December Strike Action

December Strike Action

Recent announcements by several unions indicate that the country may be hit by significant strike action in December.

Postal and train workers, underground and bus drivers, Heathrow workers and now Nurses have all announced plans to strike over the coming months.

Over 100,000 civil servants have also voted to go on strike over pay and conditions. Further unions have announced that their members are also going to vote on possible strike action, so there may be more disruption to come.

Whilst dates of strike action are yet to be confirmed for many of these workers, we can expect that these strikes, if they go ahead, will cause significant disruption to the country.

To minimise the impact, we are asking our clients to plan ahead, and to take into account how this strike action may impact their employees and their payroll.

For example, postal strikes will affect the speed that you can send and receive letters and transport strikes could make it difficult for your staff to get to work, especially at peak times.

To avoid disruption to your care, and possible delays in receiving your payroll information in December, here are a few ideas to minimise any disruption:

• Discuss in advance with your employees how transport strikes may affect their journey and make adjustments if required
• Consider the impact cancellations of medical appointments may have on your care requirements
• Send in your payroll information as early as possible (using Online or email service where possible).
• Access your payroll documents online or allow plenty of time for post to arrive
• Keep up to date with strike action in your area

Please note that whilst strike action for the postal workers may be called off, demands on Royal Mail over December is always high, and will cause delays to standard post during the festive period. It is important therefore that you take this into consideration when working out when to send in your payroll information.

In December our payroll department does close for the festive period, so please do check our opening times and deadlines well in advance.