Staff news and information

New - Unite/NAECI Industrial action at Sellafield

Another period of industrial action at the Sellafield site is expected to take place from 00:01 on Monday 27 October and will continue until 23:59 on Sunday 09 November 2025.

This industrial action has been planned by the Unite union for its members covered by the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI) and the Construction Industry Joint Council agreements.

We expect disruption when accessing the Sellafield site during the period of industrial action.

Therefore, wherever practicable and feasible, managers should enable teams to undertake their normal work from a different location, including an off-site office or from home.

This will help to protect availability of critical resources and to mitigate traffic disruption and impact on our local community.

Please car share or use the bus/train where possible - not only when accessing site, but for travel to off-site offices which we expect will be busier than usual.

Strike details:

  • The strike action is due to begin at 00:01 on Monday 27 October until 23:59 09 November 2025.

  • Unite have notified Cumbria Police that they intend to start pickets from Monday at 6am and start marches from 7am.

  • The action affects the Sellafield site only – not off-site offices in Cumbria or Risley.

Information on travel/transport/site access:

  • We may change gate opening times to help traffic flows. We’ll update the electronic road signs with any changes.

  • Cumbria Police will manage traffic disruption from the A595 and Yottenfews car park.

  • As during the previous strike action, the Risley coach will depart from Kangol car park rather than Yottenfews. Pick-up times remain the same.

  • Pedestrian turnstiles will remain operational at all site gates (access code needed).

  • There may be some delays to on-site deliveries.

  • Road safety: Drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists all need to be extra vigilant and careful as ‘normal’ traffic flows could change. Wearing hi-vis is more important than ever.  Drivers have the right to proceed safely past pickets without engaging with them.

  • Normal Sellafield site access arrangements will apply – you will require a valid SOVA to access the Sellafield site.

  • Normal arrangements apply for Yottenfews car park. It can be used by anyone with YOVAs or SOVAs.

  • Colleagues are encouraged to make use of the Yottenfews car park where possible, and walk on to site, as this will assist in reducing local traffic congestion and improving journey times onto site.

  • Some B111 training courses have changed location – the attendees of those courses have been contacted directly.

  • Pass office: Opening hours will be later than usual during the industrial action (10:30am to 14:30am).

  • Toilets are available for those coming in to work, at Yottenfews (security office) and all gate houses.

  • Drones - Please be aware we will be deploying drones to monitor traffic during periods of action.

Expectations on attendance:

  • Our workplaces will remain open and normal working patterns should continue.

  • We expect traffic disruption to the Sellafield site. Therefore, wherever practicable and feasible, managers should enable teams to undertake their normal work from a different location. This may be an off-site office or from home.

  • Only those who cannot carry out their scheduled work from an alternative working location should attend the Sellafield site during the planned industrial action.

  • Line managers and leadership teams will review and adjust working schedules in terms of workload and start/finish to limit traffic heading to the Sellafield site between 5am and 10:30am.

  • If you use an off-site office as an alternative location to site, please use the ‘hubs’ for the area of the business you support.

  • If you work from home on strike days, you line manager must be able to contact you. You must also make yourself available to return to their normal work location, if required.

  • It is particularly important that we all follow our procedures on absence management. See intranet for guidance.

Apprentices and graduates:

  • We have been making alternative arrangements for graduates, degree apprentices and vocational apprentices who would normally have been travelling to the Sellafield site in the mornings.
  • Where possible, training has been moved to off-site locations. For some, start times have been adjusted and they have been given learning packages for home working in the mornings.
  • Individuals are now being contacted about their own arrangements. Any queries, please contact your education and skills lead or pathway lead directly.
  • We will continually review these arrangements for apprentices and graduates and give people as much notice as possible about how and where they are required to work.

General guidance:

  • As always, the safety and security of the Sellafield site, our workforce, and the local community remain our priority throughout the action.

  • Whilst we try to put in place contingency arrangements in the areas most impacted by the strike action, we respectfully remind everyone that it’s our personal responsibility to ensure our working environment remains safe, hazard-free and fit-for-purpose.

  • Please be respectful to colleagues, regardless of their employer, throughout this period of disruption.

Keep up to date

You can keep up to date via our text and email service providing messages from the safety and site shift manager. 

Sign up for Sellafield site updates here.

A message from Roddy Miller, chief operating officer, Sellafield Ltd:

This will be the third period of action in the ongoing Unite dispute and the first time it has lasted for two weeks rather than one. Although some disruption is inevitable, we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact on the people working at Sellafield.

There has been some important learning taken from the first two strikes. This time there will be fewer people travelling to site in the mornings thanks to our efforts in making alternative arrangements for some people, including graduates and apprentices.

Thank you to everyone for being flexible.

We are also continually assessing what work is appropriate to be planning for site and will make decisions on that as we monitor the situation. It is important to keep up to date on your local arrangements as these may adapt during periods of action.

I appreciate this is unsettling and makes it difficult to plan, but your work in maintaining a safe and secure nuclear site is being recognised right through to government level.

We are also establishing a formal response team at our Main Site Command Facility, meaning we will be dealing with this in a similar way to our emergency incident response protocols. This will help the situational awareness and allow us to make dynamic decisions on the welfare of people, the situation on the roads and appropriate steps to maintain minimum safe staffing levels.

Our normal Emergency Duty Teams will remain on standby should we need to respond to any other incident.

We are doing all we can to secure the support of external agencies, including the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), whilst maintaining a lawful position on our licence conditions. Our work with Cumbria Police has been vital throughout.

This is not our dispute and therefore we should not be having to tolerate the disruption we have experienced. But it is our responsibility to ensure that our site remains safe and secure throughout and that people are looked after during the disruption.

We will share more information with you over the next fortnight. But please be assured that all our efforts are ensuring that we minimise the disruption to you while keeping the site safe and allowing people to safely hand over work to incoming shifts with minimum delays.

Thank you for your ongoing understanding and support.

How Sellafield can support your welfare

Here are just some of the ways that Sellafield can support your welfare:

  • Access CareFirst, our employee assistance programme – it is available for all employees and your families and includes enhanced external offerings around physical and mental health and wellbeing.
  • For peer support, reach out to one of our 18 employee-led networks.
  • If you need specific arrangements in place to help you at work, speak with your line manager about creating a Reasonable Adjustment Passport.
  • Access our Inclusion hub

Sellafield Employee Assistance Programme

CareFirst, our employee assistance programme, gives every Sellafield employee access to legal advice, money guidance, confidential counselling, information and help sheets and many other services.

Support via CareFirst includes:

  • Expert advisors, trained by Citizens Advice able to provide comprehensive answers and assistance on a wide range of issues which affect daily life.
  • Care First Counsellors: 24/7 support, advice and counselling on any workplace or personal issues. All Care First Counsellors are professionally qualified and accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

To access the programme visit Sharepoint and search for ‘Employee Assistance Programme’.

DigiCare

As part of our Employee Assistance Programme, as a Sellafield employee, you can access the Digicare+ Workplace app.

This provides you with access to:

  • A free annual health check
  • Mental health consultations
  • Nutritional consultations
  • Digital GP service
  • Second medical opinions

See below for details of how to access DigiCare

How Sellafield supports employee mental health

There are several ways that Sellafield can support your mental health as an employee, including:

  • CareFirst, our employee assistance programme
  • Speak to one of our 200+ mental health first aiders
  • Speak to your line manager
  • Access our Inclusion Hub via Sharepoint
  • We urge anyone experiencing mental health issues or suicidal ideation to access support by calling 0800 015 5630.

Sellafield’s Mental Health Champions

Throughout the business we have trained mental health champions. These are employees who:

  • Understand the issues that relate to mental health.
  • Deploy a range of practical skills that can be used on a regular basis, including the ability to spot the signs and symptoms of mental health issues.
  • Interact effectively with people who may be experiencing mental health issues or emotional distress.
  • Guide (with confidence) those who may be suffering mental health issues towards sources of help and appropriate support.
  • Raise awareness and reduce the stigma associated with mental health and promote early intervention enabling more effective recovery and positive mental health.

Sellafield EDI Hub

Employees who have access to the Sellafield Ltd IT network can access our EDI hub. This contains a lot of information, advice and guidance on a range of subjects including mental health.

Mental health charities

Rethink Mental Health has set up an online hub filled with practical support and information for people living with our supporting people with mental illness.

The Mental Health Foundation have a similar site as well as Mind.

BBC News

The BBC have their own mental health guidance pages.

NHS – Thrive Wellbeing App

Thrive Mental Wellbeing is used and recommended by the NHS and is a digital tool for use by individuals and in the workplace for preventing mental health conditions by building resilience.

The app provides support through a range of options as shown below. More details can be found on the Thrive Mental Wellbeing website.

How your colleagues at Sellafield can support your welfare

  • Employee-led networks
  • Mental health first aiders

Employee-led networks

We have 18 employee-led networks who can provide you with support:

  • Armed Forces Network
  • Chronic Illness Peer Support Network
  • Deaf, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus Network
  • Domestic Abuse Contacts
  • Dyslexia Network/Assistive Technology
  • Early Careers Mental Health Support (ECMHS) Network
  • Enduring Mental Health Conditions
  • Family Network
  • Gender Balance Network
  • Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs) Network
  • Nuclear Autism Support Network
  • oneLGBTQ+ Network
  • REACH Network
  • Sellafield MenoHub
  • SL ADDers (ADHD) Network
  • STAMMA Nuclear
  • Stronger Together Cancer Support Group
  • Workplace Chaplains

Details of how to contact these groups can be found on Sharepoint.

Health app

Every Sellafield Ltd employee can now access new health services through the Digicare+ Workplace app.

This is part of our employee assistance programme and gives every Sellafield employee access to:

  • a free annual health check
  • mental health consultations
  • nutritional consultations
  • digital GP service
  • second medical opinions

The app also links to information about useful NHS services and gym discounts.

The idea is that by having this service, it will help support the health and wellbeing for every employee as we complete our purpose. It will help to prevent ill health with early detection of health-related matters, and the appropriate interventions where needed.

There’s more information and details about the service in the employee brochure below or visit our internal ‘Diversity SharePoint’ page.

Digicare+ employee brochure (PDF, 5.19 MB, 10 pages)

To download the app, follow the guidance below:

  1. download the Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app from the App Store or Google Play (mobile data charges may apply).
  2. open the app and click ‘Register’.
  3. you should then see the terms and conditions, which you’ll need to accept.
  4. enter your PIN 524320 and click ‘continue’. You’ll be redirected to the ‘registration details’ screen.
  5. on first registration, you’ll be asked to register by confirming the following:
  • email address
  • mobile number (you’ll need to have this device when registering as your verification code will be sent to this number)
  • date of birth
  1. click ‘continue’ to submit the above details. You’ll be sent a 6 digit verification code to the mobile number you previously supplied.
  2. once the mobile verification is complete, you’ll be asked to create a new password.
  3. please enter your personal details to complete your registration to the app.
  4. you can now complete your medical profile.
  5. your registration is now complete and you’ll have access to the app.

Our enterprise strategy

We have now published our latest enterprise strategy.

Within the document, we show how our strategy flows from our manifesto and our purpose, and how we’ve updated our 3 strategic objectives to include sustainability, a focus on pace and the recognition that value is more than just financial.

It also reflects the progress we’ve made on site, as well as the changes in our broader environment and shows how we’ve updated our strategy to reflect that.

We know that showing and explaining the breadth of what we do can be difficult, but the document is designed to make that easier – for our people who are delivering our strategy, and for our communities and stakeholders.

Read our Enterprise Strategy here

We’ve also taken the opportunity to update our company overview video:

Our Purpose

Contents