Can I strike for part of the time?

[Stucknow1980]

My union is holding strike action for 5 weeks. For reasons that I won’t go into, I can’t strike for the full time. Can I strike for part of the time? Eg 1 day a week? Is this legal?

no. youre in or youre out.
if you are a member and break the strike to work, even from home, you will be called a blackleg. colleagues will not forget. you will not want to be that person.

the strike is to show the management the strength of staff feeling. the more of you are out, the more likely the employer is to cave in.

nobody can afford to strike for that long. it will cause real hardship. but can you afford not to strike? whatever your union is striking for they must have had a high yes on the strike action vote or they would not be allowed to do this.

there will be strike hardship funds people can apply for.

Which union is it? Some pay automatic strike pay, for example UNISON pay £50 net per day. Plus all unions have a strike hardship fund which you can claim from in addition.

You absolutely can work for part of the time, but need to check whether your employer will pay you for working part of the time. It looks as though the law on 'partial srikes' has changed, meaning employers are less able to stop you being paid for a 'partial strike'. Where I work, people got paid for whole days only during a strike. ie you couldn't srike for half a day: but I don't know if they can still do that.

When I was called out on strike after we'd had a ballot, another union member carried on working. He said it was because he hadn't voted for the strike. I think he should have looked up the point of a union - it's strength in numbers. Are there other people there who are in a similar situation to you? What do they think about striking?

Your employer won't forget the days you were striking

Your colleagues won't forget the days you scabbed

You need to choose if you're in or out, if you want to keep good relations with at least one side.

Depends on the employer and union.

I was very surprised when there was a strike at work to find the union officials still at work. It wasn’t clear who was on strike and no sign of a picket line. But very high living costs area, strike pay didn’t kick in until after a certain number of days and there was no guarantee of the amount.

Totally depends on the terms of the strike action, your union and your employer.

Why would you bother to be part of a trade union if you’re not going to support a decision to strike? If you’re not prepared to abide by the outcome of the ballot then you should resign from the union.

Speak to your union OP, I imagine they’ll be keen to support you in a way that will enable you to strike the full 5 weeks if you so wish.

If your reasons are financial then ignore the posters on here, many people can’t afford to miss 5 weeks pay.

Yeah i understand the above sentiment, but if you cant afford 5 weeks without pay (who bloody can?!) then you cant strike

Tell your colleagues why, be honest with them, that you support them and are sorry but you just need the money. Most of them will understand

In 2026, I dont think you will be shamed for not being able to afford it. Maybe bake your colleagues some cakes or make a dish for them on the picket line xx

Sometimes something is better than nothing. Or for example if OP is pregnant and the strike falls over the qualifying period for SMP she may fully wish to strike, but not to the extent of losing out on SMP.

The union should know and expect that many will not be able to do all 5 weeks, and would probably be happy to reach a compromise in such cases.

Anecdotally I remember there were big lecturer strikes a while ago while DD was at uni, and not all lecturers striked everyday.

I agree that OP’s colleagues won’t hold it against her though, I hope the responses from others on this thread haven’t made her anxious.

See if your union has a hardship fund, @Stucknow1980.They might be able to help you out so that you can strike but still have some income.

Don’t be an idiot. Do your job and be grateful you have one.

I have always supported strikes, but five weeks is too much. We’ve had to start getting private care for my autistic DD as CAMHS is an absolute joke so we really can’t afford to lose 5 weeks of pay. I’m the only breadwinner. It’s either partial or not at all. At best 20% of people will strike so I’d be in the minority being on strike at all.

Which union is it?

If enough people support what was voted for, the strike might be called off long before the five weeks are up. It’s when employers know that support is weak that they will hold on.

Will you be taking just a percentage of what those who go without pay throughout are awarded?

Is the action all out, every day for 5 weeks? Or staggered strikes?
I'm a union rep and would find 5 weeks very hard! Are you sure there is no plan for strike pay? Hardship fund definitely.
I would still prefer you went on strike for part of the time (at the start for the biggest impact) than not at all.

I think the best you could do would be to strike at the beginning then return after a few weeks
but you certainly couldn’t just strike for 1 day a week or something like that