Reform of trade union laws - phase three

Implementation date: October 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 includes various provisions to reform industrial relations law.

The Government has indicated, in its timeline update on the Employment Rights Act 2025, that the following measures will take effect in October 2026:

• a new right of union access to the workplace (both physical and virtual), to meet, support, represent, recruit or organise workers and to facilitate collective bargaining;
• employers required to provide their workers with a written statement that they have the right to join a trade union;
• employers required to provide trade union representatives with reasonable accommodation and facilities;
• a new right to time off for trade union equality representatives;
• strengthened protection from detriment for employees taking protected industrial action; and
• strengthened protections against unfair practices during the entire statutory recognition process.

On 23 October 2025, the Government launched a consultation on the Right of trade unions to access workplaces. The consultation includes proposals on:

• the information to be included in access requests and employers' responses, and the timescales involved;
• the factors the Central Arbitration Committee should consider when making decisions on access requests; and
• whether employers with fewer than 21 workers should be excluded from the right of access.

The Government will consult on a code of practice for the right of access in Spring 2026.

Also on 23 October 2025, the Government launched a separate consultation on the Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union. The consultation includes proposals on the information to be included in a statement and how frequently the statement should be delivered to existing workers. 

See Reform of trade union laws - phase one and Reform of trade union laws - phase two for details of reforms to be implemented at different times.