The Employment Rights Act 2025 (the Act) makes changes to the process by which trade unions can gain statutory recognition. These changes will shift the dial in favour of recognition. What are the six things you need to know about the changes?
The changes take effect on 6 April 2026, when Schedule 6 to the Act comes into force. It amends the rules set out in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 that govern how a union becomes recognised by an employer for collective bargaining purposes.
Where an employer refuses to recognise a union voluntarily, the union can apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) for statutory recognition. Under the current scheme, unions have to show the CAC that at least 10% of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit are members of that union. They also have to show that they are likely to have majority support for trade union recognition. The CAC can either automatically recognise the union or hold a recognition ballot. For the union to win a ballot, it has to obtain a majority and at least 40% of the workforce in the proposed bargaining unit must support recognition.
The Act makes several changes to the rules, including:
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