Guidance checked on 27 September 2026. Covers England, Scotland and Wales; Northern Ireland employment rules differ.
Employers can generally withhold earnings for work missed through strike action. The calculation depends on how the employee is paid and their contractual terms. Someone who was not due to work should not lose pay simply because a strike occurred. GOV.UK: strike pay and working records.
For payroll, keep three decisions separate: did the employee participate, what earnings should be withheld, and what should be reported to HMRC? A strike record does not answer all three.
Before approving the pay run:
- Confirm the scheduled work actually missed.
- Check the applicable contractual calculation.
- Explain the pay reduction to the employee.
- Review overlapping leave and pension arrangements.
- Check the payslip and HMRC reporting.
- Keep the records supporting the calculation.
Start with the work actually missed
Build the payroll record around what happened to the individual employee. A union’s announced strike dates help with planning, but they do not establish which shifts each person missed.
A useful record brings together the employee’s scheduled hours, the dates and hours they participated, any work completed, and other relevant absences. For intermittent action, record each affected period separately.
For example, a strike campaign might run across several weeks while an employee misses only two shifts. A broad start and end date should not become a deduction for every working day between them.
Keep the confirmed absence alongside the payroll adjustment. This gives the person reviewing payroll a clear route from the attendance record to the earnings withheld.
How much pay should you withhold?
Government guidance says the reduction should reflect what the employee would have earned during the strike. The method depends on their pay arrangements and employment contract. GOV.UK: calculating strike deductions.
For hourly employees, the calculation may be straightforward once the relevant paid hours and rate are confirmed. Salaried employees require closer attention to the applicable contractual basis.
Avoid applying one standard daily divisor across every contract. Equally, do not assume that dividing monthly salary by that month’s working days is always appropriate.
Document the calculation before entering the adjustment. Identify the rate or salary basis, the affected time, any relevant pay elements and the resulting amount. If the contractual position is unclear, resolve that question before treating a software calculation as authoritative.
Action short of a strike also needs separate consideration. Where an employer accepts partial performance, government guidance says employees must still be paid for the work they have done. GOV.UK: partial performance.
Worked example: one shift, three decisions
An employee earns £15 per hour and is scheduled for a shift containing eight paid hours. They participate in strike action and miss the whole shift.
Assume their applicable contractual calculation permits withholding the earnings for those eight hours, with no additional pay elements affecting this example.
£15 × 8 paid hours = £120 gross-pay reduction.
The payroll review then has three distinct answers:
| Decision | Result in this example |
|---|---|
| Strike participation | The employee missed the scheduled shift through strike action. |
| Pay reduction | The applicable calculation produces a £120 gross-pay reduction. |
| HMRC reporting | The payment being reported includes pay reduced because of strike action, so the FPS “On strike” indicator applies. |
The £120 is a reduction in gross earnings. It is not necessarily the reduction in take-home pay, which depends on the rest of the payroll calculation.
Keep this example’s assumptions visible. Eight paid hours are not automatically the same as an eight-hour attendance window containing an unpaid break.
Check the HMRC “On strike” indicator
HMRC instructs employers to use the FPS “On strike” indicator when they have reduced the employee’s pay because of strike action. It appears within the information about pay and deductions for the period. HMRC: payroll information to report.
The reporting question is therefore whether the payment being reported reflects that reduction. A strike date, an absence entry or an ongoing dispute does not establish this by itself.
As a review step, match the indicator to the adjustment in the pay run. If earnings remain unchanged, a recorded strike absence alone does not justify the indicator.
Where an adjustment is processed later, check the treatment of that payment rather than assuming the original absence dates settle the reporting decision.
HMRC also requires an FPS on or before payday unless an exception applies. Make the reporting review part of payroll approval, rather than a separate check after submission. HMRC: FPS reporting requirements.
Review leave and pensions before making the adjustment
A strike happening in the workplace does not automatically change everyone’s leave entitlement.
Acas says employees on annual leave must be paid, and employees off sick should receive their usual sick pay. It also says the listed family leave and associated pay, including maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave, must not be affected by strikes. Acas: strikes, pay and leave.
Check overlapping records before deciding that a missing attendance entry represents strike participation.
Pensions require a separate review. Acas notes that striking workers will not usually receive contractual benefits such as pension contributions. Check the relevant scheme and employment arrangements before deciding the effect on contributions or pensionable service. Acas: contractual benefits during strikes.
A checklist for the payroll approver
Use these checks to make the adjustment understandable and reviewable:
- Confirm the absence. Match actual participation to scheduled work. Resolve gaps or conflicting records.
- Check the calculation basis. Record the contractual method, affected hours or days, and relevant rate.
- Review exceptions. Reconcile holiday, sickness, family leave and pension arrangements.
- Explain the adjustment. Give the employee the affected dates, calculation and amount, with a contact for questions.
- Inspect the payroll result. Check the gross-pay adjustment and its presentation on the payslip.
- Check the FPS. Confirm that the strike indicator matches the payment being reported.
- Retain the evidence. Keep the absence record, calculation, explanation and approval together.
Acas recommends notifying workers promptly about deductions they would not expect and says deductions must be clearly stated on their payslip. A clear explanation also makes errors easier to identify before payday. Acas: making and checking deductions.
Employment protection is a separate question
Protected industrial action and unofficial action have different legal consequences. An absence label should not be used to decide whether dismissal or disciplinary action is lawful.
For protected industrial action begun by the employee on or after 18 February 2026, the former time limit on automatic unfair-dismissal protection was removed. Earlier action remains subject to transitional rules. Expiry of the former protected period did not, by itself, make dismissal lawful. GOV.UK: industrial action transitional rules.
When employees return after a strike, their continuous employment is not broken, although strike days do not count towards total length of service. GOV.UK: employment and service records.
Seek employment-law advice where the status of the action or a proposed employment decision is disputed.
Recording strike dates in Workmax
Workmax’s strike-date fields provide a place to record a start and end date. Keep the supporting details of actual missed work and the payroll calculation alongside your records.
For intermittent action, review the individual affected shifts. Entering a date range should not be treated as confirmation that deductions have been calculated or HMRC reporting has been checked.
Frequently asked questions
Does an employee have to tell us in advance?
No. Acas says individuals do not have to notify their employer in advance or contact them on the strike day. This is separate from the union’s notice obligations. Acas: strike notification.
Can we reduce pay for a non-working day?
No, if the employee was not supposed to work that day for other reasons. GOV.UK: strike deductions.
How should we handle intermittent strikes?
Record each actual period of missed work and match each payroll adjustment to that evidence.
What should happen when the employee returns?
Acas says the employee should tell their employer they were on strike. Reconcile the absence record and check that subsequent pay runs do not carry forward an unsupported reduction. Acas: returning after strike action.
