As part of its flagship Make Work Pay strategy, the Government is overhauling industrial relations. Reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) aim to bolster trade union activity across the UK, promote a collective approach towards employee relations and loosen some of the regulation around industrial action.

Trade unions can play an instrumental role in workforce issues whether that be collectively bargaining terms of employment, organising industrial action (such as strikes or overtime bans) to exert pressure upon employers or representing its members during consultation processes, such as redundancy or TUPE.

Broadly, a trade union’s influence in a workplace depends upon whether it is recognised by the employer. Recognition can be obtained voluntarily with the employer’s agreement or declared by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) following a statutory process. 

The various ERA reforms are being phased in gradually with the trade union changes leading the charge. Upon the Act becoming law, the rules which applied to certain important public services to ensure that minimum service levels were maintained during strikes were repealed. Next, will be the reversal of some of the “red tape” which currently applies in relation to industrial action and the strengthening of protection against dismissal for participation in industrial action. 

18th February 2026

Taking effect, subject to transitional arrangements, from 18th February 2026 will be:

  • Simplification of the information which a trade union must include within industrial action voting papers and notices (of which employers get a copy);
  • Reduction in the notice that a trade union must give an employer of industrial action following a successful ballot from 14 days to 10 days;
  • Extension of the period of validity of a successful ballot for industrial action from a maximum of 9 months to 12 months;
  • Removal of the requirement on a trade union to supervise a picket;
  • Removal of the restrictions on check-off for trade union dues in the public sector;
  • Repeal of the facility time publication requirements and the power to limit facility time in the public sector; 
  • Removal of the 40% support threshold for industrial action ballots of workers engaged in ‘important public services’; and
  • Removal of the timeframe in which a dismissal must occur following protected industrial action in order to be automatically unfair. Going forward, if the reason for the dismissal is that the employee took part in protected industrial action, the proximity of the dismissal to the industrial action will be irrelevant.

6th April 2026

Changes brought under the ERA from April 2026 will make statutory union recognition easier to obtain and is anticipated to cause recognition to become more widespread either through an increase in voluntary requests or an uptick in successful statutory applications. Whilst the CAC will continue to tightly control statutory recognition, from 6th April 2026 a trade union will no longer need to demonstrate that there is likely to be majority support for recognition or if a recognition ballot is held, to reach the current 40% support threshold. Instead, a simple majority of voters will be sufficient. 

In addition, at present the CAC will not accept an application unless it is satisfied that at least 10% of the proposed bargaining unit (the workers in respect of whom the union is seeking recognition) are members of the union. The Government will have the power to vary this to between 2% and 10%, considerably lowering the threshold for a valid application.

August 2026

August 2026 should see the introduction of workplace and electronic balloting for statutory trade union ballots such as ballots on industrial action. 

October 2026

October 2026 is expected to bring what may be the most fundamental changes:

  • Trade unions will have the right to request physical and digital access to workplaces for various purposes, although not organising industrial action. If the union and the employer cannot agree the terms of that access, it will be up to the CAC to determine;
  • Employers will be under a duty to provide a statement of trade union rights at the outset of employment and at prescribed intervals thereafter;
  • Protection against detriment for workers who have participated in or intended to participate in protected industrial action will be introduced;
  • Expanded rights to paid time off and the provision of facilities by the employer for certain trade union representatives; and
  • Tighter regulation around unfair practices during statutory recognition and de-recognition processes.

2027

During 2027 we expect to see the introduction of:

  • Extended blacklisting protections; and
  • Workplace and electronic balloting for union recognition and derecognition ballots.

Unknown

Further details are awaited on the implementation timetable for the reforms below:

  • Removal of the current minimum turnout threshold for a valid ballot on industrial action. This may be aligned with the introduction of e-balloting in August 2026;
  • Employers in receipt of a notice for statutory union recognition from the CAC will be under a new obligation to supply specific details relating to relevant workers with a short timescale for doing so and the prospect of the CAC ultimately declaring recognition if it persistently fails to do so; and
  • Trade unions will have the legal right to request access to relevant workers in connection with a recognition application so it can inform them of the application or any ballot arising from it and seek their support and opinions. If, following a brief negotiation period, agreement on the terms of that access hasn’t been agreed between the parties, the CAC will step in to determine whether the union should have access and if so, on what terms.

In practice

Through these reforms, workers will be better informed about the possibility of trade union membership and the benefits of it and unions will have a greater ability to recruit new members and obtain recognition within the workplace. Whilst to some extent, the impact of the reforms on individual businesses may, at least in the short term, depend upon where each union decides to focus their resources, all businesses need to be aware of the reforms and actively prepare for them.

Employment Rights Act timeline and webinars

To keep up-to-date with all the reforms in the Employment Rights Act 2025 see our Employment Rights Act page and timeline.

We are also running an Employment Rights Act webinar series, where we will be hosting 30-minute webinars over the coming months providing practical guidance on key aspects of the Act. The next session will cover Trade unions - key changes and actions for employers on 27 August 2026. Further details and a link to register can be found here.

    Workbox by Brodies

    Workbox by Brodies offers a wealth of guidance pages and templates drafted by our experienced employment lawyers including a dedicated Employment Rights Act 2025: Preparatory Steps page which can support you to get ready for the reforms ahead. Contact us to arrange a complimentary demonstration and trial.

    This blog was first published on 18th February 2026, and then updated with revised implementation dates on 30th March 2026.

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    Contributor

    Lesley Rennie

    Practice Development Lawyer