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Industrial action: FAQs

Get answers to your questions about strike action. Find out about your rights and responsibilities, and how to respond to industrial action.

Updated
on 22 June 2026See updates
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 45513
Contents
  1. What's the current state of play? 
  2. How to respond to strike action
  3. What to do about cover and teaching arrangements
  4. Understand rights and pay for striking workers
  5. Practical considerations for strike days

These FAQs are based on:

See the sources section at the bottom of this page for the other guidance, advice and legislation that these FAQs draw from.

Please note, unions may have different interpretations of your legal requirements than the DfE.

We recommend you seek legal advice and consult with any union reps in your school, as appropriate.

What's the current state of play? 

How to respond to strike action

What to do about cover and teaching arrangements

Understand rights and pay for striking workers

Practical considerations for strike days

Sources

The information in this article is based on:

Article updates

22 June 2026

We've updated this article in line with:

  • The Employment Rights Act 2025 around the rules for picket supervision, and trade union notice periods and disclosure of members
  • The latest state of play about pay awards, including that the statutory pay and conditions framework has been extended to include academies as a result of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 

The rest of the rules, guidance and your responsibilities around strike action have not changed.

26 January 2026

We've updated this article to reflect changes enacted by the Employment Right Act 2025, impacting the removal of minimum service levels, and granting automatic unfair dismissal claims for workers dismissed for taking part in strike action.

14 April 2025

We've updated the 'current state of play section' with the results of the NEU's preliminary online ballot.

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