Can universities cut staff pay for the strike as they please? "No way", says the law.

Despite threats from various universities to deduct a high proportion of pay from staff over the recent strikes, it is very unlikely that such actions would be deemed legal, writes Ewan McGaughey. He explains the law when it comes to wage deductions, who is at fault for the strike, and why university management would be extremely ill-advised to engage in any punitive retaliation for the strikes.