Trade Union Reforms: What the Employment Rights Bill and Three New Consultations Mean for Employers and Unions

After much anticipation, political discourse and ping-pong between the House of Lords and the House of Commons, the Employment Rights Bill (‘ERB’) has… still not passed.  As we discussed here, the final stages have become protracted, so for now the passage of the ERB has been delayed – for how long only time will tell. In the meantime, the Government has launched three consultations on aspects of trade union reforms (the duty to inform workers of their right to join a union, new rights of access and the introduction of electronic and workplace balloting) which we explore below. These are relevant to all employers, whether or not they currently have a union, as they set out the proposals for all employers to have to give information about trade unions to their employees and to allow a trade union to force an employer to provide access to its employees for various purposes including to build up membership. The Government’s aim is to increase the scope of collective bargaining in the UK workforce.

Background

The ERB is a vast piece of legislation, which (once passed) will impact multiple aspects of employment law. One area that will be significantly impacted by these changes is trade union law. The Government has made no secret of its intention to “bring in a new era of partnership” between employers, unions and Government and to strengthen trade unions and collective bargaining. It considers this to be key to tackling problems of job insecurity, inequality, discrimination, enforcement and low pay. Changes to trade union laws are far-reaching and include some of the first reforms to be brought into effect under the ERB once passed. According to the Government’s July 2025 roadmap, the proposed timings for some of the key reforms are as follows:

Although many of the above reforms primarily affect employers whose workforce already recognises a union (such as the changes regarding industrial action), there are some changes that are of significance to employers who currently do not interact with or recognise unions. In particular, the new duty to give workers a written statement of their right to join a trade union and the new trade union rights of access will apply equally to non-unionised employers and the changes will also make it easier for unions to compel employers to collectively bargain with them.

If you’d like more detail about the trade union related changes resulting from the ERB, please refer to our Reform Hub.

Consultations

Given the extent of changes to trade unions, the Government roadmap promised several consultations on details of some of the reforms. The Government has now launched three such consultations.

The first two were launched at the end of October 2025, which will be of interest to unionised and non-unionised employers alike: (1) employers’ duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union; and (2) trade union’s right of access.

Duty to Inform Workers of Their Right to Join a Trade Union

The Government considers that a lack of awareness about the right to join a trade union may be contributing to reduced worker engagement in collective bargaining. The ERB introduces a new duty on employers to give a written statement to their workers, informing them of their right to join a trade union at the start of their employment and at other times. It aims to address this perceived “knowledge gap” by ensuring workers are better informed of their rights and to empower them to participate in collective bargaining should they choose to do so.

The ERB sets out the principle of the duty, but the practical detail will be set out in secondary legislation. Accordingly, the Government in  this consultation seeks views on the practical detail of the new right. For example, the consultation includes details on:

• What form the statement should take – proposed either as a standardised statement (the “one-size-fits-all approach), or a more bespoke employer-drafted statement (the flexible, “customised” approach);
• What content should be included in that statement – the Government proposes to include (at least) a brief overview of the functions of a trade union, a summary of statutory union membership rights, a list of all trade unions the employer recognises, and a signpost to a GOV.UK page with a list of current trade unions;
• The manner in which the statement must be delivered – proposed either as being delivered directly to workers alongside the “section 1” statement of employment particulars given at the start of employment (e.g. by email or letter) or indirectly (e.g. by posting on a notice board, staff portal or intranet); and
• The manner in which, and how frequently, the statement must be reissued after the beginning of employment – proposed as being either every six months, annually or based on a sector-specific frequency

The Government has indicated its preference for employers to fill out and complete a “standardised statement” prepared by the Government, to ensure consistent and neutral information is provided, and for such information to be delivered directly to new workers alongside their statement of employment particulars. For subsequent occasions when the statement must be provided, the Government appears open  to this being provided either directly or indirectly to existing workers on an annual basis to give employers the flexibility to choose. What is clear is that a simple one line in a contract that a worker has a right to join a union is not going to suffice under these new proposals.

Right of Access

The Government considers that access has depended on “ad-hoc arrangements” and that new general independent rights of access will help unions carry out their core functions where membership is low, such as negotiation, resolution of disputes, worker representation and facilitation of collective bargaining, in addition to raising awareness of employment rights.  It sees access as a step towards “more stable and constructive industrial relations”. Again, the ERB sets out a framework for this new right for unions to seek to compel employers to provide digital and/or physical access to some or all of their employees. However, many details are left to secondary legislation.

This consultation seeks views on the new right for unions to have broad access to workplaces, including:

• How unions will request access – proposed as being in writing and directly, and again the Government has indicated its preference for a standardised approach based on a “template” through a new Code of Practice;
• Information to be included within access requests;
• How employers should respond to such requests – proposed to be also in writing and directly;
• How the parties should notify the Central Arbitration Committee (‘CAC‘) about an access agreements, and their variation/revocation;
• The response period for employers – proposed by the Government as being 5 working days from the date of request;
• The negotiation period (which is the time the employer and union have to try to conclude an access agreement after the employer’s response is provided) – proposed by the Government as being 15 working days;
• The period for CAC referral – proposed by the Government as being 25 working days from the date of the union’s initial request request;
• Factors the CAC will take into account when determining whether access should be granted and on what terms. The with proposals her include a potential exemption for employers with less than 21 workers and an automatic 2-year expiry date for access agreements. The Government is proposing that the presence of a recognised trade union would be a factor counting against granting access, but would not automatically prevent it. However, it is not proposing that a union would need to have a minimum level of membership in a workforce or that the fact that a union already had access would be a factor counting against further access agreements. There is also a proposal for the introduction of “model” access agreements where no agreement can be reached to help the CAC assessing a case and to capture best practice (including the Government’s preferred provision of weekly access – whether physical, digital or both and at least 2 working days’ notice before access is to take place);
• How the CAC is to come to decisions on the values of fines issued for breaches of access agreements – proposed as being either a maximum fine of £75,000 or a higher two-stage maximum of £150,000 linked to repeated breaches (the Government’s preferred option)

The proposals currently contemplate a very tight timescale for employers to deal with access requests, which would be very difficult for employers to comply with and which might change following consultation. It also suggests an intention to cast the right of access very widely and with significant penalties for non-compliance. The  Government will consult in Spring 2026 on the new Secretary of State Code of Practice on trade union right of access. This will set out best practice and include practical guidance on how access should be carried out by both trade unions and employers. This is, no doubt, going to be of interest to employers as some details are still required – particularly in relation to the content of the anticipated “template” access agreement and guidance around “digital” access.

Both consultations close on 18 December 2025. Although these consultations do not tell us exactly what the changes will be with regard to their subject matter (which will be set out in secondary legislation), they give us a good indication of the Government’s views and how the reforms may look.

Employers who have concerns about the proposals can respond to the consultation to seek to influence the final regulations. All employers should watch for developments as the regulations are finalised. Although the reforms are not expected to come into effect October 2026, employers who are concerned about the possibility of trade union access should consider their employee relations strategies now. Employers who prepare proactively and engage positively with their employees on an ongoing basis (for example, by setting up and consulting regularly with informal employee representative bodies) are likely to be in a better position to resist attempts by unions to build up support and seek recognition. Employers with existing relationships with unions can expect the reforms to form the backdrop to future dealings with them.

However, once these rights are introduced, only time will tell if the greater information rights and new rights of access (particularly when coupled with simplification of trade union recognition processes also coming down the line) will lead to greater unionisation and collective bargaining.

Electronic and Workplace Trade Union Ballots

Towards the end of November, the Government then launched a third consultation on the new statutory code of practice on electronic and workplace balloting. This will be of particular interest to employers who are currently unionised, although as reforms come into effect, the details may be relevant to employers facing statutory trade union recognition requests.

The Government in its Fact Sheet said it is “committed to introducing the use of modern and secure electronic balloting for trade union statutory ballots. We will consult a working group with stakeholders including cyber security experts, trade unions and business representatives, with the view of rollout following Royal Assent of the Employment Rights Bill.”

The consultation states that the first step to doing this is introducing electronic and workplace balloting for statutory union ballots via secondary legislation, but with greater expansion into 2026 and beyond. The consultation confirms the Government will introduce a new statutory Code of Practice, which stakeholders can help shape through this consultation. Both the Order and the Code will require Parliamentary approval, which the Government has indicated is expected in April 2026.

Currently, most statutory union ballots must be conducted solely by post (statutory recognition and derecognition ballots may be carried out using postal or workplace ballots). Under this consultation, the proposal is to introduce three new voting methods for statutory trade union ballots, alongside postal voting: (1) pure electronic balloting; (2) hybrid electronic balloting; and (3) workplace balloting (the latter for industrial action ballots only).

One concern that runs through the consultation is to ensure cybersecurity protection within any electronic balloting solution. The proposed requirements essentially would put the onus on electronic balloting to be conducted be qualified “scrutineers” who will ensure security standards.

This consultation closes on 28 January 2026. For employers, these reforms should, once implemented, bring union balloting into the modern age and make participation more straightforward. However, the practical impact will depend heavily on the final detail of the Code, and how electronic and workplace ballots operate in practice. That remains to be seen.

This is an exciting time for trade union law with fast-paced and wide-ranging changes anticipated. We’ll be tracking these closely, and will keep you updated as and when we have more details about the reforms. Hopefully, we’ll also know more about when the ERB is going to become law – and in what form – before too long.