Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992

TULRCA brings together collective labour law. Part IV deals with industrial action — ballot requirements, notice periods, immunities. Section 188 imposes collective redundancy consultation duties (30 days for 20-99 affected employees, 45 days for 100+); breach gives rise to protective awards of up to 180 days' pay per affected employee. Section 207A allows Tribunal compensation adjustments for failure to comply with statutory codes (e.g. ACAS Code). Trade Union Act 2016 amended ballot thresholds and political fund rules.

In practice, most people meet TULRCA through section 188 rather than through industrial action. The duty bites when an employer proposes to dismiss 20 or more employees as redundant at one establishment within a 90-day period, and it requires consultation with elected representatives or a recognised union — not with individuals alone — about ways of avoiding the dismissals, reducing the numbers, and mitigating the consequences. Consultation must begin in good time and before any notice of dismissal is given.

Worked example: a retailer decides to close a distribution centre employing 60 people. It must notify the Secretary of State using form HR1 before consultation begins, and consult for at least 45 days because more than 100 are not affected but 20 or more are — for 20 to 99 the minimum is 30 days, for 100 or more it is 45. It arranges elections for employee representatives, gives them the statutory information in writing including the reasons, numbers, selection method and how redundancy pay will be calculated, and meets them repeatedly. When it instead issues notices during week two, the representatives bring a claim and the tribunal makes a protective award of up to 180 days' pay for each affected employee — a liability that dwarfs the cost of consulting properly.

The misconceptions are consistent. Collective consultation does not replace individual consultation; both are required, and doing only one is a common ground for unfair dismissal findings. Announcing a decision and then inviting comments is not consultation, because the proposals must still be capable of being influenced. A protective award is a penalty for failing to consult and is payable even to employees who would have been made redundant anyway. And industrial action is lawful only within the statutory immunities — a ballot meeting the turnout and notice requirements, and action in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute — so a walkout without a ballot exposes both the union and individual employees.

TULRCA supplies the section 207A adjustment that gives the ACAS Code its teeth, works alongside the Employment Rights Act 1996 on individual rights, and sits behind claims for unfair dismissal arising from trade union activity. Read our guides to collective redundancy and trade union rights.