{"id":55802,"date":"2026-06-04T05:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T05:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/55802\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T05:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T05:32:10","slug":"tube-strike-what-are-my-rights-as-an-employee-if-i-cant-get-into-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/55802\/","title":{"rendered":"Tube strike: What are my rights as an employee if I can\u2019t get into work?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p>Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n<p>Large parts of London\u2019s tube network <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/travel\/news-and-advice\/tube-strikes-today-2026-london-dates-tfl-thursday-b2987732.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">will shut down for two 24-hour periods<\/a> this week after last-minute talks between rail workers and Transport for London (TfL) failed to produce results.<\/p>\n<p>Commuters may face difficulty getting to work on Tuesday and Thursday, as the strike action will see most London Underground <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/home-news\/tube-strikes-london-today-tfl-live-updates-b2987680.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">lines severely disrupted or closed on both days.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The talks between Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and TfL on Monday failed to resolve the dispute. The strikes are in response to issues including a new four-day week which the union says its members oppose. The drivers\u2019 union Aslef has accepted the new arrangements.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-06-02T091936Z_386808290_RC2LLLA44HMK_RTRMADP_3_BRITAIN-STRIKES-TRANSPORT.JPG\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A sign lists service disruption details at Hammersmith underground station\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>A sign lists service disruption details at Hammersmith underground station (Reuters)<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s everything that commuters whose working arrangements are affected by the action need to know:<\/p>\n<p>What do I need to do to prepare for a strike day?<\/p>\n<p>Even if an employee faces difficultly getting to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/work\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">work<\/a> due to rail disruption, it remains their responsibility to travel to work, and they should communicate with their employer where this has become unrealistic.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew Leakey, head of civil &amp; commercial litigation at Jackson Lees, writes: \u201cNot working their contractual hours means that the employee is not fulfilling their contract of employment\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn principle, an employer would be within its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/rights\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">rights<\/a> to refuse to pay an employee who misses work because of transport disruption.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven when the issue is out of the control of the employee, this is still the case,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>However, the solicitor says it is not always good practice for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/employers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">employers<\/a> to follow these rules to the letter, instead recommending they work with their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/employees\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">employees<\/a> to find a solution.<\/p>\n<p>Can I work from home on a strike day?<\/p>\n<p>For employees where off-site working is possible, this is usually the best option. However, in work places where working from home arrangements are not flexible, it is advisable this be discussed with the employer beforehand.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2278689415...jpeg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Commuters queue for a red double decker bus outside Victoria train station\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>Commuters queue for a red double decker bus outside Victoria train station (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n<p>Mr Leakey writes: \u201cIt may be agreed for the employee to attend work on a different day, for example one whereby the employee would normally be working remotely.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe risk to the reputation of a business and staff morale can be seen to greatly outweigh not showing a degree of flexibility at a time when it is inevitable there will be some disruption to an employees working day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Do I need to take a strike day as annual leave?<\/p>\n<p>This could be an option for some employees, especially where working from home is not possible and there is very little chance of being able to commute to the office.<\/p>\n<p>As with other arrangements, it is always advisable this be discussed beforehand with the employer. This is especially the case if all of the employee\u2019s annual leave has been used, as a different agreement may need to be made.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Leakey advises: \u201cMost people would prefer to take paid leave than lose out on pay, but there will be times when this is not possible. We would always suggest applying the most sensible option on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf shift swaps are an option, or making time up to prevent a financial deficit to the employee, this should also be considered by the employer.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55803,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[26],"tags":[6355,27,35,285],"class_list":["post-55802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-horizontal","tag-london","tag-strike","tag-transport"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116690206271134071","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}