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Unison has won a ‘breakthrough' strike deductions test case, which could have major implications for any future strike action.

The High Court ruled last week that employers must include annual leave and bank holidays when calculating how much pay to deduct for strike action. Unison brought the test case, Cooper v Isle of Wight College, following strike action to protect members pensions rights in March last year.

The decision means Isle of Wight College should have deducted only 1/260th of the annual salary of a striker for the one-day strike, not 1/228th.

‘The amount may seem small, but the principle is much bigger,' said Dave Prentis, Unison general secretary.

‘The strike action was to defend pension rights and it involved 30,000 members in the further education sector.

Many colleges used an unfair formula and took more money than they were entitled. Employers will fall foul of the law if they fail to include annual leave and bank holidays in their calculations.'