Trade union law is undergoing its most significant reform for several years. Changes introduced principally by the Employment Rights Act 2025 affect industrial action, union recognition, workplace access, and the protection of workers and union representatives.
The reforms matter not only to employers with established collective bargaining arrangements. Businesses with little or no current union presence may now find it easier for unions to organise, communicate with workers, and pursue formal recognition.
Implementation is phased. Some important changes have applied since December 2025 or early 2026; further recognition reforms and the new workplace-access regime took effect on 30 October 2026; and other measures remain dependent on regulations, codes, or later commencement.
A clear change in direction
The overall direction is away from a number of the restrictions introduced in 2016 and 2023 and towards facilitating lawful union organisation and collective activity.
The first major step was the repeal of the minimum service level regime on 18 December 2025. This removed the statutory framework under which minimum service requirements could be imposed during industrial action in specified public services.
A wider group of reforms followed on 18 February 2026. These included changes to industrial-action rules, stronger dismissal protection for employees taking protected industrial action, and a reduction in parts of the regulatory regime overseen by the Certification Officer.
Industrial action: fewer procedural obstacles
Several changes make lawful industrial action easier to organise and sustain.
The additional requirement that at least 40% of those entitled to vote must support action in certain important public services has been removed. The notice that a union ordinarily gives an employer before industrial action has been reduced from 14 to 10 days, while the period for which a ballot mandate remains effective has increased from 6 to 12 months.
Protection against dismissal for taking part in protected industrial action has also been strengthened. The previous protection centred on the first 12 weeks of action; that temporal limit has been removed.
Electronic and workplace balloting became permissible on 25 August 2026. However, employers should not assume that every earlier ballot restriction has disappeared. In particular, the general requirement for at least 50% of those entitled to vote to participate remained applicable in October 2026.
For employers, the practical consequence is not that industrial action has become unregulated; ballot, notice, and statutory immunity requirements remain important. However, there is less scope to rely on technical obstacles or short ballot mandates as part of an industrial-relations strategy.
Recognition may become easier
The statutory recognition procedure was reformed in stages.
A union no longer has to satisfy the Central Arbitration Committee that a majority of the proposed bargaining unit is likely to support recognition as an additional admissibility requirement. Where a recognition ballot is ordered, the previous requirement for support from at least 40% of the entire bargaining unit has been removed, leaving a simple majority of votes cast.
The current 10% union membership threshold for a statutory application remains in place, although the Act allows regulations to set the threshold at a figure between 2% and 10%. Employers should therefore distinguish between the power to lower the threshold and an actual change made by regulations.
For a non-unionised employer, this does not mean that recognition is automatic. Questions about the proposed bargaining unit, union independence, membership, and workforce support remain relevant. But where meaningful support exists, resisting recognition purely as a matter of principle may be less effective. A negotiated voluntary agreement can sometimes give the employer greater influence over the bargaining unit, scope of negotiations, meeting arrangements, and facilities than a statutory process.
Workplace access: the most important change for non-unionised employers
From 30 October 2026, independent trade unions gained a new statutory route to request physical and digital access to workplaces and workers.
Access may be sought to meet, support, represent, recruit, or organise workers and to facilitate collective bargaining. The regime is therefore relevant even where the union is not already recognised and has only a limited existing presence. Organising industrial action is excluded from the statutory “access purposes”.
An access request can cover entry to premises and communications with workers. If agreement cannot be reached, the Central Arbitration Committee may determine whether access should be granted and impose the terms of an access agreement. The statutory principles seek to balance meaningful union access against unreasonable interference with the employer’s business.
Employers should avoid treating a request as ordinary third-party access correspondence. The response timetable is short, and silence or an unstructured refusal may lead to a formal application. HR, legal, and operational teams should agree in advance who will handle requests, what physical and digital channels could reasonably be offered, and how security, confidentiality, data protection, and operational concerns will be addressed.
Membership communications, representatives, and facilities
The Act introduces a duty to inform workers in writing of their right to join a trade union. The duty is not yet in force, and no commencement date has been set.
Employers should monitor commencement arrangements and the final prescribed wording, timing, and information requirements before changing contracts or onboarding documentation.
From 30 October 2026, further provisions strengthen rights relating to reasonable facilities for representatives taking statutory time off and create rights for union equality representatives, including time off for specified equality-related functions and training.
The Act also provides protection against prescribed detriments imposed to prevent, deter, or penalise participation in protected industrial action. The principle has been enacted, but its practical scope depends on regulations defining the relevant detriments.
Key implementation dates
- 18 December 2025: repeal of the minimum service level regime.
- 18 February 2026: principal industrial-action changes, enhanced dismissal protection, and Certification Officer reforms.
- 6 April 2026: two principal statutory recognition
- 25 August 2026: electronic and workplace balloting
- 30 October 2026: statutory workplace-access regime.
- Not yet in force: the duty to inform workers of their right to join a union; no commencement date has been appointed.
- Still to be monitored: the 50% ballot-turnout threshold, the possible reduction of the 10% recognition membership threshold under the unexercised power to set it between 2% and 10%, the non-operational detriment framework pending regulations, and supporting regulations and codes.
What should employers do now?
Employers with recognised unions should:
- review recognition and collective bargaining agreements;
- check strike-response and business continuity plans;
- clarify arrangements for facility time, communications, and digital access; and
- ensure managers understand the stronger protection applying to industrial action and union activity.
Currently non-unionised employers should:
- identify who will receive and respond to union access or recognition requests;
- assess practical options for physical and digital access;
- train managers to respond lawfully and calmly to organising activity;
- review employee-relations intelligence without monitoring union membership or activity improperly; and
- monitor commencement of the worker-information duty and prepare once the final requirements are confirmed.
These reforms do not require employers to agree with every union request or proposal. They do, however, make a purely defensive or procedural response less sustainable. Employers that plan their approach, understand workforce concerns, and establish clear decision-making routes will be better placed to manage union engagement constructively while protecting legitimate operational interests.
If your organisation has received a recognition or workplace-access request, is reviewing an existing recognition agreement, or needs support with collective bargaining or derecognition, please contact Gearalt Fahy.
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