Trade Unions and Strike Action

Trade Union Provisions form Pat Four of the Employment Rights Bill

Part Four of the Employment Rights Bill proposes a raft of changes to trade union provisions in Employment Rights Bill. A consultation was launched and the Government has now published its response to creating a modern framework for industrial relations. Headline changes include:

• There will be a requirement for a 10-day notice period for industrial action (increased from seven days in the initial draft of the ERB).
• The Government will use secondary legislation to provide the CAC with a framework for fines to be issued for non-compliance with the right of access.
• The current ERB proposal to repeal the 50% industrial action ballot turnout threshold will not be enacted immediately but will require separate regulations, the aim being to dovetail this change with the introduction of e-balloting.
• The current mandate for industrial action is valid for six months before it expires. The ERB will be amended to include a provision extending the mandate to 12 months.
• To address the issue of mass recruitment into the bargaining unit to thwart trade union recognition, the maximum number in the bargaining unit will be set at the date when the CAC receives the application for recognition from the trade union. It can go down but it cannot go up for the purposes of the recognition process.
• The ERB will be amended to allow access arrangements to include virtual access (either solely or alongside physical access).
• Unions will no longer need to ballot members every ten years regarding whether they wish to maintain a political fund. This will be replaced with a requirement that unions give members notice of their right to opt out of the political fund every ten years.

The Government’s consultation response also makes clear commitments to industrial relations once the Employment Rights Bill has received Royal Assent. These include:

• Delivering e-balloting and workplace balloting for trade union ballots
• Lowering the admissibility requirements for the statutory trade union recognition ballot process.
• Using secondary legislation to deliver greater rights and protections for trade union representatives and members

Employment Rights Bill Delivery Roadmap
The first changes to take effect, immediately after the Bill receives Royal Assent, will be the repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and most of the Trade Union Act 2016. Protections against dismissal for taking industrial action will also come into force at that point. However, other trade union reforms will follow a different timeline. Electronic balloting and workplace balloting, as well as the simplification of trade union recognition processes are expected in April 2026. The new duty to inform workers of their right to join a union, and the strengthening of the right of access will follow in October 2026. A further two consultations about trade union reforms are expected. One this autumn and one in the winter/early 2026.

Phase One Measures

The Government has published several ancillary documents related to the trade union changes under Employment Rights Act 2025 which due to come into force on 18th February 2026:

• A draft revised Picketing Code of Practice reflecting the imminent removal of the requirement for unions to appoint a picketing supervisor.
• A draft revised Code of Practice on industrial action ballots and notice to employers reflecting the changes to industrial action support requirements and the simplification of notices of industrial action which must be given by the union to employers.

Transitional and saving regulations also come into force on the same date. These relate to how the law applies in the period around these specific trade union-related measures coming into force. They address how to deal with certain cases that began under the Trade Union Act 2016 legal framework but are still in progress when the Employment Rights Act 2025 comes into force. Government guidance on these transitional provisions is provided in Trade Union Law: Transition to Employment Rights Act 2025.

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