While many of the April 2026 changes brought in by the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) centred on individual employment rights, important reforms to the statutory trade union recognition regime have also taken effect. These changes will make it easier for trade unions to secure recognition and are likely to have practical implications for many employers, even those with little or no previous experience of union engagement.
This article provides a focused summary of the trade union recognition changes that took effect on 6 April 2026. Other employment law reforms taking effect in April 2026 are covered in our separate article on the latest ERA 2025 changes and in our wider Employment Rights Act 2025 resources page.
Trade union recognition is the process by which an employer formally recognises a trade union as representing a defined group of workers (called a bargaining unit) which enables it to bargain on behalf of those workers on matters relating to their employment. Such matters can be workers' pay, hours, holiday, pension, and/or family rights etc.
Trade unions can be recognised via two routes:
Unions are obliged to first seek recognition...
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