Employment Act 1988

17 Ballots on industrial action affecting different places of work

(1) After subsection (1) of section 11 of the 1984 Act (requirements as to ballots with respect to industrial action) there shall be inserted the following subsections—

“(1A) Subject to subsection (1B) below, where the members who it is reasonable at the time of the ballot for the union to believe will be induced as mentioned in subsection (1) above have different places of work—

(a) a separate ballot in relation to which the requirements of this section are satisfied must be held for each place of work (instead of one ballot of all those members); and

(b) subsection (1) above shall have effect so as to require entitlement to vote in the ballot held for each place of work to be accorded to such of those members as the union reasonably believes to be members having that place as their place of work, and to no other persons.

(1B) Subsection (1A) above shall not apply in relation to a ballot if at the time of the ballot it is reasonable for the trade union to believe and it does believe—

(a) that all the members who are accorded entitlement to vote in the ballot have the same place of work;

(b) that there is, in relation to each of the members of the union who is accorded entitlement to vote in the ballot, some factor (whether or not the same factor) which—

(i) relates to the terms or conditions of that member’s employment or to the occupational description which is applicable to that member in his employment;

(ii) is a factor which that member has in common with one or more of the other members of the union who are accorded that entitlement; and

(iii) in a case where there are individuals employed by the same employer as that member who are members of the union but are not accorded that entitlement, is neither a factor which that member has in common with any of those individuals nor a factor which individuals employed by that employer have in common as a consequence of having the same place of work;

or

(c) that the condition specified in paragraph (b) above would be satisfied if any overseas members accorded entitlement to vote in the ballot were disregarded.”

(2) Accordingly, after subsection (3) of section 10 of that Act (conditions to be fulfilled for act to be treated as with the support of a ballot) there shall be inserted the following subsection—

“(3A) Where—

(a) any person has been induced by an act to break his contract of employment or to interfere with its performance; and

(b) separate ballots have been held by virtue of section 11(1A) of this Act in relation to the strike or industrial action in the course of which that act has induced the breach or interference,

then subsection (3) above shall be construed, in relation to the inducement of that breach or interference, as making provision which, in the case of paragraph (b) of that subsection, requires only that the majority voting in the ballot for that person’s place of work have answered “Yes” to the appropriate question and, in the case of paragraphs (c) and (d), does not impose any requirements in relation to any other ballot.”

(3) In subsection (5) of section 10 of that Act (interpretation of Part II), after the definition of “the date of the ballot” there shall be inserted the following definition—

““place of work”, in relation to any person who is employed, means the premises occupied by his employer at or from which that person works or, where he does not work at or from any such premises or works at or from more than one set of premises, the premises occupied by his employer with which his employment has the closest connection;”.