Industrial Action (IA)

Taking Part in Industrial Action

The BMA has announced a period of industial action for Resident Doctors from 7:00am Tuesday 7th April until 7:00am Monday 13th April 2026.

For staff who are members of the Trade Union, bringing the action will be protected, regardless of whether or not they voted in the ballot, and whether they voted for or against industrial action (IA).

Staff who are in a Trade Union that is different to the one bringing the action will be deemed to be taking unofficial IA if they decide to take part and will not have the same protection.

Information for GP Practices only - ESR Guidance

To ensure that any industrial action (IA) undertaken by resident doctors on placement at your practice is reported correctly, we have developed a guide to support the input of these details directly into ESR.

Please note for April strike action: It is extremely important that this information is entered directly into ESR by 10am each day. We understand due to the working arrangements of resident doctors whilst in GP practice that there will be no reporting requirements for Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th. However, reporting will be required on the other days of strike action. 

No action is required to be completed in ESR where a resident doctor does not participate in IA and attends work as normal.

Industrial Action FAQs - Hosts

We have created a set of FAQs based on the the queries coming through regarding indutrial action. We are regularly updating these as new information is received.

• How do I record details of resident doctors who are on strike?

  We will issue a spreadsheet to hosts for completion to assist the Lead Employer with making pay deductions as reported. Please ensure the spreadsheet is completed and returned to lead.employer@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk by Friday 24th April. 

• Who should I contact in Lead Employer (LE) if I have any queries?

  Please forward all enquiries in relation to resident doctor industrial action to the Lead Employer (LE) Helpdesk Team at lead.employer@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk. Please include ‘Industrial Action’ in the subject header.

• What support will I receive as a host organisation from the Lead Employer (LE)?

  We will have designated contacts available for host organisations to contact during industrial action (IA) dates. Alongside April strike action dates, further details will be shared as/when future strike dates have been confirmed.

• Are resident doctors in a hospice placement which is a non-NHS organisation entitle to take part in strike action?

  Yes, if they have been balloted to take industrial action (IA), they are still entitled regardless of the status of the host in which they are placed.

• How do I access ESR to record industrial action? (GP Practices only)

  Please note for April strike action: It is extremely important that this information is entered directly into ESR by 10am each day. We understand due to the working arrangements of resident doctors whilst in GP practice that there will be no reporting requirements for Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th. However, reporting will be required on the other days of strike action. If you are at a practice that does not have access to ESR, please contact us as a matter of urgency: esr.helpdesk@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk to request your access details.

  You may also wish to refer to guidance on how to use ESR which you can find here.

• Will colleagues-in-training that have half days built into their rota have deductions made for a partial shift at a different rate to 1/365th?

  No

• Are colleagues-in-training who are working via NHS England Lead Employer, but are currently placed in a hospital in Wales be eligible to participate in the strike?

  Any colleagues-in-training who is employed by Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hosptials NHS Trust (MWL) will have the right to strike despite where their current placement is.

• For resident doctors wishing to take part in strike action who don't come in during 9-5 as per their rostered shift, are they able to cover a locum shift in the evening/night shift?

  The legislation does not prohibit a resident doctor who has withdrawn labour during his/her rostered shift from undertaking bank shifts as a locum at other times where he/she isn’t rostered to work. Organisations may not want to offer bank work to striking resident doctors as a point of principle but use of resident doctors in this way is likely to be determined by an organisation’s requirement to provide safe services.

  Using the definitions contained within the Working Time Regulations 1998, time spent on strike can be considered a rest period. Time on strike does not count as “working time” unless there is a collective agreement stating otherwise, as the individual is not working, not carrying out their duties and not at the employer’s disposal during that period, all requirements for “working time”. A rest period is a period which is not working time, other than a rest break, the uninterrupted period of not less than 20 minutes if the worker's working time is more than six hours, or annual leave. Accordingly, if individuals are rostered on days and strike during those periods, it is not working time, and is therefore a rest period, so the individual could then work the night shift.