The phased implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) is continuing, with a series of important reforms due to take effect in April 2026.

This blog post summarises the key changes and signposts the principal implications for employers.

Key changes taking place on 6 and 7 April 2026:

• Trade Union Recognition (6 April 2026): the principal changes, which will make it easier for trade union recognition applications to succeed, include:
  • giving the government the power to reduce the minimum required percentage of trade union members within a bargaining unit for the Central Arbitration Committee to accept a recognition application. The percentage is currently set at 10% and the government will have the power to reduce it to between 2% and 10%;
  • removing the requirement for a trade union to show that at least 50% of workers in a proposed bargaining unit are likely to support recognition when it submits a recognition application; and
  • providing that, when recognition is decided by ballot, a trade union will only need the support of a simple majority of votes cast (previously it would also have been necessary to show that at least 40% of all workers in the bargaining unit supported recognition).
• Collective Redundancy (6 April 2026): the maximum award for non-compliance with statutory collective consultation obligations will increase for dismissals taking place on or after 6 April 2026. The maximum liability will now double from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay,...

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