Reform of trade union laws - phase three

Implementation date: 30 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 on 30 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 workers taking protected industrial action; and
• strengthened protections against unfair practices during the entire statutory recognition process.

Draft regulations have been laid before Parliament in connection with strengthening of protection from detriment for workers taking industrial action (Protection Against Detriment (Industrial Action) Regulations 2026) and the right for unions to access workplaces (The Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026). These are expected to come into force on 30 October 2026.

On 6 July 2026, the Government laid the draft Code of practice on the trade union right of access before Parliament. The code includes guidance on:

• how employers should respond to a request for access, and the timescale involved;
• negotiating terms of access;
• how the Central Arbitration Committee should make decisions on access requests; and
• the practicalities of operating an access agreement.

The Government has also laid the Revised draft code of practice: access and unfair practices during the recognition and derecognition process before Parliament. The code deals with trade union access rights specifically in the context of recognition and derecognition processes.

On 7 July 2026, the Government laid the Revised draft Acas code of practice on time off for trade union duties and activities before Parliament. The code includes guidance on:

• strengthened rights to reasonable paid time off for union representatives;
• providing union equality representatives with reasonable paid time off, and related training; and
• providing union representatives with reasonable access to accommodation and facilities to carry out their duties.

Separately, the Government has consulted 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.