18.08.2026 / Press releases / BUTLINS

Butlin’s Resort Safety Officers announce strike action over August bank holiday weekend, escalating to continuous action from 21 September 

 

• Butlin’s Resort Safety Officers announce strike action over safety concerns, low-pay and working conditions as 90th anniversary celebrations continue. 

• Walkouts are confirmed for 28 – 30 August, 4 – 7 September 10 – 15 September and continuous strike action from 21 September, at Butlin’s Bognor Regis resort. 

• The Resort Safety Officers members of United Voices of the World Union call on Butlin’s CEO, Jon Hendry Pickup, to sit down and negotiate. 
 
   

Resort Safety Officers at Butlin’s Bognor Regis have announced five days of strike action in an escalating dispute over safety concerns, staffing levels, low pay, wage deductions and working conditions. 

The workers, members of United Voices of the World (UVW), voted 100% in favour of strike action following repeated attempts to resolve their concerns with management. 

The planned strike dates are 28 – 30 August, 4 – 7 September, 10 – 15 September and continuous strike action from 21 September.  

The safety officers are responsible for responding to incidents across the resort, including violence and aggression, lost children, and medical emergencies.  They say chronic understaffing, faulty equipment, lack of paid breaks, what they believe are unlawful wage deductions and poor management are undermining their ability to keep guests and colleagues safe. 

The officers are calling on Butlin’s CEO Jon Hendry Pickup to avert the planned action by sitting down urgently with them and their union of choice, UVW, to negotiate a resolution. 

The dispute comes as Butlin’s celebrates 90 years of family holidays and seeks further recognition at the British Travel Awards. Butlin’s reported £28.3 million in pre-tax profits in 2024, according to accounts filed at Companies House. 

Separately, workers say they raised fire safety concerns for more than three years, including concerns about fire doors and external cladding. They say some of these concerns only began to be addressed in early August 2026, after workers unionised and UVW warned that formal complaints could follow. 

Nelly Ospino, General Secretary of United Voices of the World (UVW), said: 

“This is Butlin’s 90th anniversary, a moment when the company is celebrating nine decades of bringing families together. But the workers responsible for keeping those families safe are telling us that they are not being listened to or properly supported. Our members do not want to strike. They want to sit down, negotiate and find a solution. That is why we are calling directly on Jon Hendry Pickup: get round the table with the workers and their union of choice and avert this strike. 

Good employers do not wait until workers are forced to strike before they listen. These safety officers have repeatedly raised serious concerns about staffing, equipment, breaks, pay and working conditions. They should not have to take industrial action to get management to engage with them. 

Butlin’s wants families to feel safe and cared for when they visit its resorts. The people responsible for delivering that safety deserve exactly the same care and respect. 

There is still time to avert these strikes. Jon Hendry Pickup should sit down with the workers and UVW and negotiate. That is the responsible thing to do — for the workers, for Butlin’s and for its guests.” 

Alan Riley, Resort Safety Officer and UVW member, said: 

“Every day, we give our all to our work, consistently going the extra mile to uphold Butlin’s values of creating smiles, getting stuck in and looking out for one another. 

But we need that same commitment from management. We are responsible for keeping guests and colleagues safe, yet we have repeatedly raised concerns about staffing, equipment and working conditions that make our jobs harder and less safe. 

We don’t want to strike. We want to do our jobs properly, with the staffing, equipment and support we need. We are calling on Jon Hendry Pickup to meet with us and our union and resolve this dispute.” 

ABOUT THE DISPUTE 

The workers’ demands include: 

1. Recruitment of at least five additional permanent Resort Safety Officers 

2. Reliable and properly maintained equipment 

3. Changes to management and workplace practices 

4. Paid night-shift breaks 

5. Repayment of wages workers say were unlawfully deducted 

6. A pay rise to £14 an hour 

7. Voluntary recognition of UVW as their union 

8. Reinstatement of a colleague workers believe was unfairly dismissed 
    

For further information, contact the UVW communications team:
 
Isabel: 07706 987443
 
Cristina: 07548 759340
 
Email: comms@uvwunion.org.uk 
 
 ENDS 

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