Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether (a) public and (b) private sector employees can suspend (i) check off and (ii) facility time for trade unions during industrial action.

It is for individual employers and trade unions to agree on appropriate approaches during industrial action. The government encourages employers to work constructively with workers and representatives to resolve disputes.

Public and private sector employers may be able to suspend check-off and facility time while employees take industrial action, depending on the legal status of those arrangements – particularly whether they are contractually guaranteed.