HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have confirmed that there will be strike action taken by security staff who work at Court buildings across its estate on Friday 22, Monday 25, Wednesday 27 and Friday 29 September. The security staff taking strike action are employed by OCS, an outsourced contractor, rather than by HMCTS directly. They are members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union, and they number nearly 500 according to reports. Following a recent ballot surrounding a dispute over pay rises, the strikes are expected to affect a number of buildings across all four strike days.
Estimates as to the potential extent of the impact vary considerably. HMCTS' Chief Executive has stated that 30 of 330 sites are expected to be suspended on the strike dates. PCS has stated it expects the strikes will ‘severely impact’ the running of 149 Court buildings across the country.
A number of hearing centres have been initiating contingency plans, to convert their cases to remote instead of in-person hearings, or to relocate the hearing centre at which the attended hearing is to take place. HMCTS has stated that it expects to be able to provide an update with a list of affected sites in its Weekly Operational Summary which will be published on Friday 22 September.