Law firm Thompsons Solicitors has called the government’s response to the consultation on ballot thresholds in ‘important public services’, put forward in the Trade Union Bill, ‘unworkable and unlawful’.

The Bill seeks to impose a requirement for a 50% turnout in all industrial action ballots. But, in industrial action ballots in so-called ‘important public services’ (health, fire services, education of those under 17 years old, transport, border services and nuclear decommissioning) there would be an additional requirement that at least 40% of those entitled to vote had to support the action.

The ballot threshold proposals present huge practical difficulties and today’s consultation response was the government’s attempt to address them.

In what Richard Arthur, Head of Trade Union Law Strategy at Thompsons Solicitors, described as ‘a dog’s dinner of a mess’, the government has said the threshold will not apply to ‘ancillary’ workers, i.e. those not actually delivering the important public service. It will however include private sector workers in ‘important public services’, except in health and education of those under 17 where they will only be included if they are delivering a publicly-funded service. Where the group to be balloted includes some who deliver an ‘important public service’ and some who do not, the threshold will apply if a majority of them deliver ‘important public services’.

Head of Trade Union Law Strategy at Thompsons Solicitors, Richard Arthur, said: “The government’s plans were unworkable before this supposed clarification and now they are unworkable and a joke. Nobody is going to understand what they mean.

“Shockingly poor legislation is one thing but, incredibly, the government has taken the opportunity in their response to dismiss international laws binding on the UK. Disregarding international laws that the UK has long recognised the government says in its response that conventions of the International Labour Organisation, an agency of the UN have a ‘merely advisory role’ meaning they can ignore them at will. Their attitude is as arrogant as it is chilling,” Mr Arthur continued.

The consultation response comes on the same day the government unveiled its impact assessment for the Trade Union Bill. Trade unions will face an upfront cost of £11 million, and then a cost of £26 million over five years to deal with the consequences of the Bill.