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- Type:
- Employment law guide
The case of Young v Royal Mail Group highlights that conduct, such abusive or threatening comments, including comments framed as jokes, is not automatically protected as trade union activity simply because it occurs in a union context or during an industrial dispute.
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- Type:
- Legal timetable
The Government has published the draft Acas code of practice on time off for trade union duties and activities. Employers will need to follow the code when handling requests for time off, and providing facilities for union duties, from October 2026.
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- Type:
- Editor's choice
Updated with information concerning the EU Pay Transparency hub.
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- Type:
- Employment law guide
The Government has published its response to its consultation on strengthened protections against detriment for workers taking part in official industrial action, alongside draft Regulations. These confirm that all detriments imposed for the sole or main purpose of penalising, preventing or deterring a worker from taking part in official industrial action will be prohibited, with an expected implementation date of 30 October 2026
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- Date:
- 10 June 2026
- Type:
- Podcasts and webinars
Brightmine legal editor Lilia Dangi joins the podcast to talk through recent and upcoming trade union-related reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025. She discusses how these changes are modernising industrial relations and rebalancing the relationship between employers and unions.
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- Date:
- 3 June 2026
- Type:
- News
Union membership among public sector workers hit 6.6 million in 2025, up by almost 200,000 on the year before. Meanwhile, union membership among employees in the private sector rose by 76,000 to 2.5 million, according to figures from the Department for Business and Trade.
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- Type:
- Employment law guide
Updated to reflect that the trade union access provisions under the proposed Good Jobs Bill in Northern Ireland will no longer apply to micro-businesses with fewer than 10 employees.
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- Date:
- 20 May 2026
- Type:
- Commentary and insights
The Employment Rights Act 2025 contains many reforms to trade union-related workplace legislation. Employment lawyer and trade union relations specialist Nick Chronias recently presented a Brightmine webinar on the subject. Here he answers some of the questions he didn't have time to address during the session.
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- Date:
- 23 April 2026
- Type:
- Podcasts and webinars
In this 60-minute webinar, DAC Beachcroft employment law partner and trade union relations specialist Nick Chronias provides an overview of the April changes, which simplify the union recognition process, before focusing on the October reforms.
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- Type:
- How to
Important changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025, including the right of trade unions to access workplaces and employer liability for third-party harassment are due to come into force on 30 October 2026.