Detriment protection
Detriment for industrial action from 30 October 2026
Updated 5 October 2026
If you joined an official, balloted strike, your employer already had limited protection: from 18 February 2026 dismissal for industrial action is automatically unfair. From 30 October 2026 that protection widens. It covers any detriment at work, not just dismissal, and it covers workers as well as employees. It does not stop your employer docking your pay for the days you were on strike.
What the new right is, and when it starts
The new right sits in regulations made under the Employment Rights Act 2025, in force from 30 October 2026, subject to Parliamentary approval. It plugs a gap the Supreme Court identified in 2024 in the existing law on detriments for taking industrial action. ACAS lists it on its ERA 2025 timeline.
The new right protects against detriment, which is broader than dismissal. ACAS gives examples: bullying, harassment, training requests turned down, being overlooked for promotion or development, and hours reduced without good reason.
Protected industrial action is action taken under a legal ballot by an independent trade union, with the right notice and mandate. ACAS rules: at least 50 per cent of eligible members must respond, votes in favour must outnumber votes against, and the union has 12 months from a successful ballot to call action.
Who the new right covers: employees and workers
Until now, the protection against detriment for taking industrial action only reached employees in practice. Workers, agency workers, casual workers and those on zero-hours contracts had no equivalent route.
From 30 October 2026 the new protection extends to workers as well as employees. Someone on a zero-hours contract, an agency contract or a casual arrangement will usually be a worker rather than an employee, and they will be able to use the new detriment route where they cannot use unfair dismissal.
What counts as a detriment after strike action
A detriment is anything that puts you at a disadvantage at work because of the action you took. The ACAS list covers bullying, harassment, training requests turned down without good reason, being overlooked for promotion, and hours reduced without good reason.
The test is whether the employer’s sole or main purpose was to prevent, deter or penalise your participation in protected industrial action, and whether the evidence supports a legitimate business reason. Your employer can still discipline you for misconduct on a strike day, for absence not covered by the ballot, or for a separate disciplinary matter. What it cannot do is use those things as cover for a punishment aimed at the industrial action itself.
Why your employer acted is what matters
The new right uses a purpose test, not a list of forbidden acts. The employer’s sole or main purpose must have been to prevent, deter or penalise your taking part in protected industrial action for the detriment to be unlawful. A reasonable, well-evidenced business decision taken at the same time as industrial action is not, by itself, a detriment under these regulations.
The broader purpose test matches how detriment protection already works elsewhere in employment law, including trade union membership and the right to be accompanied. A tribunal will look at emails, meeting notes and HR records to work out the real reason for a decision, and a credible contemporaneous record of the business reason is your employer’s defence.
What the new right does not change
Two things stay as they were. First, the long-standing principle of no work, no pay. The government has confirmed in the consultation response that proportionate deductions from pay for days on strike or action short of a strike are not a detriment under the new regulations. Your employer can still dock your pay for the days you were out.
Second, the unfair dismissal position. From 18 February 2026 dismissal for taking part in industrial action became automatically unfair with no 12-week limit, and that is unchanged. Employees who are dismissed can still use unfair dismissal; the new detriment route is for everyone who has not been dismissed but has been treated worse in some other way.
Redundancy selection after industrial action
A related change extends the redundancy protection. From 18 February 2026 it was automatically unfair to select an employee for redundancy where the reason or principal reason was their taking part in protected industrial action. The draft regulations confirm that extension: it will be automatically unfair to select an employee for redundancy on that ground, where the industrial action started on or after 18 February 2026.
In a redundancy exercise that follows a strike, the employer has to show the pools, criteria, scoring and decision records were decided for business reasons, not as a way of penalising strike participation. Our guide to redundancy pay and consultation deadlines covers the consultation rules.
Compensation and the 25 per cent uplift
Where a tribunal finds the new detriment protection has been breached, compensation follows the usual route. Tribunals can increase or reduce compensation by up to 25 per cent where there has been an unreasonable failure to comply with a relevant statutory code of practice, including the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. Keep copies of any grievance, the response and any minutes. Our guide to raising a workplace grievance walks through the steps.
What to do in the meantime
The new detriment protection starts on 30 October 2026. Until then the position is what it was before: dismissal protection from 18 February 2026 for employees, and a much narrower detriment route for everyone else.
If you are being treated worse at work after a strike or action short of a strike, the practical steps are the same. Write down what happened and when. Keep messages, emails or meeting notes. Raise a written grievance using your employer’s policy; if there is no policy, our guide to raising a workplace grievance sets out what to put in it.
Once 30 October has passed, you can rely on the new detriment protection in addition to the existing unfair dismissal protection. The same evidence applies: contemporaneous notes, a clear grievance, and a record of the business reasons your employer gives.
Quick answers
- Does the new protection cover workers as well as employees?
- Yes. From 30 October 2026 the new detriment protection extends to workers as well as employees, including people on zero-hours contracts, agency workers and casual workers. Unfair dismissal still only applies to employees, but the new route gives workers a way to challenge being treated worse because of protected industrial action.
- Can my employer still dock my pay for the days I was on strike?
- Yes. The government has confirmed that proportionate deductions from pay for days on strike or action short of a strike are not a detriment under the new regulations. The no work, no pay principle continues to apply. The new protection is about being treated worse in other ways, not about the days pay itself.
- What if I am selected for redundancy after a strike?
- It is automatically unfair to select an employee for redundancy where the reason, or principal reason, is participation in protected industrial action that started on or after 18 February 2026. The new draft regulations confirm that extension. Your employer will need a credible business reason for the selection, and the usual documentation around pools, criteria and scoring.
- Do I have to be on an official strike for the protection to apply?
- Yes. The new detriment protection applies to protected industrial action, which is action taken under a legal ballot by an independent trade union. ACAS sets out the rules: at least 50 per cent of eligible members must respond, votes in favour must outnumber votes against, and the union has 12 months from a successful ballot to call action. Unofficial or wildcat action is not protected.
- How long do I have to bring a claim?
- From 1 October 2026 the time limit for most employment tribunal claims is six months rather than three. ACAS early conciliation has to be started before the time limit expires, and the period during which conciliation is ongoing pauses the clock.
This is a general summary of announced regulations and consultation responses, not legal advice. The regulations are subject to Parliamentary approval and the date or detail may shift before 30 October 2026 takes effect. Confirm anything time-sensitive with ACAS or a solicitor.