Thousands of magistrates court staff in England and Wales have started a work to rule which union leaders warned could lead to sittings being cancelled over Christmas.
Around 16,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union will take the action in protest at a pay offer they said would leave most staff with a below-inflation rise of 2%.
General secretary Mark Serwotka said: "It is completely unacceptable, with inflation running at 3.9%, that some of the lowest paid in the civil service are facing a real terms pay cut.
"The disruption caused by this action could have been avoided by the Department of Constitutional Affairs rewarding the staff who keep the justice system running with a decent pay offer.
"With tens of thousands of hardworking staff across the civil service facing the axe and below-inflation pay offers, it is time for the Government to step in and swiftly address the growing problem of pay and job cuts."
The union is warning of a strike across the civil service in the new year over jobs and pay.
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