The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) introduces a series of measures designed to strengthen and expand trade union rights.

Published: 8 October 2026
Authors: Jonathan Naylor

With key measures due to be brought into force in October 2026 and January 2027, now is the time for employers to reflect on their relationships with trade unions.

Notable Changes

Included among the raft of measures to take effect in October 2026 are:

• trade union right of access: A qualifying trade union will be able to make a request to an employer for access to the workforce, both physical and digital, for the purposes of meeting, representing, recruiting or organising workers, or facilitating collective bargaining (note, the right does not extend to organising industrial action). Trade unions and employers may enter into ‘access agreements’ or, where agreement cannot be reached, a union may apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) to determine its application for access. A ‘qualifying trade union’ means any trade union which has a certificate of independence. The union need not be one that is recognised by the employer
• improved statutory recognition: Measures to simplify the statutory recognition process took effect on 6 April 2026, with further reforms now following to restrict unfair practices by employers intended to influence the outcome of a recognition application (for example altering the number of workers employed in the proposed bargaining unit)
• new rights and protections for trade union representatives: These include the employer providing accommodation and other facilities to enable representatives to carry out their duties or undergo training

And from January 2027:

• statement setting out the right to join a trade union: Employers will be required to provide new and existing workers with a statement explaining their right to join a trade union, both at the start of employment and annually thereafter. The government’s intention is that this will increase awareness about the work of trade unions and bolster union membership

Additionally, while not expected to come into force until 2027, further notable measures under the ERA 2025 relating to trade union rights include:

• collective agreements in relation to zero and low hours workers: The ERA 2025 makes provision for employers and trade unions to contract out of the new (not yet in force) rights for zero hours, low hours and agency workers by entering into a relevant collective agreement
• expansion of the collective consultation trigger: Collective consultation obligations will be triggered where an employer is proposing to dismiss as redundant a “threshold number of employees” across its organisation, increasing the situations where collective consultation is likely to be required

In summary, the statutory framework is shifting towards increasing rights for trade unions and significantly expanding the number of situations in which collective bargaining or collective consultation may play a key role in managing organisational change, whilst at the same time increasing the visibility of unions and the work they carry out to bolster membership and engagement within workplaces.

Deciding whether to recognise a trade union

In light of the ERA 2025 reforms, employers may now be considering whether to recognise a trade union on a voluntary basis.

A trade union can become a recognised by an employer for collective bargaining purposes through either voluntary recognition or statutory recognition. The former is the most common scenario and occurs where a trade union negotiates a recognition agreement directly with an employer, under which the employer voluntarily agrees to recognise the trade union. The recognition agreement will usually set out the matters on which the trade union is entitled to conduct collective bargaining, and the bargaining unit covered. Where a voluntary agreement cannot be reached, a trade union may apply to the CAC to be recognised as entitled to collectively bargain on pay, hours and holidays on behalf of a bargaining unit. This process is known as statutory recognition.

The result of a successful application for statutory recognition can be that an employer is required to collectively bargain with, and afford certain rights to, a trade union with whom relations may not be amicable.

The potential advantages of recognising a union

Many employers tend to favour voluntary recognition, ideally working with the union which they think best fits the culture and ethos of their organisation, and allowing them to negotiate the terms of the recognition agreement rather than having an agreement imposed on them by the CAC. As part of the negotiation process, an employer could also negotiate an access agreement and what facilities will be made available to representatives.

Furthermore, an application for statutory recognition made by a trade union will be inadmissible where another independent trade union is already recognised by the employer as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the proposed bargaining unit. In other words, recognising a particular trade union on a voluntary basis can be a means of blocking applications for statutory recognition by any other trade unions. The existence of a recognised trade union representing certain workers is also likely to be a reason why an access request by a different trade union in respect of the same group of workers might be rejected by the CAC.

Having a recognised union in place will also mean that representatives are already present should the duty to collectively consult arise, meaning the consultation process can begin without delay.

Conclusion

Going forward, ensuring a good working relationship with trade unions will be key for many employers in managing business operations. Given the increased rights being afforded to trade unions, it may well be beneficial for employers to be proactive in establishing a relationship with a union that they feel they can cooperate with, rather than waiting to be targeted by an unknown (and potentially hostile) trade union. Likewise, in respect of access agreements, while a request for access can be made by a trade union who is not recognised, proactively putting in place a negotiated access agreement with a union (which can be renegotiated as required) is likely to be preferable than the employer not engaging in discussions and perhaps ultimately being bound by a determination by the CAC.

In summary, in this new employment landscape, fostering good working relationship with trade unions through voluntary agreements is likely to assist employers in effectively managing organisational change.