Partnering with purpose in a new era of Trade Union rights

On 28 October 2025, the House of Lords is scheduled to vote on the much-anticipated Employment Rights Bill (the Bill). 

With the House of Commons having rejected many of the amendments proposed by the House of Lords, it is unlikely that there will be further resistance from the red benches.  The expectation is that the Bill will be approved and will receive Royal Assent in early November. 

Rationale for TU reforms

It is no secret that in recent years, trade unions have seen both a significant drop in membership and a shift in membership demographic – with older workers being much more likely than their younger counterparts to be TU members.  As those workers retire, it is probably not overly melodramatic to infer from this that, unless TUs can find a way to preserve and grow their memberships for new (and subsequent) generations, they face an existential crisis.

In its election manifesto, Labour acknowledged that the framework for industrial relations and collective bargaining was “full of inefficiencies and anachronisms that work against cooperation, compromise and collaboration”, and that this was part (if not all) of the reason for the declining numbers.

 It committed to “update trade union legislation, so it is fit for a modern economy, [remove] unnecessary restrictions on trade union activity and [ensure] industrial relations are based around collaboration, proportionality, accountability, and…the interests of workers, businesses and the wider public”. 

The proposals

So what has Labour proposed and when?

On Royal Assent

1.Repeal of minimum service levels and most of the Trade Union Act 2016

On the day the Bill receives Royal assent, the various strands of TU legislation put in place by the previous government, including the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and Trade Union Act 2016, will be repealed.  This means that there will no longer be any requirement for minimum service levels to be maintained during strike action in key sectors and industries, such as: health; transport; education; fire and rescue; and border control.

2. Dismissal for taking industrial action

The 12 week limit to the period during which employees who take part in unlawful industrial action are protected from dismissal will also be removed. This means that those employees will remain protected for the life of the strike action.

Two months after Royal Assent

3. Notice requirement for strike action

The notice requirement for strike action will be reduced from 14 to 10 days.  There will also no longer be a requirement on unions to disclose the number of employees in each category expected to take part in the action.

The strike mandate period will be extended to 12 months.

April 2026

4. Simplified procedures for Trade Union recognition and industrial action

The requirement for a union to demonstrate, at the application stage for recognition, that there is likely to be majority support for trade union recognition will be removed, thus eliminating the 40% threshold within the bargaining unit.  

The threshold percentage of workers within the bargaining unit who are members of the relevant union will also be reduced to somewhere between 2% and 10% (to be confirmed).

The Bill also broadens the existing protections from unfair practices during a statutory recognition or derecognition process and aims to simplify the claim process.  

It will curtail the possible ways employers might seek to thwart recognition such as by mass recruitment into the bargaining unit to dilute the level of trade union membership or by reaching a voluntary agreement with a non-independent trade union following receipt of a recognition application by an independent union.  Such applications by independent trade unions will be allowed to continue notwithstanding voluntary recognition agreed with a non-independent union subsequently.

5. Electronic balloting

The government intends to introduce secure e-balloting for trade union statutory ballots in an effort to modernize the balloting process and facilitate participation in voting.

October 2026

6. Increased rights of workplace access

Perhaps the most controversial of the proposals are the new rights trade unions will have to physically access the workplace and to communicate with workers in order to support, represent, recruit, organize workers and facilitate collective bargaining (but not for the purposes of organizing industrial action).

Unions will be able to submit an ‘access request’ to businesses, and there will be a set timescale within which an employer will need to respond, agree the terms of access and enter into ‘access agreements’.   

Following a period of consultation, we expect to have more clarity as to what “access” to the workplace will look like. However, it is likely to include both physical and digital access, and the provision of information through digital channels.

Employers will be expected to take reasonable steps to facilitate access and will not be able to refuse a request for access simply because other means of communication are available.

If employers fail to respond, or the parties fail to agree the terms of access, the union will be able to make an application to the Central Arbitration Committee for determination

7. New protections for TU reps and members

The Bill will extend rights to reasonable paid time off for Trade Union representatives during working hours.  This includes time off for equalities-related activities.

The purpose of the time off for equalities representatives will include arranging learning or training, carrying out activities for the purpose of promoting the value of equality and providing information and support. 

Employers will also be obliged to provide appropriate facilities for trade union officials and learning representatives.

Trade union representatives will be protected from any detriment they may suffer at the hands of their employer, where the specific purpose of that treatment is to deter the employee from engaging in industrial action or to penalise them for continuing to do so.

The new rights will be covered by an ACAS Code of Practice, and ACAS plans to consult on this shortly.

8. Obligation to notify workers of right to join TU

Employers will be required to give workers a written statement of their right to join a trade union, to be provided at the same time as the statement of particulars under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996,

Regulations may provide for the statement to be provided at other times.  Regulations will also prescribe the information to be included in the section 1 statement, the form of the statement and the manner in which it must be given.

Cultural shift and implications

Whilst many of these proposals will require further consultation and regulation before they can be fully implemented, they herald a significant cultural shift from the present state of play.   Industries, sectors and bargaining groups which have historically avoided unionisation, are now fair game.  Unions, no doubt, will be heavily expounding the virtues of membership and, we expect, will drive recruitment with a razor-sharp focus.

It is inevitable that more and more employers will need to find ways effectively to engage with their workforces so as either to stave off a Union assault and/or to navigate a new era of positive partnership and collaboration with them.

How to prepare

Many employers are rightly proud of the employee engagement strategies they currently have in place and are fearful that increased trade union involvement will lead to interference with commercial and management decisions and result in workplace conflict and disruption to business operations.

The anxiety over the changes to trade union rights, therefore, appears to stem mainly from the perception that trade unions will disrupt the existing equilibrium between employers and staff.  The extent to which this fear then becomes realised will depend largely on what happens in practice. 

If the reality is that there are high levels of staff engagement and communication within the workplace already, the intervention of one or more trade unions into the bargaining mix may have little practical effect – they would be just another conduit to aid the flow of information and improve consultation.

Yet, if workforce engagement is not as effective as employers would like to believe, trade union intervention may feel to staff less like an “added extra” and more like a necessity.

Over the course of the next few months, therefore, our advice to employers is to conduct a comprehensive review of your employee-relations and communications strategies, identify areas where these might require further refinement and take action as necessary. 

Our top tips are as follows:

• Audit your communication channels.  

Review how firm-wide information is communicated to staff: How frequently?  In what format(s). By whom?

Review how department-specific information is communicated to staff: How frequently?  In what format(s). By whom?

Assess whether there are any inconsistencies with departmental communication flows.  Address and eliminate these where possible.

• Implement an over-arching communications strategy

Put in place yearly communications strategies which ensure consistent information-flow throughout the year.

Consider where responsibility for communicating certain types of information should sit. Detail when, where, how and by whom information is to be disseminated to staff.

Document this for future reference and accountability.

• Ensure managers understand the remit of their authority.  Upskill them if necessary.

Be clear with managers as to matters for which they have the authority to address and resolve and those which require senior leadership input. The quicker issues can be dealt with, the less time they will have to fester and multiply.

Provide manager training to embolden managers and give them the confidence to recognise issues as they arise and to deal with them swiftly and pragmatically. 

• Put mechanisms in place to ensure a two-way dialogue.

Carry out regular staff engagement surveys.  These can either be frequent, “bite-sized” surveys, focusing on particular areas or, from time to time, more detailed.

Surveys are a useful temperature check on the state of the workforce and can identify any emerging themes of discontent at an early stage.

Likewise, providing a webpage or email address where employees can submit questions or concerns to the senior leadership team, or holding regular staff forums chaired by senior managers, will enable the executive function to retain oversight of key issues.  

 Invigorating and promoting positive partnership

Yet despite the various channels already in place to encourage positive employee/employer relations, it seems inevitable that the workplaces of the future will require, if not demand, increased collaboration with trade unions.  Resistance to this may be not only self-defeating but also futile in the long run.

Whilst unions can often be viewed with suspicion, there can also be significant benefits to partnering with them.  Forming strong relationships with internal representatives who understand both the employer’s culture and the local area, may avoid unwelcome interference from external representatives hell-bent on pushing a national (but potentially, inappropriate) agenda onto businesses.

A free-flowing channel of communication with trade union representatives can also ensure managers hear of employee concerns (and can nip them in the bud) before they take hold and ignite further conflict. The power of a good trade union representative in resolving employee-relations issues and guiding members to a practical and pragmatic solution cannot be underestimated either.  

Our advice to employers, therefore, is to take steps now to start, improve and/or reinvigorate your relationships with the unions by:

• Keeping union representatives in the loop.  Even if a decision is not something on which they have a right to be informed or consulted, ensuring they have the heads up first builds trust and maintains rapport.
• Making sure both sides know the law and understand the remit of their roles. This can help avoid satellite disputes. 
• Creating policies which set out the behaviours expected from both sides. This can help improve professionalism, mutual respect and reduce the scope for conflict and division.
• Researching the unions. Find out what unions are associated with your sector, what they might offer for you/your employees and what a partnership agreement with them might look like. 
• Reviewing existing Recognition Agreements.  Are they still fit for purpose and relevant?  Do they work for both sides?  Is there scope for movement and/or re-negotiation?
• Improving the signposting around Trade Unions.  This will no doubt become second nature once the Bill beds in.  However, taking steps now to promote the unions could lead to a healthier and more productive relationship with them in the long-run.  
• Get passed the headlines!  Show staff that there is a positive side to TU representation.  Be clear that, with mutual respect and effort, both parties can benefit.

For further advice and support with the Employment Rights Bill, contact Sheilah Cummins.