The 1993 Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act limited that prohibition under certain special circumstances in matters short of dismissal. The 1990 Employment Act made unions responsible for members' industrial actions, including unofficial strikes, unless union officials repudiate the action in writing. Unofficial strikers can be legally dismissed, and voluntary work stoppage is considered a breach of contract. During the 1980s, Parliament eliminated immunity from prosecution in secondary strikes and in actions with suspected political motivations. Actions against subsidiaries of companies engaged in bargaining disputes are banned if the subsidiary is not the employer of record.
Unions encouraging such actions are subject to fines and seizure of their assets.
Many unions claim that workers are not protected from employer secondary action such as work transfers within the corporate structure. Local education authorities can limit employment of children under 16 years old if working will interfere with a child's education. With the exception of wages in agriculture, the setting of minimum wages in the UK was abolished by the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act of 1993. Daily and weekly working hours are not limited by law. Hazardous working conditions are banned by the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974.