Threats of strikes at Scotland's exam body will be a major concern for families with children sitting qualifications this summer.

The intention to take industrial action by unions at the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) includes a specific mention of disruption to this year's exam diet if issues are not resolved.

While the details are not yet fully clear, that could mean a refusal by SQA staff to process candidates' marks, meaning pupils would not receive exam certificates - nor even know what their results were.

Unions could also take action short of strikes because staff are routinely working over their contracted hours in key departments handling the preparation of exam papers, the processing of data and support for marking, as well as the production of exam certificates.

SQA staff also spend time during and after the exam period supporting candidates and ensuring exam results are published. This involves answering pupil queries on a national helpline and the processing of appeals.

Action short of strike action in the form of a work to rule could disrupt those processes without necessarily derailing the whole exam diet.

Read more: Unions threaten first ever strike at SQA

While these scenarios are still a long way off, the possibility of disruption to certification comes at a time when parents are already waiting anxiously on the result of the latest pay dispute for teachers.

The Educational Institute of Scotland and other teaching unions have balloted members on whether or not they want to accept the latest pay offer, with the result expected this afternoon.

The likely outcome is difficult to anticipate with some teachers saying they will back the deal, and others vehemently opposed. However, if it is rejected it would more than likely result in a ballot on strike action, which could bring schools to a standstill later this year.

The dispute at the SQA has come to the boil after more than a year of dissatisfaction over restructuring and modernisation of IT systems, which has resulted in some staff being given new roles.

The Unite union, which represents hundreds of SQA workers, argues the restructuring process has been badly handled with a number of workers left without specific jobs.

While the restructuring of the IT department will involve an overall increase in staff the union is concerned that existing members have been overlooked for the new roles and are not being given the opportunity to retrain.

Staff elsewhere in the SQA are concerned about the changes because there are plans to restructure other departments.

A separate grievance centres on what unions describe as a "severe and serious breach of confidentiality" by SQA managers.

This comes after the identities of individuals involved in a grievance about the wider restructuring process were revealed internally against the SQA's own policies.

Unions have a meeting with SQA management next week to try and resolve the issues by halting the restructuing process and holding a review of how it has been conducted.

However, if progress is not made the union intends to press ahead with an official ballot on strike action.

With the threat of strikes in both schools and the SQA as well as ongoing industrial action in the college sector and a ballot on strike action over pay for university lecturers set to be revealed over the weekend all sectors of the education system are currently in turmoil.