With the introduction of the Employment Rights Act 2025 we have seen the most significant overhaul of UK employment law in years, with huge changes to trade union legislation giving unions and union members more rights in workplaces.
A phased implementation began in February 2026 and will continue into 2027, meaning that many of the trade union changes are now in force or are being consulted on.
Businesses and organisations need to be aware of the changes and we are here to help.
There are a lot of changes, which can be challenging to keep up with, and if you are an employer, you can always contact us for advice and support with employment law at any stage by calling 01634 564136.
In the meantime, the table below breaks down the key updates, when they’ve been (or will be) introduced, and what businesses should be doing in response.
UK Trade Union Law Changes – February 2026
| Legislative Change | Previous Position | Key Changes & Impact | Action for Businesses |
| Removal of the 40% support threshold (public sector) | 40% of all eligible voters had to support the action for a strike to be lawful. | Unions now only need more votes in favour than against. This could lead to more frequent strike ballots and increased industrial action in public services. | • Review your industrial relations strategy/policy • Strengthen staff engagement to reduce likelihood of ballots • Monitor union activity more closely |
| Minimum service levels for strikes removed | Minimum service levels required certain amount of workers to continue working during strikes in key sectors. | Unions and employees are no longer legally obligated to maintain any specific level of service during lawful industrial action. Operational disruption risk increases. | • Prepare a risk assessment • Consider contingency staffing arrangements – you will not be able to use agency staff that were not already being used before this. • Assess which services would be most impacted |
| 12-week unfair dismissal cap removed | Employees on strike were only protected from unfair dismissal for 12 weeks. Beyond that, employers could dismiss striking workers without it being classed as unfair. | Employees are now protected from unfair dismissal for the full duration of any lawful strike, however long it lasts. Dismissing strikers is now much higher risk. | • Do not dismiss striking employees without legal/ HR advice |
| Notice period for industrial action reduced to 10 days | Unions were required to give 14 days’ notice to employers before taking industrial action. | Unions now only need to give 10 days’ notice. Businesses have less time to prepare or negotiate before action begins. | • Prepare a risk assessment • Review your industrial relations strategy/policy • Take legal advice |
| Industrial action mandate extended to 12 months | A strike mandate was valid for 6 months after the ballot. | Workers now have 12 months to act on a strike ballot result without a re-run vote. This gives unions significantly more leverage over a longer period. | • Track ballot dates and their expiry • Seek to resolve disputes earlier in the process |
| Picket supervisor no longer required | A named picket supervisor had to be present, available to authorities, and responsible for keeping the picket lawful. | Unions no longer need to appoint a formal supervisor. Note: picketing must still be lawful and peaceful, this removes admin burden, not legal obligation. | • Review your industrial relations strategy/policy • Be aware you can still report unlawful picketing to police • Document any picketing activity that appears intimidating or unlawful |
| Less detail required in industrial action and ballot notices | Notices had to include precise details. Minor errors or omissions allowed employers to challenge and potentially stop strikes in court. | Unions can now organise action with less risk of it being blocked on procedural grounds. Employer ability to challenge on technicalities is significantly reduced. | • Focus on dispute resolution • Seek early dialogue when a ballot notice is received |
| Check-off administration no longer charged to unions (public sector) | Where employers collected union subscriptions from payroll (check-off), unions in the public sector could be charged an admin fee. | Public sector employers can no longer charge unions for this payroll administration. It removes a small financial barrier to union organisation, possibility of increased membership. | • Review any existing check-off agreements and fee arrangements • Update payroll administration |
| Public sector employers no longer required to publish facility time | Public sector employers had to report on the time union reps spent on union duties and the associated cost to the organisation. | This reporting requirement has been removed, reducing transparency obligations but also administrative burden for HR teams. However, there is now no real way to assess time spent on union duties. | • Remove facility time reporting • You may still wish to track this internally for management purposes • Review your union rep agreements and time-off policies |
| Political fund rules changed | Union members had to actively opt in to political funds under certain arrangements. | It is now easier for union members to opt in or out of political contributions. | • Ensure employees are aware of their rights regarding political fund contributions |
UK Trade Union Law Changes – April 2026
| Legislative Change | Previous Position | Key Changes & Impact | Action for Businesses |
| Removal of the ‘likely majority’ test when recognising a trade union | When a union submitted an application for formal recognition, it had to demonstrate that a majority of workers would support recognition. | Removing the likely majority test lowers the threshold for union recognition, making the process more accessible. Employers may see a rise in recognition applications, workplace ballots, and more workplaces becoming unionised. | • Ensure your industrial relations strategy/ policy accounts for this lower bar • Consider proactive employee engagement to understand and address workplace concerns • Take early legal advice if you receive a recognition application |
| Preventing recognition of a non-independent union from blocking an independent union’s application | An employer could voluntarily recognise a non-independent (staff association) union, which could then be used to block an independent trade union from seeking formal recognition. | Employers can no longer use voluntary recognition of a non-independent union as a barrier to an independent union’s recognition application. This closes a commonly used loophole and strengthens independent union rights. | • Review any existing voluntary recognition agreements • Be prepared for independent unions to re-apply if previously blocked |
UK Trade Union Law Changes – August 2026
| Legislative Change | Previous Position | Key Changes & Impact | Action for Businesses |
| TU members will be able to vote electronically or in-person | Industrial action ballots were primarily conducted by postal vote, which was slower, more costly and saw lower participation rates. | Ballots for industrial action, union elections and other statutory votes can now be conducted electronically or in person, provided the employer and trade union agree. This is likely to increase voter turnout and speed up the ballot process, meaning disputes could escalate more quickly. | • Be prepared for ballots to conclude faster than previously • Update your strategy/policy • Factor in the likelihood of higher turnout when assessing strike risk |
| Removal of 50% threshold | This was initially scheduled to be introduced in April but got pushed back. Under the Trade Union Act 2016 a strike ballot was only valid if at least 50% of eligible union members voted and there had to be a majority of these votes in favour of the strike | The 50% minimum turnout requirement has been removed. A strike is now lawful as long as a simple majority of those who voted are in favour, regardless of how many members actually participated. This significantly lowers the bar for lawful strike action and is likely to result in more successful ballots. | • Update your strike risk assessments, assume ballots are more likely to succeed • Review and refresh your business continuity and contingency plans • Prioritise early resolution of workplace disputes before a ballot is called • Update strategy/policy |
UK Trade Union Law Changes – October 2026
| Legislative Change | Previous Position | Key Changes & Impact | Action for Businesses |
| Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union | There was no legal obligation on employers to proactively inform workers of their right to join a trade union. | employers will be legally required to provide all workers with a written statement informing them of their right to join a trade union. This is likely to be delivered alongside the employment contract and refreshed annualy. Failure to comply will not automatically trigger a claim, but employment tribunals can award an additional two to four weeks’ pay on top of any successful claim where the employer was in breach of this duty. | • Update your employment contract templates to include the required statement • Introduce an annual reminder process for existing employees • Review your onboarding documentation and HR systems |
| Enhanced trade union right of access to workplaces | Trade unions had no statutory right to access a workplace unless they were already recognised there | Trade unions will gain a new statutory right to request both physical and digital access to any workplace with 21 or more workers – regardless of whether they have any existing membership there. Employers will face tight response deadlines, and if no agreement is reached, the Central Arbitration Committee can impose access terms and enforce penalties of up to £500,000 for breaches. | • Understand your obligations, you must respond to access requests within set deadlines • Establish a clear internal process for handling union access requests • Consider what digital access (e.g. email/intranet) you may be required to provide |
| Reasonable accommodation and facilities for TU reps carrying out their duties. | There was no specific statutory requirement to provide reps with facilities such as meeting space or communication access beyond general reasonableness. | Employers will be required to provide reasonable accommodation including meeting space, communication access and other practical support to trade union reps while they carry out their duties. This formalises and extends existing good practice expectations. | • Review what facilities you currently offer to union reps • Ensure union reps have access to appropriate meeting space and communication tools • Consider a facilities agreement if you do not already have one in place |
| Right to time off for union equality representatives | Union reps already had a statutory right to reasonable paid time off for carrying out their duties. This did not explicitly extend to equality representatives. | The legislation now explicitly extends the right to reasonable paid time off to union equality representatives, recognising the role they play in promoting equality in the workplace. Employers must accommodate this in the same way as other union duties | • Identify if your recognised union(s) have or intend to appoint equality reps • Update your time-off for union duties policy to include equality reps • Ensure line managers are aware • Review your agreement if applicable |
| Protection from detriment for taking industrial action | Workers had some protection from dismissal for taking part in lawful industrial action, but protection from other forms of detriment (short of dismissal) was more limited | The protection has now been extended beyond dismissal to cover any detriment. Workers must not be treated to a disadvantage or receive negative treatment at work as a result of taking part in lawful industrial action. This includes actions such as being | • Train managers not to treat participation in industrial action negatively in any way • Review performance, promotion and reward processes to ensure they cannot be influenced by strike participation |
Potential changes coming in January 2027
- Protecting trade union members from discrimination and being blacklisted
- A new industrial relations framework
- Ability to vote electronically for trade union recognition and derecognition.
Employers may welcome the fact that a draft Code of Practice on trade union recognition has already been consulted on and is expected to come into force in October 2026. A draft of the Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces is being consulted on until 20th May 26.
Keep checking back on this website for further updates as new measures are introduced and legislation is confirmed.
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