Section 226A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 requires that notice of the ballot and a sample voting paper must be sent to the employer within a certain time period. If it is not sent, the call to strike action will not be protected, and you will have grounds for obtaining an injunction.

The notice must be in writing and must include the following specified facts: 

• that the union intends to hold the ballot;
• the date on which the union reasonably believes will be the opening day of the ballot;
• a list of the categories of employee to which the employees concerned belong and a list of their workplaces; and
• figures for the total number of employees concerned and the number of employees for each category and workplace concerned, together with an explanation of how those figures were arrived at.

The lists and figures under this section must be as accurate as is reasonably practicable, taking into account the information that the union possesses at that time.  The employees concerned are those whom the union reasonably believes will be entitled to vote in the ballot.