The UK government have announced that they want to change the law regarding agency workers so businesses will be allowed to supply them to plug staffing gaps during strikes.
This plan has come into talks due to tens of thousands of railway workers staged another strike in dispute over jobs, pay and conditions. Ministers have highlighted that under current trade union laws as well as employment businesses are restricted from supplying agency workers temporarily work to cover when strikes occur, stating it can have a “disproportionate impact”.
The change to the legislation would give employment businesses the ability to hire their services to provide temporary agency staff at short notice. In addition, Ministers have also stated that it would help migrate against the impact of strikes in the future such as ones shown by allowing trained, temporary workers to help carry out crucial roles to keep the businesses operating as normal when strikes take place.
These changes within the employment laws regarding agency workers will come into place in the upcoming weeks and will apply across Wales, Scotland, and England.
Additionally, the UK government also announced it is raising the maximum damages that courts can award against a union when strike action has been found by the court to be unlawful. For the biggest unions, the maximum award will rise from £250,000 to £1 million.
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