header-logo header-logo

24 June 2010 / Jennifer Eady KC , Nadia Motraghi
Issue: 7423 / Categories: Opinion , Employment
printer mail-detail

United action

The most recent legal flare-up between British Airways and Unite (representing BA cabin crew) has dominated the headlines and for once it was not just labour lawyers debating whether there was a right to strike in the UK.

The most recent legal flare-up between British Airways and Unite (representing BA cabin crew) has dominated the headlines and for once it was not just labour lawyers debating whether there was a right to strike in the UK. In the High Court, BA got its injunction on the basis of what looked like a technicality: a failure to notify individual members of eleven spoiled ballot papers. Could the democratic will of BA cabin crew be overridden by such a failure on the part of the union? Ultimately the Court of Appeal (by a majority) held not. In so doing, the court seemed to acknowledge the need to recognise a “right to strike” without pronouncing on the legal basis of such a right.

The right to strike

The traditional (Denning-esque view) is that there is

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
back-to-top-scroll