ACAS is a body corporate of which the corporators are the members of its Council.
(3) Its functions, and those of its officers and servants, shall be performed on behalf of the Crown, but not so as to make it subject to directions of any kind from any Minister of the Crown as to the manner in which it is to exercise its functions under any enactment.
(4) For the purposes of civil proceedings arising out of those functions the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 applies to ACAS as if it were a government department and the Crown Suits (Scotland) Act 1857 applies to it as if it were a public department.
(5) Nothing in section 9 of the Statistics of Trade Act 1947 (restriction on disclosure of information obtained under that Act) shall prevent or penalise the disclosure to ACAS, for the purposes of the exercise of any of its functions, of information obtained under that Act by a government department.
(6) ACAS shall maintain offices in such of the major centres of employment in Great Britain as it thinks fit for the purposes of discharging its functions under any enactment.
(1) ACAS shall be directed by a Council which, subject to the following provisions, shall consist of a chairman and nine ordinary members appointed by the Secretary of State.
(2) Before appointing those ordinary members of the Council, the Secretary of State shall—
(a) as to three of them, consult such organisations representing employers as he considers appropriate, and
(b) as to three of them, consult such organisations representing workers as he considers appropriate.
(3) The Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, appoint a further two ordinary members of the Council (who shall be appointed so as to take office at the same time); and before making those appointments he shall—
(a) as to one of them, consult such organisations representing employers as he considers appropriate, and
(b) as to one of them, consult such organisations representing workers as he considers appropriate.
(4) The Secretary of State may appoint up to three deputy chairman who may be appointed from the ordinary members, or in addition to those members.
(5) The Council shall determine its own procedure, including the quorum necessary for its meetings.
(6) If the Secretary of State has not appointed a deputy chairman, the Council may choose a member to act as chairman in the absence or incapacity of the chairman.
(7) The validity of proceedings of the Council is not affected by any vacancy among the members of the Council or by any defect in the appointment of any of them.
(1) The members of the Council shall hold and vacate office in accordance with their terms of appointment, subject to the following provisions.
(2) . . .
Appointment as chairman, or as deputy chairman, or as an ordinary member of the Council, may be a full-time or part-time appointment; and the Secretary of State may, with the consent of the member concerned, vary the terms of his appointment as to whether his appointment is full-time or part-time.
(3) A person shall not be appointed to the Council for a term exceeding five years, but previous membership does not affect eligibility for re-appointment.
(4) A member may at any time resign his membership, and the chairman or a deputy chairman may at any time resign his office as such, by notice in writing to the Secretary of State.
A deputy chairman appointed in addition to the ordinary members of the Council shall on resigning his office as deputy chairman cease to be a member of the Council.
(5) If the Secretary of State is satisfied that a member—
(a) has been absent from meetings of the Council for a period longer than six consecutive months without the permission of the Council, or
(b) has become bankrupt or has had a debt relief order (under Part 7A of the Insolvency Act 1986) made in respect of him or has made an arrangement with his creditors (or, in Scotland, has had his estate sequestrated or has made a trust deed for his creditors or has made and had accepted a composition contract), or
(c) is incapacitated by physical or mental illness, or
(d) is otherwise unable or unfit to discharge the functions of a member,
the Secretary of State may declare his office as a member to be vacant and shall notify the declaration in such manner as he thinks fit, whereupon the office shall become vacant.
If the chairman or a deputy chairman ceases to be a member of the Council, he shall also cease to be chairman or, as the case may be, a deputy chairman.
(1) ACAS shall pay to the members of its Council such remuneration and travelling and other allowances as may be determined by the Secretary of State.
(2) The Secretary of State may pay, or make provision for payment, to or in respect of a member of the Council such pension, allowance or gratuity on death or retirement as he may determine.
(3) Where a person ceases to be the holder of the Council otherwise than on the expiry of his term of office and it appears to the Secretary of State that there are special circumstances which make it right for him to receive compensation, he may make him a payment of such amount he may determine.
(4) The approval of the Treasury is required for any determination by the Secretary of State under this section.
(1) ACAS may, with the approval of the Secretary of State, appoint a secretary.
The consent of the Secretary of State is required as to his terms and conditions of service.
(2) ACAS may appoint such other officers and staff as it may determine.
The consent of the Secretary of State is required as to their numbers, manner of appointment and terms and conditions of service.
(3) The Secretary of State shall not give his consent under subsection (1) or (2) without the approval of the Treasury.
(4) ACAS shall pay to the Treasury, at such times in each accounting year as may be determined by the Treasury, sums of such amounts as may be so determined as being equivalent to the increase in that year of such liabilities of his as are attributable to the provision of pensions, allowances or gratuities to or in respect of persons who are or have been in the service of ACAS in so far as that increase results from the service of those persons during that accounting year and to the expense to be incurred in administering those pensions, allowances or gratuities.
(5) The fixing of the common seal of ACAS shall be authenticated by the signature of the secretary of ACAS or some other person authorised by ACAS to act for that purpose.
A document purporting to be duly executed under the seal of ACAS shall be received in evidence and shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to be so executed.
(1) ACAS may, in any case in which it thinks it appropriate to do so, but subject to any directions under subsection (2) below, charge a fee for exercising a function in relation to any person.
(2) The Secretary of State may direct ACAS to charge fees, in accordance with the direction, for exercising any function specified in the direction, but the Secretary of State shall not give a direction under this subsection without consulting ACAS.
(3) A direction under subsection (2) above may require ACAS to charge fees in respect of the exercise of a function only in specified descriptions of case.
(4) A direction under subsection (2) above shall specify whether fees are to be charged in respect of the exercise of any specified function—
(a) at the full economic cost level, or
(b) at a level less than the full economic cost but not less than a specified proportion or percentage of the full economic cost.
(5) Where a direction requires fees to be charged at the full economic cost level ACAS shall fix the fee for the case at an amount estimated to be sufficient to cover the administrative costs of ACAS of exercising the function including an appropriate sum in respect of general staff costs and overheads.
(6) Where a direction requires fees to be charged at a level less than the full economic cost ACAS shall fix the fee for the case at such amount, not being less than the proportion or percentage of the full economic cost specified under subsection (4)(b) above, as it thinks appropriate (computing that cost in the same way as under subsection (5) above).
(7) No liability to pay a fee charged under this section shall arise on the part of any person unless ACAS has notified that person that a fee may or will be charged.
(8) For the purposes of this section—
(a) a function is exercised in relation to a person who avails himself of the benefit of its exercise, whether or not he requested its exercise and whether the function is such as to be exercisable in relation to particular persons only or in relation to persons generally; and
(b) where a function is exercised in relation to two or more persons the fee chargeable for its exercise shall be apportioned among them as ACAS thinks appropriate.
(1) Information held by ACAS shall not be disclosed if the information—
(a) relates to a worker, an employer of a worker or a trade union (a “relevant person”), and
(b) is held by ACAS in connection with the provision of a service by ACAS or its officers.
This is subject to subsection (2).
(2) Subsection (1) does not prohibit the disclosure of information if—
(a) the disclosure is made for the purpose of enabling or assisting ACAS to carry out any of its functions under this Act,
(b) the disclosure is made for the purpose of enabling or assisting an officer of ACAS to carry out the functions of a conciliation officer under any enactment,
(c) the disclosure is made for the purpose of enabling or assisting—
(i) a person appointed by ACAS under section 210(2), or
(ii) an arbitrator or arbiter appointed by ACAS under any enactment,
to carry out functions specified in the appointment,
(ca) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(d) the disclosure is made for the purposes of a criminal investigation or criminal proceedings (whether or not within the United Kingdom),
(e) the disclosure is made in order to comply with a court order,
(f) the disclosure is made in a manner that ensures that no relevant person to whom the information relates can be identified, or
(g) the disclosure is made with the consent of each relevant person to whom the information relates.
(3) Subsection (2) does not authorise the making of a disclosure which contravenes the data protection legislation.
(4) A person who discloses information in contravention of this section commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
(5) Proceedings in England and Wales for an offence under this section may be instituted only with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
(6) For the purposes of this section information held by—
(a) a person appointed by ACAS under section 210(2) in connection with functions specified in the appointment, or
(b) an arbitrator or arbiter appointed by ACAS under any enactment in connection with functions specified in the appointment,
is information that is held by ACAS in connection with the provision of a service by ACAS.
(7) In this section, “the data protection legislation” has the same meaning as in the Data Protection Act 2018 (see section 3 of that Act).
(1) The Secretary of State shall pay to ACAS such sums as are approved by the Treasury and as he considers appropriate for the purpose of enabling ACAS to perform its functions.
(2) ACAS may pay to—
(a) persons appointed under section 210(2) (conciliation) who are not officers or servants of ACAS, and
(b) arbitrators or arbiters appointed by ACAS under any enactment,
such fees and travelling and other allowances as may be determined by the Secretary of State with the approval of the Treasury.