Section 238A Participation in official industrial action.F1

England, Wales and Scotland

(1)

For the purposes of this section an employee takes protected industrial action if he commits an act which, or a series of acts each of which, he is induced to commit by an act which by virtue of section 219 is not actionable in tort.

(2)

An employee who is dismissed shall be regarded for the purposes of Part X of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (unfair dismissal) as unfairly dismissed if—

(a)

the reason (or, if more than one, the principal reason) for the dismissal is that the employee took protected industrial action, F2... F3...

F4(aa)

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(b)

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F5(3)

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(4)

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(5)

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(6)

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(7)

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(7A)

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(7B)

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(7C)

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(7D)

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(8)

For the purposes of this section no account shall 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 (within the meaning of section 237) after the day on which the repudiation takes place.

F6(9)

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Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: S. 238A inserted (24.4.2000) by 1999 c. 26, s. 16, Sch. 5 para. 3; S.I. 2000/875, art. 3
F2: Word in s. 238A(2)(a) omitted (20.7.2023) by virtue of Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 (c. 39), s. 5, Sch. para. 8(2)(a)
F3: S. 238A(2)(b) and word omitted (18.2.2026) by virtue of Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36), ss. 77(3)(a), 159(3); S.I. 2026/3, reg. 3(8) (with Sch. 2 para. 11)
F4: S. 238A(2)(aa) omitted (18.12.2025) by Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36), ss. 78(2)(f)(i), 159(1)(c)
F5: S. 238A(3)-(7D) omitted (18.2.2026) by virtue of Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36), ss. 77(3)(b), 159(3); S.I. 2026/3, reg. 3(8) (with Sch. 2 para. 11)
F6: S. 238A(9) omitted (18.2.2026) by virtue of Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36), ss. 77(3)(c), 159(3); S.I. 2026/3, reg. 3(8) (with Sch. 2 para. 11)