The Supreme Court today has handed down judgment in Mercer v Alternative Future Group and others [2024] UKSC 12.
The appeal concerned whether Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights requires States to protect striking workers against being subjected to detriment by their employers and, if so, whether any remedy lay under sections 3 or 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998.
The Court held that the Convention requires some degree of protection, which was not adequately provided by existing legislation, but that the scope of such protection involved difficult policy choices. The Court accordingly held that it should not read down the legislation to remedy the absence of protection under Article 11, but instead issued a declaration of incompatibility under section 4.
Daniel Stilitz KC and Hannah Slarks acted for the Department for Business and Trade.
