Shift work and industrial action legislation

A summary of what organisations with shift working environments need to be aware of

Employment Rights Act - Considerations for employers with shift workers

Industrial action by shift workers can often be linked to the impact of existing shift work conditions on pay, work-life balance, fatigue, health and wellbeing… or changing shift patterns without meaningful engagement.

It underlines how shift work and its effects on shift workers can be a highly sensitive topic and is an area of Trade Union and wider employee relations that is often complex and fraught if not handled effectively.

Now the UK government has introduced new legislation with increased protections around industrial action under the Employment Rights Act that adds another layer of considerations for employers with shift workers.

We’ve summarised the key changes below, and what organisations with shift working environments need to be aware of.

New legislation impacting shift work

From 18 February 2026, the next phase of the Employment Rights Act (ERA) came into effect in the UK with increased protections for industrial action.

The Act is being introduced in phases due to its size and scope, with many measures affecting organisations with shift patterns, shift work and shift workers across England, Scotland and Wales.

The latest changes make industrial action easier to organise, meaning there is increased potential for shift workers and Trade Unions to address perceived shortcomings in shift work conditions where they believe issues are negatively impacting safety, work-life balance and health and wellbeing.

For employers with shift workers, it makes the risks posed by industrial action linked to shift work more difficult to plan around.

This means it is even more important to proactively engage in a meaningful way with employees and Trade Unions to co-design solutions that improve conditions whilst supporting operational realities and organisational requirements.

We’ve summarised the key points from the Employment Rights Act below:

– The notice period for taking industrial action has dropped from 14 days to 10. This time could also be reduced further if unions issue notice ahead of weekends or public holidays. For employers this means less time to negotiate and mitigate any potential action linked to shift work.

– It removes the 40 per cent support requirement for industrial ballots in six public services – fire, health, education, transport, border security and nuclear decommissioning sectors. This means that a simple majority of votes in support of industrial action linked to shift work will be sufficient for unions to secure mandates to enact it.

– A strike ballot will stay valid for 12 months instead of six, reducing the need for repeated voting and re-ballot cycles.

– The process for issuing industrial action and ballot notices is being simplified, cutting down on admin. For example, it is now no longer necessary to specify the number of affected workers in each category (groupings of staff based on roles, job descriptions, or departments), expected to take part in strike action.

– Current limits on picketing are removed, which means that unions do not have to appoint a nominated picket supervisor and can instead have a trade union official on the picket line.

– Public sector employers will no longer be required to publish facility time data, which is the amount and cost of time off for union duties.

– Workers gain stronger protection from dismissal when taking part in industrial action which removes the current 12-week limit for unfair dismissal, with this being a day one right.

Shift Patterns

Finding shift patterns that balance the needs of your organisation and shift workers can be a slow and painful process.

optashift’s Shift Pattern Design service combines data science, expert insight and collaboration to create shift patterns that are fully optimised for your performance and people.

What employers with shift workers should consider

With strike action often being linked to shift work, employers should follow a best practice methodology to work with shift workers and Trade Unions to optimise and improve shift work and thereby mitigate potential future disruption.

Whether it’s proactive initiatives to improve ways of working, or reactive transformation projects driven by an urgent need for change…the approach should always be shaped by evidence and engagement.

Using data analytics to assess shift patterns, shift work policies, workforce management systems and processes and shift worker health and wellbeing support will identify where risk and opportunities lie.

It will also provide a robust evidence base from which to engage with shift workers and Trade Unions.

This engagement should involve open and honest discussions around challenges, drivers of change and provide the outline of objectives and how stakeholders can best collaborate to achieve them.

A key part of engaging with shift workers and Trade Unions is understanding how the workforce feels and what they want when it comes to shift work.

optashift use sophisticated sentiment and preference analysis tools to build a detailed picture across roles, demographics, contract sizes and a wide range of other variables.

A data-led and collaborative approach provides the foundations for effective solution co-design whereby employees and Trade Unions work with management to directly shape shift work improvement initiatives.

This can span everything from shift patterns and shift swap policies through to personalised health and wellbeing support.

It also provides the foundation for continuous improvement, with shift workers and Trade Unions following a well-understood best practice approach that promotes change readiness and ensures shift work remains dynamic and aligned to organisational requirements and shift worker needs.

Following shift work optimisation and improvement best practice will not only reduce the risk of industrial action but deliver a wide range of benefits such as productivity improvement, strengthening recruitment and retention and delivering against ESG strategies.

You can read more about best practice in this case study.

Shift Work Assessment

Optimising shift patterns and shift work delivers huge benefits…but complexity and competing priorities sees many organisations leave things as they are.

Our Shift Work Assessment is a streamlined process which quickly analyses all relevant operational and HR factors to give you a tailored plan for immediate improvement.

How optashift can help

We work closely with organisations, shift workers and Trade Union representatives to design and implement new shift patterns and improve shift work conditions.

Our team has delivered major shift work transformation and optimisation initiatives on behalf of hundreds of organisations and millions of shift workers and includes experts in stakeholder communications and engagement and Trade Union relations.

optashift’s expertise, technology and collaborative approach enables us to balance complex operational requirements with staff preferences, setting the standard for future projects.

There are also several consultations underway looking at how some of the changes will be implemented, and government is currently seeking views on shift work legislation around changing shift patterns. We’ve summarised key points and included how to get involved here.