'A victory for every employee' | 'Rogue bosses' can no longer punish staff for striking, Supreme Court rules

Employers will no longer be able to discipline their staff for taking part in legal strike action, the UK’s highest court has warned, following what's been described as "the most important industrial action case for decades".

The Supreme Court made the judgement this week following a two-day hearing which took place in December 2023, when the workers’ union Unison fought to overturn an earlier Court of Appeal decision, which the union had argued left the UK in breach of international law and striking employees without proper protection.

Supreme Court judges were scathing of the government’s failure to provide the minimum protection UK workers should have been granted.

“If employees can only take strike action by exposing themselves to detrimental treatment, the right dissolves. Nor is it clear what legitimate aim a complete absence of such protection serves,” the judgement ruled.